Chevy s10

1 year ago the master seals were replaced. Mechanic said it might still leak for a few days/weeks. If it does bring it back and we’ll fix it. Still leaked, brought it back. They called said done come get it. On the way home it started to smoke and transmission fuel was flying all over the highway. Called them they came and towed it back. Called next morning said they forgot to put the plug back in transmission, did so and refilled transmission fluid. Within 2 days or so power was lost. you could put in drive or reverse and it reve up but no acceleration. I took it back and they said it needed a new engine.



At this point I took it to Chevy dealership and they tested and said new engine.



Put the new engine in. It seemed to be okay for a very short time and yet it still reves high before acceleration and at other times revs high no acceleration.



So what’s the problem?

Something is odd about the post. If they forgot to put the tranny plug back in, why is everyone saying you need a new engine?

You clearly have a tranny problem. And the shop that forgot to put the plug back in was liable.

Was there something also wrong with the engine?

No there were no engine problems before. We think they (Firestone)forgot to put oil in the engine before they took it out for test drive, but of course we can’t prove anything.

The thing with the reving and acceleration, it acts differently in different kinds of weather.

My husband says it wasn’t a plug they forgot, but a clip from the tranny to the radiator. They said it was a part of the system for cooling the the transmission fluid.

It sounds to me like you have a tranny problem and not an engine problem. Or, it could be related…you could have a vacuum leak in the modulator line as well as a tranny problem.

Sorry, but I think you need a new shop to look at it.

But I’m still puzzled about the engine. How exactly did the engine fail?

The engine never did fail, but it was knocking as we left the dealership. Firestone and Chevy Dealership said main bearings were burned out as we recall Which supports our theory that they (Firestone) test drove it without putting oil in it.

We did take it elsewhere for the engine replacement and we told them about the recent problems and he said could be something about a temperature sensor or something like that. It has been a year ago that this took place and memory is starting to get foggy.

I just can’t help with these type of posts and I have worked on hundreds of S10’s.

Thanks so much. You’ve been more helpful than you know.

You’re welcome.

At this point the engine has been changed and you’re back to having only a tranny problem. The engine revving without accelerating the vehicle when in gear is clearly the tranny. No way it’s the engine. If the engine revs and does not bring the car with it, the two are not properly connecting.

Yes, it could have been the result of their not properly connecting the tranny cooling line to the tranny cooler (radiator). That would allow the tranny to overheat and cause damage with exactly the symptoms you describe.

As to the engine and the oil, without examining the crank and bearings or verifying that the engine was dry of oil it’s impossible to positively tie the bearing knock to the theory, as you’ve indicated you already realize, but a shop this sloppy could in fact have left the engine dry and caused the engine damage. One suggestion I can offer is to tell everyone you every meet about what the shop did to the tranny and your suspicions about the oil so that at least you might save one person from a similar experience.

I’m sorry to hear the story and wish I could do more, but all I can suggest is to have the tranny evaluated at a good reputable tranny shop.