No one wants to go to their mechanic and hear that they need to have their transmission rebuilt. This is made even worse when it is something that you thought would be a minor fix, but the unfortunate reality is that automatic transmissions simply are not as resilient as manuals. A manual transmission is a set of gears controlled by the driver with synchros to keep the gears from grinding. An automatic, on the other hand, relies on complex fluid channel systems, check balls and fluid pressure, so if anything goes wrong on an automatic, it can affect the entire transmission. When you have these issues, it is often best to rebuild the transmission, rather than trying to repair a single seal or gasket. The cost is not always that much more, and you will be getting a much more reliable transmission.
Hesitation from a Stop
If your vehicle does not go into gear when you are stopped, or if it lurches forward then this could be a sign of imminent failure. It is rare that a transmission, or any of its gears, will go out all at once. Instead, there are usually some pretty easy to spot warning signs. This is one of the ones that you should be most aware of.
Skipping Gears
While this does not always necessitate a rebuild, there are often times when a vehicle skipping gears is a sign of wither trash in your fluid passages, or the gear set is going out. In either of these, repairs are needed. If you catch trash in your system soon enough, then a repair can be prevented, but continued use will damage your transmission.
Metal in your Fluid
If you check your transmission fluid and notice large pieces of metal, then chances are your friction plates have been worn to nothing but steel and are grinding. This can often coincide with a screeching or grinding noise. If this is the case, then you must rebuild the transmission. Some small pieces are normal, but large chunks or a large amount of shavings is a bad sign.
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