1994 Toyota Corolla Three Transmissions

1994 TOYOTA COROLLA
160,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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ARKANGEL
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  • 1 POST
What can this be?

I recently purchased a 1994 Toyota Corolla (supposed to be reliable). This has the 3 speed automatic transmission and for the first month of owning the vehilce, it ran flawlessly.

While driving it out of state, I got about 100 miles into my trip when the car felt like it was hit by a gust of wind. Shortly after, the transmission started whirring and eventually left me stranded on the side of the road after making all kinds of clunking noises and the car bucking when in gear.

Now, I know the transmission needed to be replaced, which given the miles, I wasn't too surprised. Here comes the problem:

I had the transmission replaced and 40 miles later, the same thing happened while driving. The transmission began whirring and eventually couldn't go past 30 miles an hour.

I thought I might have had the poor luck of buying a bad transmission, but luckily it is waranteed. I received another transmission (65K miles on it), replaced the filter, blew out any fluid from the cooler in case it had contaminants in it and had replaced.

This time the transmission went 50 miles before the whirring returned, had no power and when it was being pulled over, both front wheels locked up at about 25 mph. When towed back to my house on a flatbed, they had a hard time getting it off because the front wheels were still locked.

What in the world is wrong with my car???!!?! I'm fairly mechanical, but have never seen this before in my life.
Apr 14, 2008 at 9:32 PM
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MHPAUTOS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 31,937 POSTS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
Hi there,

you say you cleaned the cooler with air.what you may find it the cooler is still blocked up to 70-80 % and the transmission is failing, i would have the cooler flow tested first. as i have had a smiler problem in my business recently.

mark (mhpautos)
Apr 15, 2008 at 12:38 AM
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