traveler286

I have a 2001 Honda Civic LX 4dr automatic. I brought it to AAMCO for transmission service. After rebuilding the transmission which cost me $3,000 (with lifetime warranty), I drove the car for few days but in less than 200 miles the check engine light came on (PO740 on the code reader) with possible torque converter problem. The manager at AAMCO erased the code and told me to come back if the check engine light comes on again since it was a Saturday and they dont do transmission service on that day. After, 2 days I had to call a tow truck because the car wouldnt move anymore and when you put it in any gear, it makes a grinding sound. To make the story short, AAMCO said my driver side axle broke. I told them that they havent said anything about a faulty axle or if it needed replacement when they put the rebuilt transmission. That was another $300 for parts and labor. I then drove the car for 20 miles and when I got home, coolant (green liquid) is on the base of the battery and parts of the engine. AAMCO checked the radiator and said it was holding pressure. Another 30 miles of driving brought the PO740 back again and also coolant was seen on the base of battery and parts of engine so AAMCO has to check the car again. I need advice/opinion on why coolant is leaking and also about the PO740 code. Thanks much.

ezone

The P070 is torque converter slippage.
Their trans job, their warranty, their baby.
Period.
They need to own their problem.

The last trans I dealt with (briefly) that was "rebuilt" by AAMCO looked suspiciously similar to (exactly like) a Jasper reman. It was definitely not the same trans that the car left the factory with. It was a disaster. And a long story.

The axle deal is questionable. I'd want to see all of the evidence before making any more guesses.

The coolant: Is the reservoir overflowing, puking out coolant after a drive?
Head gasket is a strong possibility.
Test drive the search button.

HTH

yogeshsr

$3000 for transmission rebuild ? I think that's too much(depends on where do you live and all but still).
Is your car overheating? how much coolant? is it in the engine oil too?

traveler286

The $3000 was the one with lifetime warranty. I thought about just getting the 12 months/12,000 miles warranty for $2380 but if for some reason I will have transmission problem again after the warranty period, then I will be paying the same amount again. About the coolant, it seems like the reservoir is leaking coolant that is why the green liquid is on the base of battery and probably the fan blows some on the engine. Looks like I will be spending bigtime again for the repairs. Thanks guys.

yogeshsr

I would suggest you to read this thread
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...reference.html

the coolant leak problem fix could be as simple and less expensive as "Faulty radiator cap" or it could be more expensive as blown head gasket. start with the cheap fixes/tests first as mentioned in this thread.

you haven't mentioned anything about overheating...

traveler286

I will do what you said. I didnt have any overheating yet. If it was the head gasket going bad, it might still be on the early stage. I will buy a radiator cap from Honda once I get my car from AAMCO and start from there. I appreciate all the info that you guys put in.

cja3455

Also check for tranny fluid mixing with coolant that cause the overflow, probably that caused your tranny to brake in the first place and to brake again
As for the torque converter, it is their responsability and they have to fix it free with the lifetime warranty, you can always go to the bbb if they don,t honor their warranty

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like they ****ed something up. I doubt you had a broken axle, sounds more along the lines of a torque converter problem. Did they replace the torque converter while the tranny was out, or only internal tranny work?

I am pretty sure its a good idea to put a new torque conveter on as insurance whenever your doing major tranny work like that.

traveler286

I think they did f...d something up. I told the manager that they should have told me about the axle when they installed the rebuilt tranny. About the torque converter, I think they just put a remanufactured one. At least that what it says on the paper they gave me. Based on my observation, it's just coolant that was on the base of my battery. The rest was probably blown by the fan on the engine. I could be wrong since I am not a mechanic. Thanks for all the advise/comments. Feel free to write info on this thread, it means a lot to me to get valuable information.

traveler286

I finally got my car from AAMCO. I replaced the radiator cap and drove the car for 50 miles and I didnt see any leak anymore. I just hope problem is solved. The only thing I noticed is that AAMCO dented the frame underneath the rear driver side and scraped some paint. They probably or I should say obviously were not careful when they put the car on the lifter. Anyway, it's not that visible unless you look underneath the car. I bought coolant (50/50) from the Honda dealership and I will probably do a radiator fluid flush this weekend. Thanks again for everybody who contributed on this thread and for those who read it.

yogeshsr

good to know that the problem is fixed. when you flush the radiator and refill, make sure you do not overfill. fill till up to the neck of the radiator and to the "max" mark of the reservoir.
technically overfilling coolant should not cause any problems(i think) but in my case, that put too much of pressure on the rubber tube that connects to the reservoir and coolant started leaking from there, also allowing the air to go in.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Overfilling the overflow tank shouldnt cause any problems. Unless of course it overflows when the engine cools down and makes a mess.

Either way not reccomended lol

Fill it to Min if the car is hot and max if the car is cold.

ezone

It's the other way around. Max hot/min cold.
And no matter what, there should still be plenty of room in the reservoir above the max line for normal expansion even if it started at max /cold.

Overfilling the reservoir cold can make it overflow as the engine gets warmed up, due to normal expansion of the liquid.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Ah yea, your right. The fluid expands, my mistake.