2003 Transmission problem help

[flaucet]

Hello, I just bought a 2003 Grand Am Se (my first ever car). The previous owner had hit something and broke the transmission lines. There was only about 2 1/2 of the 9 1/2 quarts of fluid in the transmission. We replaced the lines and fluid but its still not acting right. The car won't go into reverse, it only clunks when you shift. It also drives forward while in neutral. Do we need to replace the whole transmission or could this just be the solenoid or a switch or something?
Thanks!

 

[Kevlar]

Congratulations on your first car! Sorry to hear you are having problems right off the bat but that's to be expected to some degree with any used car you buy.

Unless you are familiar and comfortable working on transaxles, I would take it to a good transmission shop in town. It will cost you more than trying to do it yourself ....... unless you make a mistake ....

Getting it straightened out by a pro may save you money and heartache in the long run.

 

[flaucet]

my dad can do the work, we were just wondering if there was any chance that the problem wasn't the whole transmission. I was looking online and saw some discussion of other people just needing to replace the solenoid or a switch on it. By the looks of it a solenoid would be a whole lot cheaper than a whole rebuild if that would fix the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[melsg5]

you cannt drive a car with automatic with only 2 1/2 quarts out of 9 present and not expect to do significant damage to the tranmission. With that said the first thing to check is whether the shift linkage is actually placing the transmission in the proper gear.