Return of the Buick Regal 95'

Heya,

If any of you remember I'm the guy that destroyed his engine cradle
last time I was here. Now at this point its a milage problem. It seems
my transmission on my 3.8L 95' Buick Regal (Custom) is or has gone. It
all happened when I was driving my girl friend home last night

I was going down a main road and the speed limit is about 50. I was
getting on the accelerator to get it up to speed. It went through 1st
gear, then 2nd, then when it tried to go to third it fell out of gear
and the engine relined for a second until I realized what happened...

So I coasted to a red light then put in park then shifted it into
drive again. It made it up to about 30 and went on momentum up 40
while my car jumped to redline again. I pulled it into a gas station
and heard this clacking noise from inbetween the engine block and the
windsheild side of the engine bay. I learned that the more I
acclerated the fasted the clacking noise got until it just fell out of
gear. I drove it home and pulled it into my driveway tried to shift it
into reverse and reverse would not even grab so I just put it in
neutral and let it roll down.

That the end of my story I geuss. I just want a few suggestions on
what to do and if it even worth keeping. For anything I've taken
wonderful care of the engine and it has a good life ahead of it seeing
as I follow my oil changes and it is the 3800 after all.

Thanks a ton all,

Joe W.

<jrw1989 DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1175438729.147420.81870@q75g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> Heya,
>
> If any of you remember I'm the guy that destroyed his engine cradle
> last time I was here. Now at this point its a milage problem. It seems
> my transmission on my 3.8L 95' Buick Regal (Custom) is or has gone. It
> all happened when I was driving my girl friend home last night
>
> I was going down a main road and the speed limit is about 50. I was
> getting on the accelerator to get it up to speed. It went through 1st
> gear, then 2nd, then when it tried to go to third it fell out of gear
> and the engine relined for a second until I realized what happened...
>
> So I coasted to a red light then put in park then shifted it into
> drive again. It made it up to about 30 and went on momentum up 40
> while my car jumped to redline again. I pulled it into a gas station
> and heard this clacking noise from inbetween the engine block and the
> windsheild side of the engine bay. I learned that the more I
> acclerated the fasted the clacking noise got until it just fell out of
> gear. I drove it home and pulled it into my driveway tried to shift it
> into reverse and reverse would not even grab so I just put it in
> neutral and let it roll down.
>
> That the end of my story I geuss. I just want a few suggestions on
> what to do and if it even worth keeping. For anything I've taken
> wonderful care of the engine and it has a good life ahead of it seeing
> as I follow my oil changes and it is the 3800 after all.
>
> Thanks a ton all,

As to whether the car is worth keeping, that is totally up to you. If I were
you, I would price out getting the trans fixed, and go from there. I had a
transmission go in a '91 Bonneville. It had the 3.8L as well. I paid around
$500 (Canadian) for a used transmission, and installation. It was at a
trusted scrap yard. The transmission ran like a champ for the rest of the
time I owned the car. As for your Regal, like I said, it depends on what
it's going to cost, the condition of the rest of the car, and how much you
like it. Like you said, the 3800's are virtually bullet-proof, so it's up to
the rest of the car. If the KM's are low, and it's in good shape, it may be
worth repairing the transmission. That's a call only you can make.