Hi guys,

I'm in a real sticky situation out in the middle of nowhere with a broken down camry.
We had a lot of rain recently and im unsure if driving through one too many puddles caused this but i was driving and suddenly had no more "pull" as if the car was in neutral. The car idles fine in Park and Neutral but all i get in Drive or reverse is a scratching or slipping of gears.
Its a 1997 220Si Automatic. I managed to get hold of auto trans fluid which i added but to no effect.

Thx in advance

 

What does it do when you shift through the gears while your foot is on the brake?
LIke move the gear selector from park to reverse to neutral to drive, etc? Do they engage?

 

nope. All i get when attemptimg drive or reverse is that gears "slipping" or "scratching" sound. Same sound you get with a manual when clutch is not pressed down properly - hope that describes it well enough...

Note that the sound happens the moment the gear lever goes into drive or reverse, without attemting to press the accelerator, while foot is still on brake.

With my limited knowledge it feels as if the gearbox is "disconnected" from the engine... But again, i have no knowledge in this area.

 

Suggest you check out the drive axles in case a CV joint broke. Lift one front tire off the ground and rotate it to check for gear or axle noise.

 

wow - you are good! After 5 days I got it towed and fixed by Toyota. It was the cv joint(s).

Lol. Thats why i expressed the fact that my knowledge is limited... Man i feel stupid....

Thanks for the assistance though!!!!

 

Thank for posting back the fix.

You not stupid if you came here first, LOL!

A caution is if one axle goes the other may be on its way. A worn joint can warn you. Here listen for a clicking or popping noise when making left and right hand 360 degree turns at slow speeds.