I forgot to say in the last post, that I cleared the codes and went for a test drive. The car drives well, shifts smoothly through all 4 gears. I received another check engine light and read the code. The code is P0732, Gear 2 incorrect ratio.

Any ideas? what to do next?

 

I believe all the solenoids are identical, therefore interchangeable. That being the case, you can look up on the internet which solenoids are associated with which gears and clutch packs. I would play a game of controlled musical solenoids. Swap in a known good solenoid from first gear with the solenoid for 2nd gear and reverse. This will allow you to directly test weather the solenoid is the issue or if the problem lies somewhere else, possibly with line pressure or a clutch pack 2nd and reverse. The way in which rivers disappeared just sounds like something wear related, but without a detailed diagnosis using equipment neither of us have, the best you can do on your own is rule out as many things as possible. Hence the musical solenoids game. What bothers me is that 2nd gear and reverse share the same clutch pack but as we discussed liver pressure required to shift into reverse is different. The fact that you get a gear ratio error usually means that the transmission is detecting some type of slippage internally,. Valve body issues masquerade and hide themselves behind These incorrect gear ratio codes. Yes there is always the possibility that the valve body you purchased is defective. Purchasing another is not cheap but if you get it from a different source, you can test that theory. However that call is up to you. I am not a transmission expert by any means but I would say it is either valve body or internal, which includes line pressure issues. Most commercial chain transmission shops will tell you you need a complete rebuild for pretty much anything. If you know of an honest transmission mechanic or someone you know who is familiar with diagnosing Saturn S-Series Transmissions then the $90 you spend on a diagnosis may be worth it. If you take it to any Joe Blow who is not familiar with these Transmissions they will tell you it is internal and needs a complete rebuild. Which gets you no further than you are now and on top of that you are out $90. I know you work in my area. I will be seeing my local mechanic on Tuesday and will ask him if he diags Transmissions or Subs them out. I know he has worked on Saturn s just not in what capacity.

 

Hi Derf, and thanks again for your wise input!
The company I bought the rebuilt valve body from, Ken Partin Transmission Parts, has been sending me literature and manuals to try to help me with this problem. He also has made numerous suggestions about things to test, just as you have done. He said to send him the original valve body and he would test it to see if it was bad or not. I thought that was very nice of him. If it is bad then I will pull the new one out and exchange it for another one.

 

Pretty cool of him

 

First off, I want to sincerely thank everyone that gave me input on my "no reverse" problem. I finally gave up and put a used transmission in the car and voila! It backed up perfectly. I also used the computer from the donor car and installed the rebuilt valve body from Ken Partin. The car drives and shifts GREAT!
Once again I sincerely appreciate all the time and effort expended from the members of this forum to assist me in my tribulations.

David Hollinger

 

We can't solve em all.....we tried

Good to hear you are back up and running

 

Congratulations on the repair, David. Happy to hear you're back on the road.

 

A January 2020 23mm socket discovery.

Found a deep well "Craftsman" 23mm (12 point 1/2 inch drive) at Lowes that should work
without it being ground (doctored) to fit the main shaft opening.

By my calipers it measure 30.45 - 30.47mm in diameter.

Length from top to bottom is 82.75.

The part number on the plastic tag and stamped on the socket is:
CMMT12093. $8.00.

The bar code on the plastic tag shows:
85911 58903.

The funny was the Lowes/Craftsman std/shallow 23mm socket. Both samples in
the "Craftsman Socket Drawer" were over 30.48mm.

 

Thank you for the info, sir!