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Transmission Traumas?

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  • 79377937 Member Posts: 390
    Just a matter of interest - no problems. Does GM use synthetic ATF in its new 4 speed automatic transmissions as fitted to the 99 Cavalier. Why I ask, is because the owners handbook says that no oil or filter change is needed for 100,000 miles. This seems a rather a high mileage for no maintenance to be done. If it is synthetic ATF could someone please give me the name of the brand they are using.
  • burdawgburdawg Member Posts: 1,524
    Read that 100K service schedule carefully. I think you'll find that 50K is recommended for most of us. Most of us fall into the more "severe" service schedule due to stop and go driving. I doubt if it's synthetic ATF. GM has a lot of faith in the new trans, my Grand Am doesn't even have a dipstick as we know it.
  • nobrabbitnobrabbit Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1996 Blazer,which has been very reliable.A problem has popped up recently,in which when you first take off fromm a stopped position,if you hit the accelerator too hard the rpm's race but you don't go anywhere.This seems to happen also in the first couple of gears.If I accelerate very easy the blazer will move and change gears correctly but I'm moving pretty slow in order to do this.It's still under warranty,but I'd like some idea of what's wrong before I take it in to the dealer.Any ideas would be appreciated.
  • 79377937 Member Posts: 390
    Burdawg, yep, I read the service schedule again and it says 50K miles only if you tow, lots of hills or, high temperature and heavy traffic. As you say, GM hasn't even fitted a dipstick although there is a level plug below which you take out and fill the transmission until the oil runs out of it. I certainly will be changing the ATF and filter on a much shorter schedule though. I have a 1996 service manual for the Cavalier which says that under the same conditions as I mentioned above, the ATF should be changed every 15K miles. Now GM is telling me 50K for the same transmission (4T40E) and operating conditions so, I thought they may now be using synthetic.
  • spokanespokane Member Posts: 514
    It's likely that the overrunning clutch for the stator in your torque converter has failed. This lets the stator spin with the impeller when the vehicle begins to move. Under these conditions, the stator should be stationary. If this is your problem, vehicle performance on the highway is probably normal. Assuming I am correct, you need a new torque converter but the transmission internal parts are probably OK. A very thorough flushing of the transmission should be done when the torque converter is replaced. Good luck and please let us know what you find.
  • xinxin818xinxin818 Member Posts: 4
    I have a Oldsmobil Cutlass Wagon,1994.
    It is 67,000 miles. In winter, whenever I started
    the car, it can not forward or reverse. After the
    engine run for about 5~10min, the car can move.
    In the hot summer, this problem never happen.
    i don't know if there is some problem for the
    transmission. Thanks for your help!
  • sdanderssdanders Member Posts: 37
    Note to two previous Acura owners with 3.2 TL transmission failures that Acura dealers do NOT repair transmissions, only will replace them if failed. They remanufacture in LA and send out to dealers. I have owned 3 Legends, 91,92,94...all of which have had transmission failures, two were warranty and one was not. The dealer replaced when I told them about delayed shift (3-4 gear), didn't even want to drive it...just ordered the new transmission. The 91 has a very hard 1-2 shift, probably a bad 2nd brake accumulator, but not worth replacing in a 91 car...no one wants to work on these transmissions. Honda dealers will NOT, even though they do work on other Honda products. One local rebuilder said he won't work on them because his aftermarket suppliers for these trannies have too many failures. Suggests just buying a used from a wreck (rather than give Acura $3700 for a rebuilt). Acura doesn't tell you that your transmission cannot be repaired if it fails, only replaced. Would you buy it knowing that? Good Luck
  • camshaft1camshaft1 Member Posts: 35
    hi,
    i have a '95 m3. i just got it about 3 weeks ago. anyway, the tranny seems sticky between gears. sometimes it will misgear going from 2 to 3 and if your not carful you will dump it back into 1 by accident. is this a problem trying to show itself. what can i do?
  • div2div2 Member Posts: 2,580
    1.Make sure that the proper fluid is in the transmission. Check your manual to make sure, but I believe you should use Dexron ATF.

    2.E36 M3s are somewhat notorious for bending valves when a driver hits 1st instead of 3rd or 2nd instead of fourth. A stiffer transmission mount will help. Check out: www.uucmotorwerks.com for some helpful info. Click on "Products" then click on "TME".

    It probably wouldn't hurt to check the motor mounts as well.
  • trainiactrainiac Member Posts: 24
    Forget the dealer. Go to a local shop with a good reputation, identify the problem which is probably the converter, have it done, about a grand and make sure they change the linkage bracket, a phenolic piece that holds the shift linkage cable in place, whether it needs it or not.
  • bordsourcebordsource Member Posts: 95
    Hey I need some help. We have a 1997 Chrysler Town & Country LX (3.3) that has been drop-dead reliable. It's got almost 80,000 miles on it (with about 65,000 being highway). Recently, however, the transmission has started to act up. For instance, to hold a speed on an uphill will require almost full throttle because the transmission won't kick down. Once at speed, I can feel the transmission slipping. I'll put my foot lightly on the gas and the revs'll go up, and you'll feel the clutch subtly engage about 2 seconds afterwards. Also, when coming to a stop, there are about two clunks. It's not that bad however- the van always starts in 1st gear with no hesitations. It's just that once we get going, it doesn't always act right. Imagine how stupid I feel when I have to almost firewall the thing in a residential neighborhood to keep 30 mph, only to have the tranny snap to with a loud KWAAAAHHHHHH!!!!
  • hooferhoofer Member Posts: 43
    for details on my tranny tribulations.

    I still am not having any noticable shifting problems, but....

    best of luck
  • hooferhoofer Member Posts: 43
    Tired tonight
  • procrastinatr2procrastinatr2 Member Posts: 5
    I am considering purchasing a 2000 Maxima GLE with auto trans and Comfort/Convenience package. Who has one out there and how has the maintenance/satisfaction been with this car? Would you suggest Camry or Honda instead? At least Maxima does not have the timing belt issue, cause it does have a chain.

    Thanks for anyone who will answer!
  • pat455pat455 Member Posts: 603
    Here is what I suggest you do to get lots of good information. Use the Topic Search feature on the left side of this page to find active topics on each one of those vehicles over in our Sedans conference. Search once for Maxima, then again for Camry and so on.

    Read through some of those topics and join in on any of the discussions. You'll find owners and shoppers in them discussing the relative merits of each.

    Good luck and welcome to Town Hall!

    Pat
    Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Sounds like B.S. from a Nissan dealer!

    Honda reccommends replacing the timing belt every 105,000 miles!

    Is that such a big deal?
  • goodamnesiagoodamnesia Member Posts: 1
    Sounds like the seals of your transmission are bad/worn. Same thing happened to my 95 Intrepid which is common among early Intrepids because Dodge apparently used cheaper seals. Check out all the complaints on the NHTSA regarding the trannys. As for your Olds, there is an internal tranny leak. When the car warms up, the seals expand due to the heat, thus sealing the leak. Your problem won't occur in summer due to the warm ambient temp. But your woes will surely happen this fall & winter. My advice is to fix it now or trade it in.
  • woodbutcherwoodbutcher Member Posts: 3
    I'm looking for a transmission for a 1983 Chevy
    Blazer. Can I get one from GM? I called them
    today with no luck. I must have the wrong number. If anybody has a number for GM, I would appreciate it. This transmission must be a good one because it will be sent out of the US and they do not rebuild in this country.
    Thanks for any help.
  • thebertstheberts Member Posts: 2
    I am having some suspicious transmission problems. I own a '94 Chrysler LHS with 120,000 miles. About 1 1/2 weeks ago the transmission began slipping after initial startups. If I stopped the car for a brief period and restarted, the problem went away. So I took the car in for service and it was determined by roadtest and computer diagnostic that it was an internal problem requiring about $1,500 in work. I told them to hold off. (I wanted to shop around for price.) But since I've gotten it back 3 days ago, I haven't had a problem once. I asked the dealer about this and he stated that the computer could have been reset or tolerances could have changed but it could still need the work. So my question is, how do I know if it is an actual physical problem with the transmission or that the computer only needed resetting which was accomplished by hooking it up to the diagnostic equipment? Does any of this make sense? AAAHHHH!!!
  • divavolvdivavolv Member Posts: 6
    I have 1986 Volvo, 740 GL. The tranny died at 36K miles and was replaced by Volvo. I now have 142k miles on the car. It has started to 'clunk' into 2nd from 1st. Passengers don't really notice the 'clunk' but I notice it. The other gears are smooth to go in and out of. About 5k miles ago I had a quick check of the tranny done (preventive, preventive...). The shop said it was fine, no work needed. Has it moved into the 'will need work soon' stage? Most of my driving is around town. I'd like to push this car to almost 200k before replacing it. But, if I'm looking at another expensive Volvo repair maybe I should go ahead and pick up another car sooner. What do you think?
  • vehslagevehslage Member Posts: 1
    I am trying to purchase a minivan for my daughter and her family--I am taking her 93 subaru for a trade in and the toyota dealership where I found a 98 grand voyager for consideration told me that the transmission and clutch are both slipping the only thing is the car is a 5 speed--Since when is a transmission able to slip with a manual transmission--I would appreciate any help you could give me--Are they just trying to keep the trade in down on the car?--I have dealt with the dealership for quiet a while and feel rather upset that they would lie to me--
  • windowphobe6windowphobe6 Member Posts: 765
    But clutches do slip - and, at age 7, fairly often - and maybe the character at the Toyota store didn't find that particular factoid in his pre-rehearsed pitch, so he fell back on the tired and true.
  • xinxin818xinxin818 Member Posts: 4
    Thanks, goodamnesia! I'd like to know if you
    fix the problem of your Dodge. If so, what did
    you do with the transmission? Did you just replace
    the seals? How much did you fix this problem?
    Thanks a lot. Your helps are highly appreciated!
  • jlaceyjlacey Member Posts: 1
    help! I have a 1993 Saturn 5 speed manual 4 door with 70K miles (warrenty 60K). no problems until today. was hard to shift into first or second took to the dealer and he said "the thrust shaft rod and bearings need replacing-said there were 7 bearings and 5 of them were shot" $2100 estimate. All Greek to me. Has anyone had any experience with this problem?
  • camshaft1camshaft1 Member Posts: 35
    My 95 m3 spikes about 250-300rpm once it's in gear when going to 2nd - 4th. The car still picks up, just not with the extra rpm. Is this a torque converter problem, gear slippage, or still should I be looking at the tranny mounts? The trans. fluid looks good and the manual says it never has to be replaced.
  • camshaft1camshaft1 Member Posts: 35
    i now know there is no converter in a manual. my mechanic says it's the clutch. throw out barring and clutch disc, 700.00 installed with new bmw parts. is that fair. how can i prevent this in the future. especially if i want to go to driving school or club racing. preformance clutch package?
  • div2div2 Member Posts: 2,580
    Parts shouldn't run over $350. Labor should be 3-4 hours. What does the estimate say?
  • butch11butch11 Member Posts: 153
    A price of $ 2100 is way out of reality. For around a $100 you can get a saturn tranny from a junk yard and with a couple of hundred more replace your tranny. I would avoid the guy who gave you that quote-he must have a boat payment due every hour.
  • rollaman2rollaman2 Member Posts: 10
    Hello,

    Sorry, I don't have answers just another question:

    My 2000 corolla has a 4-sp automatic transmission. I can feel it shifting when accelerating steadily uphill around 30-40 mph. This is accompanied by a spike of 300-400 rpms and a spurt of acceleration. Is this normal or not?

    Thanks in advance.
  • windowphobe6windowphobe6 Member Posts: 765
    It's probably in fourth already, then realizes that you're still accelerating, so it unlocks the torque converter and downshifts into third - just long enough to notice it, then it upshifts back into fourth. Given a long-enough incline, you could go through this cycle a couple of times. Most automatics in relatively low-powered cars (a Corolla is no slouch, but it's no Ferrari either) will exhibit this phenomenon to greater or lesser extent. There's probably nothing wrong with the transmission - it's just being asked to do something it doesn't do very well.
  • r34r34 Member Posts: 178
    I think My Altima got a transmission problem after I took it home for 2 months. Sometimes, I found it difficult to shift from "P" to "R" especially when it is morning or the car is parked slightly up-hill. Even though I parked the car for an hour, I got the same problem. Warm it up helps a little. I changed the trans fluid. Just don't know why...
  • rollaman2rollaman2 Member Posts: 10
    Thanks for the quick response in #449. Now for more relentless questioning to satisfy my obsessive compulsive disorder:

    1. What causes the spike in the RPMs? The downshift? or the shift from 3rd-4th? I am ignorant on this subject b/c I do not drive stick.

    2. The other day a state trooper got me speeding on the freeway. In my haste to pull over and stop my car, I shifted into P before my car came to a complete stop. There was a *THUMP* sound. I guess my car was going about 4 or 5 mph when I shifted to P. How much damage do you think occurred? Which parts of the transmission would suffer damage in this case?

    Thanks in advance. I would appreciate any input.
  • windowphobe6windowphobe6 Member Posts: 765
    When you go from a higher-numbered to a lower-numbered gear - a downshift, in other words - the engine has to turn faster to produce the same road speed. The RPMs therefore go up. When you go back to fourth, the RPMs go down.

    It's difficult to say exactly what, if anything, was damaged when you slammed it into Park, without looking inside the transmission - unless it damaged the shift linkage itself, which you'd presumably have noticed by now. (Part of the problem is that you can't tell what gear it was in at the time, unless you know this drivetrain so well you can rebuild it in your sleep, so you can't tell which pieces that were turning weren't turning anymore.) I come from the "keep driving until you notice symptoms" school of thought, so if it's behaving more or less normally, you may have dodged - or at least slowed down - a bullet.
  • 79377937 Member Posts: 390
    Rollaman2, I'm no transmission expert so anybody is welcome to shoot me down on this one. My take on what happens when you slam into park while moving is this - 2 parts engage when you select park. They are the parking lock sprag clutch and the parking sprag toggle lever. They engage to prevent the car from moving when it is parked. Hopefully and, more than likely, they would have survived in your case. If there is any damage I believe it would be limited to those 2 parts. However, repairs would still be costly due to the labor involved in getting to them. So, if you put the car into park with the parking brake off and cannot move it by pushing it, I would say all is well.
  • troyfordtroyford Member Posts: 1
    I've got a 2001 Lexus GS300 (automatic) that downshifts "unsmoothly" when going downhill. It shift fine on level ground though. It's the first rear wheel drive car I owned and curious if that has anything to do with it?!
  • smily_sagesmily_sage Member Posts: 1
    My transmision has 150,000 miles on it.

    It used to shift so smooth that the only way you knew you were in a different gear was by the Tach.

    It is now not quite as smooth as it used to be.

    It has been servised properly its whole live.

    Should I switch to Synthetic??
    Will this help??
    Are there any Negatives to switching to Synth this late in the game???

    Thanks Smily
  • pat455pat455 Member Posts: 603
    Smily, you might like to take a look at a couple of other topics here. Here are links:

    Synthetic motor oils (Topic #543)

    Engine Oil - A Slippery Subject (Topic #851)

    Pat
    Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
  • dmkdmk Member Posts: 22
    Stick with what you've got!

    150,000 mi. is great!

    Don't change anything.
  • touchtontouchton Member Posts: 13
    Looking for some help:

    Car shudders when the TCC locks up. Runs great when the TCC is not locked. From about 50mph and up the shuddering is not noticeable.

    Definetly seems to relate to the TCC locking. Engine does not seem to be missing under load.

    Any ideas??
  • lotusmanlotusman Member Posts: 6
    I recently needed a leak correction on my 1996 Town and Country. It appears Chrysler has build in a transmission repair at about 100,000 miles. The engineers there put in an elastomer seal that will in time harden to the point of plastic. It will crack, dump the fluid and cause failure. Boy, those engineers are smart! The mechanics told me the 1995,6 and 7 all have the same problem.
    If anyone in the National Consumer Protection Group reads this I hope you can get the word out.
  • ahazlahazl Member Posts: 2
    Last month I purchased a new 4 cylinder ex accord and this week I noticed that when I get it up to about 50 miles per hour that sometimes there is a little flutter like it does want to shift into overdrive. Does anyone know what this might be before I take it back to the dealer?
  • butch11butch11 Member Posts: 153
    A friend has an 87 chevy blazer, 212K, 2.8L V6, auto tranny and on occasion it will not go into reverse. Reverse just will not engage. A call to the local Aamco guy got this response-oh you need to have a complete rebuild at a cost of at least 2K.

    Anybody know if the reverse in this puppy can be fixed without having to rebuild the whole tranny. Or is the best route to get a used tranny and simply replace the tranny.

    thanks
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Find a good independant. I would stay away from the chain you mentioned.

    At 212,000 miles it's probably shot though.
  • 97lesabre197lesabre1 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 97 LeSabre with tranmission problems. Once it warms up, it will "search" for gears when under a load such as a hill. It does not matter how fast I am going. It was an occasional problem 15,000 miles ago, but now is more regular in acting-up. It also seems to be operating "louder" than in the past. Two questions 1) is this a common problem? 2) what is wrong with it?

    I took it to the dealership before the warranty expired and they said it is functioning as intended?
  • jjackson43jjackson43 Member Posts: 27
    I apologize if this is a duplicate post, as when I posted my earlier response to #461, I didn't see it appear. I ask:

    Has the tranny had regular service..? If not you might consider replacing the trans filter, but drain the old oil into a clean container, strain it through cheese cloth, and reuse it. I say this only because of the miles on it, and if it hasn't been serviced on a regular basis, I have heard the new oil can cause other problems.

    This worked for me a number of years ago on an older Chrysler product, I experienced a similar problem, changed the filter (the old one was apparently restricted from lack of oil changes), and the vehicle ran for many more miles w/no problem.

    Good luck, John
  • stashewskystashewsky Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 RAM 1500 5.2L 5-spd. After 3K the
    stick would pop out of gear in 1st. I thought it
    may be the synchronizer. The replaced the
    transmission. The mechanic said they found medal
    shavings in the transmission. They problem seemed
    to be resolved until 6K. Brought it back in. They
    can't replicate the problem. It pops out of gear
    (on the average of once every other day) Brought
    it
    back twice more without resolution. Has anyone
    else experienced the same or similar problems?
  • yamanyaman Member Posts: 113
    Can anyone recommend a good place to get my transmission routine preventive maintenance.Last time I had the transmission fluid replaced ( at Goodyear) my transmission blew up 2k miles later.On my wifes car we took it to the dealer and a month later needed a new transmission.Are the chains like Cottman any better?
  • butch11butch11 Member Posts: 153
    Yaman-do you know what ATF they used brand and other info-example Dextron III. Also what ATF does your owners manual say to use. Sounds like they used the wrong ATF. Heard this same story from several different people. Would help warn others.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Re your "TCC shudder", the most common cause of this feeling in GM cars is NOT the converter clutch but secondary ignition breakdown, with plug wires being the #1 culprit. Low coil output and worn plugs are also possibilities. When the TCC engages, it lowers engine RPM, and raises cylinder pressure. This places more load on the secondary ignition components. To make things more fun, the condition can not be duplicated in the shop, nor will it show up on a scope or scan tool (assuming the vehicle is pre-OBD II). If your vehicle is OBD II equipped, it will detect and store engine misfires which any decent scan tool will display. You didn't mention the year or engine of your car, but it's most common with earlier 3.8 and 3800 series engines.
  • sdanderssdanders Member Posts: 37
    RE: post #465 While I am not familiar with the Dodge transmission, one cause of a stick shift to jump out of gear is for the gears to separate due to movement of the layshaft away from the drive gear shaft. This could be caused by endshaft bearing failure allowing the shaft to move under load, especially sudden or hard acceleration. Maybe you can duplicate this failure by trying to accelerate, ease off and reaccelerate.
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