Possible tranny problems?

apollo4

I have a 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier convertible with 17,000 miles on it. When the car is in Drive and the brake pedal is depressed, the car "lurches" forward. The traction control light also illuminates. Is this just a simple case of having the transmission fluid changed or is this a possible tranny going bad? Any input will be greatly appreciated!

mdwinarski

have tranny slippage?

tropicalmonte

Mine shifts like a champion! Great car so far(90k) however I believe (hope & pray)the roaring/humming noise that has progressively gotton louder over the past few months is a wheel bearing. Which leads me to my inquiry. I carefully shifted to neutral while rolling on highway (no traffic present) and roaring still present. I was told that presence of this noise while in neutral eliminates bad CV joint or Trans as cause? Anyone care to confirm or deny this logic?

alcan

It doesn't sound transaxle related. Start by having the stored diagnostic trouble codes from the abs/traction control processor retrieved with a scan tool and post the DTC numbers.

alcan

Find a smooth, quiet road and try rocking the steering wheel side to side at about 30 mph. If the noise changes it might be a wheel bearing, as they're alternately loaded and unloaded due to weight transfer side to side.

tropicalmonte

Okay thank you very much for the suggestion, but if the sound doesnt change when doing this then what might be some other things to consider given the nature of the symptom (roaring or humming w/slight vibration that escalates/increases as speed increases) 90k miles and the history/problems of the 97 LS Convertible model . Steering and suspension seem to be solid/tight and no problems at all with transmission shifting. The car is "tight" and rides very nicely otherwise i.e. accelerates very quickly (almost too fast) and is geared nicely.

tropicalmonte

Point taken. Sincere thanks.

tropicalmonte

Found a very smooth low traffic road and rocked the steering wheel as suggested however the sound did not vary much, if at all. Decided that it wouldn't hurt to spend the $59.00 for a bearing/hub assy in case after removing the front wheels I find that(bearing)to be the problem. Senior tech at auto parts store said that with front end jacked up, should be able to grasp and wiggle the wheels one at a time to determine if there is slop, focusing on the hub/bearings. Noticed a substantial amount(more than usual) of (brake?) dust on front driver side rim. Humming sound seems predominate on that side. Sure hope this is it.

Mr_Shiftright

I don't think jacking the car on one side, grabbing the tire and wiggling it is a very precise indicator of a problem. How would you know what is acceptable "wiggle", or whether the play is coming from other steering or suspenion components? It's not good advice. You need to bust out the wheel bearing and examine it to know for certain or wait until things get so loud the problem is more easily detectable.

swschrad

aka one with a bunch of pits in it... by putting a mechanics stethoscope on the hub and spinning the tire. check with the others. if one sounds like a big wheel trike on a gravel drive, replace it.

spongenick

I JUST FOUND THIS SITE - PRETTY COOL - ANYWAY - I HAVE A 1996 CAVALIER W/ 200K MILES - REALLY - I HAD BOTH FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS REPLACED @ 75K MILES. JUST FYI ....

mjak

Have a 2002 Chevy truck with the 4.8 V8. The oil pressure stays around 60#. Dealer says this is normal but I was wondering what other owners
oil pressure was running. Thanks for any info.

zueslewis

should be 25-30 at idle, 60-80 on normal driving and acceleration.