transmission gone at 66K mi. fml, now what?

[krace]

Hello fellow drivers.Call me stupid, but I took my car to a bit of dirt road driving in the mountains near Santa Cruz. Wasn't supposed to be much, maybe 30 miles, and certainly I didn't expect anything like the topic title says as a result -- but here I am, with at least a low gear clutch gone on my automatic transmission on a 2005 Vibe with just over 66K miles on it. The car won't drive for more than a dozen yards forward, won't even start moving in reverse, and I'm fairly confident the clutch is to blame (haven't towed it to a shop yet).Advice from the community requested:- any reasons why I might be wrong blaming the clutch?- what kind of financial damage am I looking at?- should I have my tranny rebuilt, or just screw it and get a new one ("new one" will most likely be a used one from some junk yard), from reliability perspective? from financial perspective?- does anyone know (and can recommend) a good shop within reasonable (AAA) towing distance from Carmel, CA?- can anyone recommend a junkyard within the same area, or maybe a website where I could shop for the replacement tranny?- while doing my own research, I found a website that quotes used trannies in the range from $400 to a grand. How realistic is the lower part of the spectrum?Any advice based on experience is greatly appreciated. Help me keep my baby on the road! Thanks!

[star_deceiver]

I'm under the impression that the fluid level is where it should be (as a really low/empty fluid level would cause the torque converter to not transmit power).

[krace]

star_deceiver, I don't think it's fluid levels, 'cause I've had everything topped off just a couple of weeks before, and I checked the tranny fluid level there and then (on a hot engine), and the level looked fine. I also checked under the car looking for obvious signs of leaks, and there were none.

[star_deceiver]

Call some transmission shops in your area and ask them about prices, rebuild vs used.

[jake75]

So how does 30 miles of dirt road driving ruin a transmission?

[star_deceiver]

Unless something punctured the pan and the tranny ran dry, I'd say it was it's time.

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by krace »Hello fellow drivers.Call me stupid, but I took my car to a bit of dirt road driving in the mountains near Santa Cruz. Wasn't supposed to be much, maybe 30 miles, and certainly I didn't expect anything like the topic title says as a result -- but here I am, with at least a low gear clutch gone on my automatic transmission on a 2005 Vibe with just over 66K miles on it. The car won't drive for more than a dozen yards forward, won't even start moving in reverse, and I'm fairly confident the clutch is to blame (haven't towed it to a shop yet). can.Advice from the community requested:- any reasons why I might be wrong blaming the clutch?- what kind of financial damage am I looking at?- should I have my tranny rebuilt, or just screw it and get a new one ("new one" will most likely be a used one from some junk yard), from reliability perspective? from financial perspective?- does anyone know (and can recommend) a good shop within reasonable (AAA) towing distance from Carmel, CA?- can anyone recommend a junkyard within the same area, or maybe a website where I could shop for the replacement tranny?- while doing my own research, I found a website that quotes used trannies in the range from $400 to a grand. How realistic is the lower part of the spectrum?Any advice based on experience is greatly appreciated. Help me keep my baby on the road! Thanks!Sorry to say but driving on a dirt road will NOT ruin your transmission. Do you mean dirt road or off roading?Please tell us the rest of the story. Were you racing along at breakneck speeds, front wheels leaving the ground and plunging back to earth at full speed? Roaring around corners? Getting stuck and rocking the car and various other extreme abuse situations? Bottoming out on rocks and hard pan?There is something seriously wrong about your post of driving on a dirt road and now my transmission is trash.I've driven on dirt roads for decades, they will NOT ruin your transmission. Driving off road like an ATV or driving like a rebellious teen can do the deed however.Color me suspicious,Dave

[krace]

djkeev, valid questions.there was no irresponsible driving involved -- to my (35 y.o. guy's) judgment, knowamsayin' but the road was pretty harsh -- not too bumpy (not enough to kill the pan hitting the rocks underneath, which i was careful about anyway), but occasionally soft and very steep, so the car was definitely using a lot of torque (hence my suspicion that it's the clutch).if you're curious, here's a maps link, check out the terrain in question:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=...&z=13 -- Forest Route 18S02 & Tassajara Rdand of course, could've just been a sh tty transmission.

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by krace »djkeev, valid questions.there was no irresponsible driving involved -- to my (35 y.o. guy's) judgment, knowamsayin' but the road was pretty harsh -- not too bumpy (not enough to kill the pan hitting the rocks underneath, which i was careful about anyway), but occasionally soft and very steep, so the car was definitely using a lot of torque (hence my suspicion that it's the clutch).if you're curious, here's a maps link, check out the terrain in question:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=...&z=13 -- Forest Route 18S02 & Tassajara Rdand of course, could've just been a sh tty transmission.Ok, honest enough answers, thanks, sorry for the suspicions. Did you pull the dipstick? What is the visual color of the trans oil and the smell of the oil. Good Oil is a bright red color and smells almost sweet.Bad oil is BLACK and smells of a harsh acid burnt smell that can send chills down your spine.If it is black and burnt, you could try to change the oil, drop the pan and filter to get all out that you can, and refill with T4 toyota oil. Use theirs, don't go experimenting with one size fits all crap.IF it works, run it for a few hundred miles and change it again, do this again. After about 4 times of this you'll have come close to a complete change of oil being done. If this works jump up and down and praise God. You are lucky and He has smiled favorably upon you!If it doesn't work, shop for a used one or price out a rebuild. I imagine from what you say that you essentially pulled an overloaded trailer for an extended time period with the transmission overheating. That will kill an auto trans in no time flat.Clutches out? Yeah, probably. But the clutches going out hot burned the drums and pack assemblies, the contaminants got into the valve body and hydraulic pistons and you've got a major mess. Even the oil cooler is full of crap and MUST be cleaned / replaced when repairs are made. Don't overlook this, failing to do so will take a good trans and kill it quickly.Let us know what you find.Dave