2001 Civic LX Auto SLXA Trans w/ 140K Miles - no regular transmission service.

About a year and a half ago we were heading to the airport. I reversed out of the parking spot and the engine seemed to flare or rev up. I pulled back into the spot and took my other car. About 2 weeks later I took the car around my apartment parking lot multiple tines and felt no issues. I then decided to take it out on the road and about 1 mile later the transmission started slipping / engine revving. I did manage to get into a parking lot where I tried several more times in different gears with no results. Had it towed and it has been sitting ever since.

I have read a lot of the posts about rebuilding the transmission. Tried draining and refilling trans oil with no changes. I was thinking the torque converter because none of the gears were working. I did not see any major leaks, just minor seeping.

I decided to pull transmission(Never done anything like that before, but did it in 5 hours with a lift and proper tools) and found torque converter seal in good shape(did not see any oil in housing area) not sure how to tell if torque converter is bad.

I think I am going to rebuild the transmission, new motor mounts, new control arm bushings. Should I just replace the torque converter or reuse the old one?

If I do get it fixed I will sell it ($3-4K) If I don't fix it I guess I scrap it ($500)

Appreciate any comments.

 

No regular transmission service? Replace the transmission then. Even if you rebuild it... there's really no telling how much damage there has been done to the components that don't get replaced during a rebuild. Even with lesser mileage cars, you should replace the transmission fluid after 6 years of the car's production. That means you should have had the fluid replaced in 2007 (regardless of mileage), at the very latest.

 

Always replace the tourque convertor after replacing/rebuilding the transmision! The convertor will collect up some nasty transfluid. I know a guy who replaced 5 automatic transmisions in a car and was puzzled why they kept failing. What ever failed in your tranny is most likely embeded in the trans fluid and your torque converter is filled with it. Way to hard to clean.

 

Thanks for insight. I have been looking at scrap yards for a used one but have had no luck yet. I get what you are saying about who knows what is bad in an abused transmission but would it be worth opening up and seeing what's bad? I pulled off end cover and found no sludge, metal, or debris. I know this is not the main housing but just asking.

 

Try www.car-part.com to help you locate a transmission. They're by far the best source, when it comes to salvage yards.

Also, you'll want to aim for an '03+ transmission, if possible. They're more "durable" in design.

 

Thanks. I know from reading other threads that bmxa and slxa transmissions from 01-05 are interchangeable but was wondering are lx/dx models from 03-05 are all going to be slxa or bmxa. Reason I ask is the car parts site does not list which it is. Can I assume all base model 03-05 will work with no computer/sensor changes?

 

Considering you have an LX, you'll want to stick with an LX or DX transmission. There's going to be far more problems trying to run an EX transmission.