Today I helped Jen (my fiance) get her 1990 Toyota Corolla 4 door DX automatic out of the snow pile the plow truck trapped it in. After spinning the tires and shoveling massive amount of snow, we got it out. Right after she got the car out, the car started having tranny problems. It would stay in first gear and rev till about 30mph before shifting. Then as the day progressed the car did not get out of first gear at all! The car was fine on Saturday which was the last day it was driven. Can a car blow a transmission in a heartbeat just like that? I checked the transmission fluid while the car was hot and in gear.. it was on the cold position, but it had fluid. The fluid was pink but smelled bad. The car has plenty of engine oil and I could not see any leaks underneath. The car has almost 160,000 miles and the transmission was replaced at about 100K. Any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

you burnt up a tranny

 

yep. clutches burn when the wheels spin.

 

wooohoo, no burnt transmission!!
well I just finished working on the car. I jacked it up this morning to find a loose exhaust and a piece of wood of substantial size lodged underneath the car. This had popped a hose off and the clamp was lost. I went to Mcgeorge Toyota and picked up the two locking bolts for the exhaust and a new vacuum hose with clamp, total was $9.86. I also added 1/2 a quart of transmission fluid to the car since it was a little low. The car shifts flawlessly again and the engine is sooo quiet like a Toyota should be. I am glad I decided to jack it up and take a peek myself before some tranmission shop ripped her off. Thanks for the tips!