Hit a pot hole and transmission failed completely - what could cause that? (F150, vehicles)

[Creamer1]

Were you driving a Ford?

[easy62]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

Depends on the car. Some cars do capture the driveshaft. I snapped a front U-joint on an AWD Infiniti at 80MPH and the shaft was captured so it never touched the ground....it just flopped around and broke a bunch of other stuff.


Anyway, for the OP, I would imagine the impact jarred something loose inside the trans that could have failed with a combination of being under load plus the impact. That had to be one hell of a bump, but regardless the trans shouldn't have just done that. How many miles were on it? Is the car worth a $2200 rebuild?

I wouldn't hold my breath on getting the city to pay for your trans. I had a hard enough time proving a HUGE pothole destroyed my rim/tire even with photos of the mangled wheel 10 feet from the pothole. I would think transmission failure would be harder to prove as your tires/suspension are still fine (I assume). Even I would have a hard enough time believing that if I wasn't reading this thread. My first reaction would be to say the transmission was on it's way out and failure was inevitable.

Cv joint on a front axle is different than a rwd with a long drive shaft unless it’s a dual shaft that has a center support if you break a u joint the drive shaft will hang down especially if it’s the rear joint.

[Creamer1]

Man, they build these Infinitis and Nissans like garbage huh?

[Hemlock140]

This could have been a very rare coincidence, your transmission just happened to fail (wear out) right after the pothole. I have had them go out anywhere between 93,000 and 130,000 miles. Your cost of $2,200 would be a bargain, I have paid $2,500-$3,400 and those were all several years ago. Mike is right, it will be really hard to prove that the pothole caused it, especially since you have 180,000 miles on it.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by easy62

Cv joint on a front axle is different than a rwd with a long drive shaft unless it’s a dual shaft that has a center support if you break a u joint the drive shaft will hang down especially if it’s the rear joint.

Those cars have a RWD-baised AWD system, so the engine and trans are mounted like a RWD truck with a transfer case at the rear of the transmission. There is another driveshaft going from mid-vehicle up to the front differential. If it fails, the engine cradle and trans mount capture it. Actually makes replacing the shaft a PITA. Pretty common for that front universal on the driveshaft to fail right at the front diff on higher mileage (150K-200k) G35x's. Unfortunately when they go at speed, they usually crack the snout of the differential as well which requires pulling the engine to swap out.

But yeah....I had a friend 'pole-vault' his 90's bronco back in the day when the front universal let go and caught something in the road. It mostly just collapsed the shaft and damaged the axle vs actually flipping the car.

Originally Posted by Creamer1

Man, they build these Infinitis and Nissans like garbage huh?

Well it had over 200K miles on it when it failed. Up til then, just fluid changes, routine maintenance stuff, and one wheel bearing. Probably the most reliable, maintenance free car I've owned to date.

[tickyul]

Did you get under the vehicle and take a look..............bet you will see what the problem is.

[Roboteer]

One possibility is, the linkage from the shift lever to the tranny, broke or popped off. With that many miles on the truck, it's got some wear on it, and isn't as secure as it once was. One good hard hit, and boing.

[MrGompers]

I would look for a used tranny first. Try this site Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market


If you can find a used tranny install would be minimum of $500 IMO.



A lot of shops won't install used parts, but you never know unless you ask.



If you're lucky a scrap yard in your area might also install parts.

[Disgustedman]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Hi Friends,

I hit a bad pothole today and immediately, it was like I was in Neutral. The pot hole was bad enough to rattle my teeth and it really jolted the truck. Pressing the gas pedal just revved the engine, but I couldn't engage any gears.

Was able to coast over to the side of the road. Absolutely no gears would engage, no drive options and no reverse. I could push it over to the side of the road. So, basically, the truck just acts like it's in neutral. Started up fine, could rev the engine - just couldn't engage any gears at all.

Was able to call AAA and get it towed to my mechanic, who will check it out tomorrow. But, I thought I'd ask you all what you think it could be.

The only upside to this, is that I did learn that I can file a claim with the city and could possibly get reimbursed for the costs. We'll see.

Would appreciate your opinions. Thanks.

Oh, the vehicle is a rear wheel drive 93 Nissan pickup, automatic. 180K miles.

Had a 1970 Ford Brougham LTD years ago and hit a similar "Pothole" and it shook the car up and I went home. Afterward I drove it to the dealer, but it would pop out of drive after 4 miles, so I made it but the tranny popped 4 times.

The dealer said I'd busted the transmission housing. They swapped it out for $400......about a year later Mt. St. Helens blew her top and after 6 months, the tranny caught some of that dust and croaked...

Just my incident with "Potholes"

Is it possible you can try to sue or seek costs from the company doing shoddy construction? $2K is still $2K...

[HusBea]

OP. Let's us know if you get money out of the city. I would be shocked if you do. One thing you might check on. Was the trench you hit being done by city workers or a contractor? If a contractor, you could go to them directly for reimbursement (and they should be insured).