hi, i am a old new user, couldnt figure out my log in. i have a 90 eldorado with 140,000 miles. last winter i was driving it and i lost all gears, i had nothing! so i pulled over and shut it off, tried again a few minutes later and i though it was going, 30 seconds later the same thing happened. long story short i got her home and parked her till 2 weeks ago when i dropped the pan. keep in mind before all of this she shifted just fine with no issues at all. when i dropped the pan i descovered what looked to be ground up brittle looking plastic?? maybe clutches?? i bought the car with 89000 so i know the tranny has at least 50k on her. is it possible that the torque converter is bad? i can get a reman trany for 997 plus tax or i have a guy that has one with 18k after rebuild but he can not find the metal tag on it which brings me to another question. the tranny shop told me there were more then 1 tranny that came factory on the car, is that true? what are the chances this used one is the correct one? he also has teh computer so if i swap computers would i be ok? he wants 500 plus shipping of 125 so i would save about 400 from the cost of a new one. i am also not sure that the new one includes the torque converter, the used one has a new one included. any suggestions or advice?? thanks, Joshua

Buy the rebuilt as well as a torque converter. The $400 is well spent unless you want to deal with 1. the used is a wrong one 2. used one is faulty 3 months from now with no warranty protection and you deal with it again!!

Hello Carnut

The OPs question leads me to askif you've seen this type failure as being common around this mileage? Reason I ask: I've finally got the money together to cure my engine oil-leak problem. A 'car guy' and new friend, who has had some mid-80s FWD Cadillacs, tells me these transmissions are prone to failure after 90K miles, no matter how well maintained. My '87 DeVille is about to hit 95K, so now I'm wondering if I should put off the leak fix until more money finds it's way into my account?
I value your opinion/experience and will appreciate your advice.

Thanks!

mine took till 140,000 to give out....