Expert: William Forster - 3/20/2007

Question
Before i bought this car, the woman who owned it filled the oil to the top and theyve had problems ever since.  It "slips", stalls time to time.  What do you think is wrong with it if she did that?

Answer
Hello Becky! I'm a body tech, not a mechanic. try the mechanical experts, but since you are here, I'll try to help. In my opinion, over filling the oil won't cause tranny slipping, or stalling. I'm sure it was caught before anything could really happen, because oil would go everywhere, or the engine would slowly hydro lock due to cylinders filled with oil. The trans is probably just about to have a catastrophic failure, the stalling could be as simple as it just needs a complete tune up, including plug wires, cap, rotor, and plugs. I would go to a reputable transmission shop, and get their opinion on the trans. I would carefully weigh my options before I dumped 1500.00 into a rebuilt tranny on this car, it has a book value of about a thousand bucks. Caveat empitor, may the buyer beware. Good luck, Becky. I hope things turn out better than I personally think they will. Bill