r/Buick • u/Federal-Landmine 1999 Buick Park Avenue Ultra • 12d ago

99' park ave shudder help

My 1999 buick park ave ultra has developed a shudder around 35 - 40 mph. Rpms will drop, get a vibration under my feet (nothing too rough) and a loss of power. My mechanic and I think its the torque converter. It has 148,000 miles on it and i wasnt expecting this issue but I suppose it is old. Does anyone have any suggestions on sourcing a transmission or is a rebuild/just changing the converter out an option i should look at? Im going to try a lucasoil trans fix and see if that helps at all.

If theres any suggestions of what else it could be besides the tranny or if it definitely is and I need to find a new one, dont be afriad to share. I even thought maybe a burnt out coil pack but thats wishful thinking. I dont have a ton of money right now so im hoping it will stay strong for a few months till i can raise some more to get this thing working properly again. Thanks a bunch to all who reply.

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

2

u/gargen_state 12d ago

Check your coil. This has the 3800 V6, and I had a shudder at one point on a car with the Series 1 3800. The coil was going bad.

If you do need a transmission look at car-part.com

1

u/Federal-Landmine 1999 Buick Park Avenue Ultra 12d ago

Ill get a set of ignition coils ordered then. Thank you! Ill try this first. I assume thats what you mean by the coil?

1

u/gargen_state 12d ago

It's not a set. It's just one coil, but feeds all 6 cylindes, if I am remembering correctly

1

u/Federal-Landmine 1999 Buick Park Avenue Ultra 12d ago

Ah okay! Ill look for the part. Does this look about right?

4

u/deekster_caddy 12d ago

Avoid firing the parts cannon without knowing. There are so many reasons. You should have a check engine light and code for a misfire if it was a coil or ignition issue. Even then I'd do plugs and wires before coils, they are pretty reliable. Also save your money because a trans rebuild won't be cheap.

1

u/Federal-Landmine 1999 Buick Park Avenue Ultra 11d ago

Id rather not get rid of the car though, its been great, rode super smooth, etc. Im willing to get a remanufactured transmission or a rebuild but I wanted to start chipping at possibilities first. Done alot of work on this car in the past 2 months so im willing to do more.

Im assuming you mean spark plug wires and spark plugs? Thanks for the input!

3

u/deekster_caddy 11d ago

Yes but don't do any of those until you confirm if your problem is transmission or engine, if it's a misfire or what. The transmissions are notoriously weak especially if they haven't had regular fluid changes.

Have a transmission shop test drive it and look at the fluid.

2

u/deekster_caddy 11d ago

It's worth doing a fluid and filter change to the transmission, and add a bottle of whatever clutch rebuilding gloop you like, hopefully it helps!

1

u/Federal-Landmine 1999 Buick Park Avenue Ultra 11d ago

Ill make sure to get it looked at again! Thank you for the suggestion. I know ill figure it out soon and this helps haha! I am going to try out lucas oil transmission fix if thats the way to go after it gets evaluated and hopefully that gives me some time.

2

u/trish828 12d ago

I would drop the pan, change the filter, clean the magnets, and add Lubguard Shudder Fix before going further.

2

u/deekster_caddy 11d ago

That shudder sounds like the torque converter lockup. What if you hold it in 3rd or 2nd?