I had a starter put in this past weekend after sitting for 2 months. While I was deployed (for a year) my brother drove my 01 SS and blew the tranny. He had one replaced at a shop (who i assume bought a used one at a yard).

Symptoms,
1. when the car is cold, once i put into gear, sometimes it takes a second to actually move. I may have to rev it up a little before it slams into gear.
2. under heavy acceleration it changes from 1st to 2nd pretty hard. as well as 2nd to 3rd. and I'm sure it takes longer than it suppose to take.
3. under moderate acceleration it shifts smoothly. however it still stay in the gears longer than I remember before the tranny was installed.

The mechanic that put the starter in said that the wrong tranny was installed. And that I may need a BCM that matches the tranny to get the proper gear ratio.

My questions are I guess,
1. how do i find out if its the wrong tranny?
2. Could the BCM be the cause of the gear ratio being off?
3. Could I get a BCM and have the dealer reprogram one or should i have my reprogrammed? I saw in the search that a BCM had to be programmed to the vehicles vin #.

Please enlighten me on this.. Thanks

 

I don't know much about swapping different types of trannies into these cars. But, reading symptom #1 reminds me of what my folks had with a '00 Grand Am. When it was cold (as in freezing temps), the trans would not engage (you'd put it in gear, hit the gas and go no where but it would rev up). My dad took it to a reputable trans shop (expecting a rebuild). The guy said this was a common issue (I believe he said the fluid was gel-ing or becoming sludgy). The shop did some combo of flushing the trans and swapping the filter. That was a couple of years ago, zero trans problems since (so for how little my folks paid for it was well worth what this reputable shop did).

Not sure if it applies to the car you're working with. Did the trans on the car come from another 2000-2005 W-Body with a 3800? If so it should be fine (again, my knowledge is limited).

 

Im not sure is the tranny was from another 3800. I have no knowledge of the trans that was put in. I just know that it was replaced about 4k miles ago. Is there any markings on the trans to tell what year/model/or make it originated from that i can check?

 

Hi
Thank you for your service and you are a lucky man to have come home in one piece. There should be stampings on the tranny that if you go to the dealer and show them they can tell you if that is the right one. or go to a good tranny shop or were your brother took it to get fixed and have it varafied it is the right one or not Good luck

 

Some trannies have the model stamped on the transmission pan. Outside of that, I could not tell you.
In all honesty, if it was swapped less then 4K ago, it may be best to take it to the shop that did the work. If they sourced the transmission they may have some warranty on the services rendered.

 

The 3800s share a bellhousing with all the 60* V6s. So the main way would be either the stamp on the transmission (I am unaware where this stamp would be located) or by the transmission pan shape. I know all the RWD transmissions have different shaped pans, and I'm guessing the FWD ones are likely the same way. I don't know the FWD transmissions enough to tell the difference though.

 

If it's any help, the ID number for the transaxle is on a plate riveted to the right rear corner of the housing.

 

RWD transmissions sit completely different from FWD transmissions (as they strech to the back and FWD trans looks like it sits under the motor).

This becomes a pain to determine. It's also possible the trans might be the right part/model but the gears and such inside it could be the issue. Again, I lean on contacting the shop that did the service, see if they can assist or resolve. With about 4K miles on it, I think a reputable shop would help.

Also, was the trans acting up the moment it came back from the shop?? Or did this issue develop? It could be something completely different going on.