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Olds Silhouette Engine and Transmission Problems

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Comments

  • dkuszynskidkuszynski Member Posts: 1
    I like to know if I can change the tran fluid, and not the filter, by just removing the hose, that goes to the add on tran cooler, to drain fluid and just add new fluid. The van has 125000 miles on it and never had a tran problem.
  • garagedwellargaragedwellar Member Posts: 1
    My mother owns a 1995 silhouette 3.8L It was recently ran with almost no oil at all. Needless to say, It picked up a rod bearing knock. after replacing all 6 sets, only one . . . the #2 cylinder spun a bearing. I loved being able to do the work while the engines still in the van............Anyhow ...I put it back together and started it up with oil & seafoam in it ......... It fired right up so I let it warm up about 10 min at idle. i barely touched the throttle and it fell on its face. If I fan the throttle I can bring it up to 3000 rpm , stumbling the whole way ............... Some insight would be greatly apreciated . Thank You
    Sinserly . . . . garagedwellar
  • ball13ball13 Member Posts: 1
    :mad: I have recently purchesed 2000 silhouette it is great except the transmission is getting on my nerve. fluid looks good but when it gets hot the hard shifting is unbearable. I see others have this problem but no real solutions , I love the van it is great but can someone please help?
  • whatodowhatodo Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1995 silhouette that we had just purchased. it's acceration is really slow in drive but not in reverse. I have been told 4 different things from 4 different shops. cadilac converter. transmission. 02 sensor, and the maf. sensor.
    You would think that at least two would have agreed on the same thing. Has anyone had this problem that could help me out. :confuse:

    thanks
    whatodo
  • azuazu Member Posts: 84
    I've had van for about 2 months and drove close to 2K so far. Van has 126K. Shifting was flawless until 2 weeks ago. Got diagnosis and it is the torque converter hanging up causing a chuggle and at times a stall. Engine problems have been ruled out.Now it has turned into that hard shifting everyone talks about. With that last symptom is sounds like the Pressure Control Solenoid but I don't have any transmission noises. Any thoughts?
  • brumpfbrumpf Member Posts: 14
    I have a 2000 Silhouette Premier van purchased new with 103,000 and had the Pressure Control Solenoid replaced and eveything has been fine. It (pressure control solenoid) has been know to fail multiple times and unfortunatley you have to drop the engine to get at it. You have to have a good ear to detect the noise. I never had the chuggle. So that brings in a new twist. The hard shifting is the transmisions way of preventing any major damage. I hate to say it but I'd bring it into a GM shop because you can't trust these transmission repair places at all. I don't believe there is anything major wrong with your transmission, but it will cost your $6-700.00.
  • azuazu Member Posts: 84
    I I agree with taking to dealer. In fact this van has been serviced solely by an olds dealer since new. I don't trust those tranny shops. They want to sell you a rebuilt when sometimes you don't need it. I believe it is the PCS. I'll just save up and have it done in a few months.
  • azuazu Member Posts: 84
    Well it is undrivable at this time. You can go real slow but it won't go into 2nd without stalling out. At this point I do not think it is the PCS, but rather a break down of the torque converter and/or some clutches. It will sit until I have the funds to get it fix. Lucky me was informed last week that no salary increases and bonuses. That is a 17% pay cut. WOW!!
  • azuazu Member Posts: 84
    I finally took the van to local Chevy dealer. I went in thinking tranny rebuild or at least the PCS. I figure they have seen a lot of these vans and would be better equiped to find any problems.Mechanic found problem in a matter of minutes. It was the crank sensor wiring harness melting on the rear exhaust manifold. That explains why it acted up when hot, when turning a corner and hitting bumps in the road. $360 later and I'm back on the road.
  • nphilnphil Member Posts: 2
    I want to replace the rear shocks on my 02 silhouette awd with self leveling. Is this a big job? How do I proceed?
  • hkstallionhkstallion Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2000 silhouette with 175k miles.
    replaced the fuel pump twice, first was a 3rd party, the second time i used a GM part as it is lifetime warranty now.

    As for my trans shifting hard. dealer told me it was a bad trans seal losing pressure too early. i decided to live with it as it was intermittent.
    later, my car died while on a trip. turned out to be a bad belt tensioner.

    guess what. the new tensioner ended up fixing the trans issue as well as a few other little hesitations.

    i also just recently changed the fuel filter again and ran seafoam in the crank and gas tank. i did not run it through a vacuum line as others say you can do. i went for a drive and changed the oil. seems to get rid of the up and down revs that i was having.
  • bob550kbob550k Member Posts: 148
    Funny how that tensioner can cause so many issues. I just replace ours at 112,000, the first went bad at 55,000 miles. We were stalling at low speed and losing power. The AC compressor went bad a few weeks ago, so that was part of the issue. The tensioner is such a cheap fix, it really helped.
  • marimar09marimar09 Member Posts: 1
    I read your post was the bad belt tensioner due to many miles or poor quality? What did it cost to replace this part? I just purchased an olds silhouette 2001 126k. I bought it as is, I am hoping not to run into these issues, just yet anyway. I would at least like to have and idea of what I might face. Sorry to hear that this happened while you were on a trip.But it was good to hear that it fixed the trans issue. but what is seafoam??And how did it get rid of the up and down revs and why did you put it in gas tank? ;)
  • bob550kbob550k Member Posts: 148
    Tensioner was $150 with a new belt, parts and labor.

    At 126,000 miles, any car is going to need maintenance.
  • rjritterjrrjritterjr Member Posts: 5
    I see this is an old post, so I'll read thru the form for answers. But I am having the same problem when pulling hills. I'd like to hear from you if you have a solution.
  • nphilnphil Member Posts: 2
    I have what sounds like a gear whine on acceleration, quieter when fully warmed up, and quits when coasting, or above fifty mph. Anyone encounter this before?.
  • rjritterjrrjritterjr Member Posts: 5
    Yes I have it in my van too. My problem is that I have too many other problems to worry about that directly relate to driveability and can't get to something that is only making an annoying whine. My hunch was that it is not in the gear box but that it's something on the serpentine belt system. My new water pump whines so loudly that I can't hear the original whine. Water pump whine goes away after it's warm though. Snoop around the serpentine belt system and see if maybe your answer lies there.
  • alenavalenav Member Posts: 2
    By cold I mean the vehicle-not the weather, I live in CA where it never really gets cold. I have read the posts about hard shifting when the Silo gets hot; but what about when it is cold? There was one post similiar to my problem but I have not seen any replies.
    So, typically in the morning and intermittantly, my van will start fine and go into gear fine. Then I''ll be comming to a stop and it does not downshift. I have to hit the accelerator once or twice to get it to clunck into gear and off we go...until the next stop. It is driving me crazy! I took it to a shop that replaced my transmission sending relay something or other and the front transmisiion mount (which was apparently broken). The problem went away for about 3 weeks-now it is back. Help please?
  • bob550kbob550k Member Posts: 148
    If you're in Orange County I'll give you the name of a tech that can actually repair the problem. He is factory trained and is considered to be one of the best on the west coast. Ours did that years ago, but he fixed it, it wasn't all that expensive and the problem never recurred.
  • hhua1hhua1 Member Posts: 41
    Olds Silhouette high idle
    Chevy Venture high idle
    Pontiac Montana high idle

    Our 2000 Olds Shilhouette with 107K miles did the same engine racing/high idle sproradically. Normally it idles at 700 to 800 rpm, sometimes after engine warm up, in nutral, the idle stay at 1500 rpm and sometime even higer at 3000-3500 rpm. Most time shut off and restart the engine the idle goes back to normal. The gas mileages suffer a bit during this period.

    Ours problem was the Idle Speed Control ( ISC ) was dirty, I took out the ISC and give a good clean to the ISC tip, sprayed a litle lubrication to the ISC rod and spring. Also cleaned the ISC seating on the throtle body very good, with carburator cleaner. Reassembled the ISC and the car running like it should now. Note, I didn't have to take out the throtle body.

    To remove the ISC from the throtle body, I took off the entire ruber hoses including the Mass Air Flow ( MAF ) sensor between the air filter box and the throtle body. The ISC attachs to the throtle body with only two Hex screws, locates on the top rear of the throtle body, when you facing the vehicle from the front to rear.

    The whole job wan't too bad, as usual, taking off the ruber hoses between the air filter box and the throtle body for our van may need a litle twist and turn, to get to the ISC two hex screws isn't too bad if you the right hex key.

    Before cleaning the ISC, I did try to clean the throtle body and it seem to help a little, than the problem returned in a few days.

    Hope this will helps.

    Hung
  • chefbo1chefbo1 Member Posts: 1
    Was having some hard shifting and no overdrive(booooo) so i change the fluid and filter
    the shifting has since mellowed but still no over drive going on a trip from niagara falls
    To charlotte N.C. in about ten days . I m pretty handy when it comes to repairs but this i
    Just cant seem to diagnose! Anyone out there know the ins and outs of the pressure
    control seleniod and or the tensoiner mentioned within the forum here??????
  • tootie290tootie290 Member Posts: 2
    I just bought the 2004 Olds silhouette last week and this problem arose while driving over the weekend. What is it so I can have it fixed? I am in Idaho Falls ID. Thank you Troy
  • tootie290tootie290 Member Posts: 2
    What was wrong with your van? I am having the same issue. Troy

    So, typically in the morning and intermittantly, my van will start fine and go into gear fine. Then I''ll be comming to a stop and it does not downshift. I have to hit the accelerator once or twice to get it to clunck into gear and off we go...until the next stop. It is driving me crazy! I took it to a shop that replaced my transmission sending relay something or other and the front transmisiion mount (which was apparently broken). The problem went away for about 3 weeks-now it is back. Help please?
  • mikegk1mikegk1 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette Premier. The trasnmission has started to shift hard and is also throwing a torque converter code as well as a "maximum line shift" code when a diagnostic is run. From what I have gathered on here it may be the pressure control solenoid. Is this the most likely culprit or will I have to address the torque converter also? Also the van will at times not go into overdrive. Is this something that is a DIY project or will I need to take it to a shop? Aaamco tried to say I needed to have it rebuilt but im not convinced of that just yet. Also dont have the $2500 they were quoting. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks in Advance
  • mattrugdrmattrugdr Member Posts: 2
  • mattrugdrmattrugdr Member Posts: 2
    I have a 98 Oldsmobile Silhouette, 3400 V6. Recently, the transmission was rebuilt. Afterwards, I noticed that while I was trying to get up to speed, there was a hesitation that was not so bad at first, but now has gotten to the point where the whole van feels like it's bouncing. The lights inside come on like the engine is trying to turn off. If I take it out of gear or let off the gas, it smooths out and runs fine. Also, the fuel pump, fuel filter and plugs and wires were just replaced. No check engine light. Someone help. I can't figure this out and I've gotten three different guesses from three different mechanics.
  • mahollowmanmahollowman Member Posts: 1
    I have a 94 Oldsmobile Silhouette w/ Series I L26 3800 V6 . I want to see what the options are for swapping the existing motor for a Supercharged version.

    I found a Series II L67, Complete motor,supercharger, intake,a/c, Tranny and Computer for $900. I want to buy it Rebuild (if needed) and beef up the HP at the same time. From what i have read, all 3 series of motors have the same block And the upper portion and internal workings are the only Changes made to the 3 different types.

    My First Question is...... Are the mounts for the motor(upper and lower)and tranny the same throughout the 3 different Series of Engines ( Series I, II, & III)?

    My second Question is.... Can a Supercharged Motor and Tranny from a Car be put into my Van. Just asking due to clearance differences. It looks like i have plenty, if not more clearance then in a car.

    My plan is to achieve 3 main things.
    1) To gain the extra HP to haul [non-permissible content removed] even when fully loaded with people or my tools for work.
    2) To have a very unique Sleeper to surprise people with and to laugh at them ,when they are left in the dust.
    3) To be one of the Few people to have a Supercharged Silhouette
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