Hey there gang,

I haven't been on for a while because I've been in the process of moving back to the states. I'm in the middle of a drive from Jackson, WY to Mammoth Lakes, CA and my 1990 Montero V6 Automatic just crapped out in Battle Mountain, NV. There's only one mechanic in town and he admits that he doesn't really know what to do with it. I'd love your help in trying to figure this out a bit more before I pay for a $200 tow to the next bigger town.

Ok, yesterday morning I got a full checkup (everything ok)in Jackson and then drove 700 miles to Battle Mountain. On the way I stopped in City of Rocks, Idaho and did some offroading but I took it very easy the whole time. I camped last night and drove 15 miles into town for breakfast, with no apparent problems. I got back into my car after breakfast and started to drive down the road and the transmission instantly began to slip. The slipping was pretty smooth with very little jerking. I took it to a mechanic but he's not sure if it's something small or I need a whole new tranny.

Here's the facts:
1. I didn't drive it more than 1/2 a mile after it started slipping.
2. If I put it into park and then back into drive it doesn't help.
3. However, if I turn the car off completely and then turn it back on. the transmission grabs well and then starts to slip only after 30 seconds or so (at very slow speed.)
4. My dad mentioned to me today that when he got it inspected for me this summer the mechanic said the shift linkage was loose.
5. I never smelled any burning at any time.
6. There were no problems thru 700 miles but then suddenly this morning it acted up.
7. The mechanic here checked out the tranny fluid and said it looked pretty bad and smelled burned up. It's a little darker than it was before but I thought it smelled pretty much the same as it always has. Fluid level is good and there's no leaking
8. I called a bunch of places in nearby Winnemucca (70 miles away) and they all said that it could be a clogged tranny fluid filter (I've only had the car for the last 30,000 miles and don't know the history of the tranny fluid.)

So for now I'm going to get a full tranny service, hoping that there might just be a serious clog inside. This will also give me a chance to look at the debris that may be floating around inside and will tell me once and for all if I need a whole new tranny.
Does this sound reasonable? Am I missing something critical? What about that loose shift linkage? Could that be causing this?
Anyways, options for tranny replacement are extremely slim out here in the middle of the desert. The mechanic was talking about taking mine out, sending it away to be rebuilt and then reinstalling it:: it would take 5 to 7 days and would cost $1500 to $1800 PLUS labor (plus a motel room for me).
I would greatly appreciate any help and advice, first on the potential source of the problem, and secondly on options for a new or rebuilt tranny. In the meantime, I'll try to search the database to see what's been said before.

Thanks for your help everyone.
Matt
(in case you're nearby, my phone number is 240-994-1110.)

Stick with your plan of removing the filter/screen and see if it's clogged full of fibers from a clutch pack. Use ONLY Mitsubishi's special ATF if you can get your hands on some, other wise use Dexron to just get you home until you can drain the trans and refill it with the ATF+ stuff from Mitsu. I and others swear by it for our Monty autos.
As for linkage issues, it should be REAL apparant if the linkage is off or out of adjustment once someone is under the truck and has made sure that the shift is fully in PARK upstairs inside the truck.
Does the overheat light for the trans work? Have you ever seen it come on while driving? If the bulb or temp switch is out, you may have been running hot in the trans for some time and didn't know it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />. Good Luck, let us know what you find out.

What houston said. Good luck!

Thanks alot for the advice. I can't see much right now because of all the underside armor but tomorrow we'll start takin it off and seeing what the heck is going on. I'll start with the linkage, then go for a ATF and filter change and check the amount of debris in the old fluid.
As for the tranny temp light, nothing has come on recently. I even got a little ATF on my hand when I was checking it and it wasn't enough to burn me at all (I didn't even notice.) All the lights seem to come on when they need them to though the seatbelt light and the e-brake light are stuck on.
Thanks again for the help; I'll let you know what happens.
Any more advice out there???
-Matt

For the Ebrake light check your brake fluid level. Probably a little low.

For the tranny, hopefully changing the fluid will solve this. What did you use to fill it previously? Did you have it serviced and the place the did the work put more fluid into it? They may have used the wrong kind of fluid.

If all else fails you can probably pick up a used tranny from MSRecycling.com, car-part.com, or from a yard in Reno and swap it in. The tranny's are pretty rock solid as long as you don't let them overheat.

Ray

Unless the fluid is completely out, your transmission is dead. If the filter is dirty, its too late. Like Ray said you could get a junk yard unit, but it will probably have 300,000 miles and be ready to blow also. Better to do a rebuild, and let me tell you, I know what a headache that is when you are out of town....it happened to me also <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I don't know about that. Tranny's are usually the last thing to break on these rigs so chances are, what's in the yard will have a blown engine or will be an accident victim.

Thanks again,

I've never had the tranny serviced in this thing because I haven't had it too long. Of course, it was on my list of things to do.
We tore it down this morning and it looks like we're looking at a rebuild. The quote from these guys for a rebuild of my tranny is $1600-$1800 and a week of waiting, which means I'll have to get a motel for a week ($42 x 6 = 252.) I'm going to do an internet search and see what I can come up with.
My uncle said there's one on ebay which I'll look at.
I'll also check out certifiedtransmissions.com, msrrecycling.com, and carpart.com.
thanks for your help and keep the good advice comin.
Matt

Houston,
Do you happen to have a part number for that Mitsubishi ATF?