engine won't turn. could the a/t cause this?

[kayleesdad]

hi everyone,

My daughter's 2001 MS appears to have suffered a major issue.  We thought it was starting to have transmission overheating problems as it was having rough shifting issues when driving long distances (over 100 miles) in warm weather.  Two weekends ago, she was driving to her mother's and got about 100 miles from home then when exiting the Interstate, the MS wouldn't budge after she came to a stop at the top of the off-ramp.  The engine would rev but wouldn't move forward.  After about 10 minutes of sitting there, she started it and was able to get it off the road.  It needed a few more revs before it started moving, so we suspected that the trans was slipping.  Checked the trans fluid again and it was still showing full and clear.  

I got there and drove it around town a little bit and about 6 hours later, after it got dark, we decided to try and drive it back home.  My wife drove it and I followed in another truck.  It appeared to run normally until we got to the top of the one pass about midway between home and where it faltered.  It's a 9600' high pass, so about a 3000' gain.  Just before the top, it felt like it was losing power or slipping, and needed more revs to maintain speed.  My wife kept pushing it, since the top was within sight, but then it started making a loud, howling sound and wasn't making much progress so she pulled over.  We tried letting it cool for about 20 minutes at about 10 degrees outside temp.

When we tried to start it, it wouldn't turn over; we just heard what sounded like the starter engaging but nothing else.  Tried jumping it with my pickup, in case it was just a low battery, but same result.  We trailered it home the next day and it's in the garage now, but nothing has changed.  Could the transmission have failed in a way that would prevent the crankshaft from turning?  Is there any easy way to narrow down the cause, seems like the only way to rule out the transmission would be to pull it.  Thanks for your help!

[Naeos_Valkarian]

Jan 5, 2020 22:27:23 GMT -5 kayleesdad said:

hi everyone,

My daughter's 2001 MS appears to have suffered a major issue.  We thought it was starting to have transmission overheating problems as it was having rough shifting issues when driving long distances (over 100 miles) in warm weather.  Two weekends ago, she was driving to her mother's and got about 100 miles from home then when exiting the Interstate, the MS wouldn't budge after she came to a stop at the top of the off-ramp.  The engine would rev but wouldn't move forward.  After about 10 minutes of sitting there, she started it and was able to get it off the road.  It needed a few more revs before it started moving, so we suspected that the trans was slipping.  Checked the trans fluid again and it was still showing full and clear.  

I got there and drove it around town a little bit and about 6 hours later, after it got dark, we decided to try and drive it back home.  My wife drove it and I followed in another truck.  It appeared to run normally until we got to the top of the one pass about midway between home and where it faltered.  It's a 9600' high pass, so about a 3000' gain.  Just before the top, it felt like it was losing power or slipping, and needed more revs to maintain speed.  My wife kept pushing it, since the top was within sight, but then it started making a loud, howling sound and wasn't making much progress so she pulled over.  We tried letting it cool for about 20 minutes at about 10 degrees outside temp.

When we tried to start it, it wouldn't turn over; we just heard what sounded like the starter engaging but nothing else.  Tried jumping it with my pickup, in case it was just a low battery, but same result.  We trailered it home the next day and it's in the garage now, but nothing has changed.  Could the transmission have failed in a way that would prevent the crankshaft from turning?  Is there any easy way to narrow down the cause, seems like the only way to rule out the transmission would be to pull it.  Thanks for your help!

I don't have a lot of experience with transmissions but I can say that the issue you're having sounds a lot like the ECM is preventing the car from staring because it's in gear. I know on my 98 if I try to start it with it in any gear (Low, 2nd, Drive, or Reverse) it won't start at all. So to this effect, the ECM may realize it's stuck in gear and is preventing the engine from starting to avoid damage.

Try jacking up the rear end and see if you can rotate the driveshaft by hand, if not then something is locked up somewhere. (EX. May be stuck in gear)

Edit: Assuming you have a RWD monty. If you have an 4WD/AWD variant, disengage 4WD/AWD. Otherwise it won't rotate as the front wheels will be touching the ground.

[kayleesdad]

I don't have much experience with transmissions, either. The rear wheels spin when it's put in neutral, and I hear a sound when I try to start it so I think that means it's trying to engage the starter. That would eliminate the ECM, I'd guess.

Thinking about it, it would have to be the torque converter or engine that's frozen as the converter's job is to couple/decouple the . I think some transmissions have a plate that can be removed to view or access the torque converter; I looked but I don't see one on the MS, did I miss it?

[jkdv8]

Does it have SPIII fluid in it. 2000 and up are picky when it comes to transmission fluid. Could be in limp mode as well. I did I write up on here about checking for transmission fault codes. Might be worth looking into to see if it’s throwing any.

[kayleesdad]

a mechanic came over and looked at it. appears to be some small filings in the oil and we weren't able to turn it with a 2 1/2 foot breaker bar and pushing with our feet. so...sounds like a main bearing or 2 bit the big one. thanks for all of the help and suggestions!