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Car Transmission Questions
Question: 1995 Ford Contour (after 2/95) 2.0L mileage: 123,000. I
have a 1995 Ford Contour and while I was
driving on the interstate (70-80 mph) the
speedometer dropped to 0 and the car dropped
to third I took it to a mechanic and he said
it was the TSS (transmission speed
sensor)...so I replaced it and it made no
difference! I'm driving it now anyway (only
car) and it still won’t go past 3rd. Engine
braking in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Could it be
the computer? What should I do?
Answer: From what you have
explained, we presume the speedometer is
still not working after replacing the
transmission speed sensor. If this is true,
scan the computer for fault codes. The
computer gets it information from the same
source that drives the speedometer.
Therefore, the speedometer must work for the
transmission to function properly.
Question: 1995 Ford
Thunderbird mileage: 103,000. Hello, Help!
Since I bought this car in January 1996,
I've had nothing but trouble with the front
end. I've carried the car to various
professionals and not a one of them have
been able to fix my problem. The trouble is
when driving after a few moments the front
end has what I call a steering vibration and
the car pulls a little to the right and also
feels as though it is going to shake apart.
Just yesterday, I had the rotors and brake
pads replaced to no avail. It still shakes!
I have talked to several people that have
the same model car and they all have the
same problem. By the way, I have anti-lock
brakes. The car will shake and shimmy every
few minutes when driving, when it starts to
shake I will let off the gas and that seems
to help a little. Could my problem be in the
steering column or is it the brakes? I don't
know too much about car repairs but I do
know when something is wrong. Another thing
when the car starts to vibrate no warning
lights of any kind come on.
Answer: We believe your
transmission may be ready for service.
Replacing the filter and fluid may correct
the problem. It is possible be the
transmission fluid is breaking down
prematurely due to insufficient cooling
which would cause the vibration within the
transmission.
Question:
1992 Toyota pickup 2.4 4-cyl mileage: 95,000.
My auto transmission in my truck doesn't
want to shift from 2nd to 3rd and into o/d
without lifting my foot off the gas. The
fluid was brown and I had a mechanic put in
a new filter with a partial fluid change and
also added Trans x. This has done nothing
for the problem. The problem seems to be
much worse in the afternoon than when I
first start it in the morning. Any ideas?
Answer: We cannot remember
if your transmission is equipped with a
vacuum modulator. If it is, replacing it
should fix your problem. If you do not have
a vacuum modulator, check the throttle
pressure cable or rod from the fuel
injection throttle body.
Question: 1997 Volkswagen Jetta: My brother is a mechanic and cannot
seem to diagnose it. It runs relatively
well, but within the first 5 minutes I have
it running, it will really labor to shift
into 1st all the way, almost as if I was
driving a manual trans. when this car is an
automatic. The car will rev up and then seem
to jerk into gear, sometimes to the point
that I lay a little wheel! Then it is fine.
The previous owner is a friend of mine and
she said that she had the problem once and
they replaced the resistor wire at the
dealership and she had not had the problem
since. Well, my brother replaced the
resistor wire and played w/ the control
panel that is under the back seat and it was
great for a day and then it went back to
it's old ways again-He said it may need a
new control panel all together. He is really
at his wits end and has already changed the
trans fluid and it is a little better, but
still doing it. He said it does not need an
overhaul... Any advice? Lee Ann
Answer: The problems you are
experiencing are in the valve body. There is
probably a solenoid or two hanging up. Your
brother's opinion re the overhaul sounds
correct to us.
Question: 1990 Toyota Celica
ST 1.6 L mileage: 90,000. My Toyota has a
problem during the winter months. After
driving for sometime on the highway, the car
will downshift from high gear and will not
shift back to high gear. The temperature
gauge also shows the car as being cold. This
problem does not happen during the warmer
months. I believe the problem has to do with
the thermostat or some temperature related
sensor.
Answer: The transmission
will not shift into overdrive if the engine
temperature is cold. Your problem is
probably caused by a thermostat that opens
at too low a temperature. Try installing a
195-degree thermostat.
Question: 1990 GMC Sierra
5.7 mileage: 160,000. After getting off
thruway from a fast acceleration, I noticed
as I turned onto a 30 mph street that the
engine just started to rev high after
leaving a stop sign, almost like the truck
was in neutral. So, I stopped fully,
proceeded forward and noticed that it would
go into first (auto transmission) and not go
into second (just rev high as I accelerated)
and would not drop back down into first. I
was able to coast home. Checked and added
fluid low, about a quart, test-drove again
still same problem. Seems to be a
transmission problem. If so approx how much
(new, refurbish rebuilt), what type of
transmission. Basically, what is the best
way to go from here?
Answer: Sure sounds
like your transmission is failing. Depending
upon the amount of hard pieces that may be
damaged in the transmission, the price
should run from $1400.00 to $1800.00 for a
good rebuilt unit.
Question:
1992 Civic Hatchback VX V-Tek mileage:
110,000. With engine running and manual
transmission is in neutral, when clutch
pedal is depressed, the engine/transmission
area becomes considerably quieter after
about 2 seconds. When clutch pedal is
released, the noise instantly comes back. Kinda sounds like a bad bearing noise. Does
this sound like a transmission input shaft
bearing going bad? Have you guys heard of
this complaint before? It has been a very
reliable car except for the distributor
bearing failure last year.
Answer: Yes, it could be the
transmission input shaft bearing or other
bearings inside the transmission.
Question: 1990 Ford Ranger
4.0 mileage: 95,676. Recently my truck has
difficulty shifting into overdrive at around
45 MPH. Sometimes it shifts great and other
times it does not, only into overdrive I
have had the modulator replaced but this did
not help. It also just goes into a coasting
mode when you let off of the accelerator, Rpms drops to idle. What do you think is my
problem, is it time for a new transmission?
Answer: With 95,000 miles on
your vehicle, it is possible that you will
need a transmission overhaul. However,
before doing it, check the overdrive
solenoid as it may be sticking causing the
coasting problem you are experiencing.
Question: 1993
Dodge Dakota 3.9 mileage: 65,000.
Overdrive kicks out once the truck gets
warmed up. Dealers have been no help.
What gives? This has occurred since it
was new! Dealer replaced transmission
once and overdrive twice...
Answer:
The transmission is controlled by a
drive-train computer. If you
scan the computer, it will tell you the
fault code of your malfunction.
Question:
1976 Chevrolet Pickup 350. I am
replacing my old engine with a
remanufactured engine. I've never done
it by myself before. I am to the point
of bolting the trans (automatic) and the
engine together. When the torque
converter and the flywheel are bolted
together and everything is bolted together,
the engine won't turn when over. I
have tried it with the trans in every
position. What gives?
Answer:
It sounds as if the torque converter was not
installed all the way into the transmission.
If you have bolted the engine and
transmission together, there is a chance you
may have damaged the front pump of the
transmission.
Question:
1997 Ford Taurus 3.0 mileage: 25,400.
Hi, My problem is that the car seems
to go out of gear. This happens when I
stop or turn. I can get it to go again
when I turn the car off and restart it or
race the engine a little. You never
know when it is going to happen. The
transmission fluid is clean and full.
Appears to reset when I start the car again.
Any ideas about maybe it is a sensor.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Answer:
The control module for the transmission is
probably at fault and needs to be replaced.
Question:
1989 VW Jetta 1.8 F/I mileage:
110,000. Every time I am driving
rather "spirited" and I wind the engine up
beyond 4000 RPM, the engine/trans. noise
changes from a high-pitched noise as seems
normal, to a low deep rumble. In
general, the car also begins to vibrate a
lot more. It seems that it is only at
4000 RPM and above, and only when the car is
in drive. I talked to the dealer and
they said, "don’t run it above 4"...gee,
what a help that was. Anyway, the only
thing that I can think of is that when it
began was right after a very long road trip,
say around 105,xxx and a transmission fluid
change...I changed it from whatever was
stock to Redline MTL...Anyway, any thoughts
or ideas would be appreciated, thank you for
your time...
Answer:
Try changing the transmission fluid back to
the brand recommended by the factory and
then drive it for a couple of days. If
your problem persists, your transmission may
be ready for an overhaul.
Question:
1994 Chrysler Town and Country 3.8 mileage:
71,000. Help I took my van in for a
transmission estimate and inspection and I
was told it would cost $175.00 to remove and
inspect the transmission. I was not
told that it would cost more money to
reassemble the transmission and put it back
in my van if I decided not to have the work
done. Now I am told that it will cost
$397.00 all together to put the transmission
back in my van since I declined the repairs,
what do I do?
Answer:
In California, the quote for an inspection
must also include the price to reassemble.
Talk with friends and neighbors to locate a
professional auto mechanic that specializes
in transmission repair and explain your
situation. If you find someone you
feel comfortable with, you could have your
van towed with all the pieces to the new
mechanic. Be sure you have an
understanding of just how much it will cost
to repair. In addition, you should
know that it has been our experience that
other Chrysler owners with the approximately
the same mileage as you have, have
experienced transmission failure.
Question:
1995 Cutlass Ciera 3.1L V6 mileage: 94,500.
This car was purchased as a dealer demo with
6K miles on it. I have changed the
trans fluid and filter at least 3 times.
The trans fluid has a tendency to turn black
quickly, but the trans never acted up until
recently. It suddenly started to lose
power, so I had the trans fluid and filter
changed again. After that, the fluid
once again went quickly to black, the trans
developed a hesitation while shifting, and
it began to leak fluid. Now the trans
"slams" into gear somewhat when I shift into
reverse or when I let off the gas pedal and
then accelerate again. Any thoughts on
what the problem could be or possible
solutions?
Answer: It sounds like the
transmission may be failing in your car.
Fluid that turns black quickly, would
indicate excessive heat caused by the clutch
packs slipping in the transmission.
Question:
1993 Ford Taurus LX 3.8 mileage: 115,000.
I have taken the car twice to the local Ford
dealer (I am in Germany) for no overdrive.
The transmission does not slip in any of the
other gears and shifts with no problem.
They have said it was low on fluid which I
checked before I took it in and they
replaced the speed sensor with no luck.
It's now in the shop and I'm hoping it will
be repaired soon. Any help would help me, my
pocket and the dealer over here.
Thanks for your time.
Answer: Your car has a
lock-up torque converter in the
transmission. It locks-up only in high
gear. It is supposed to engage at high
speeds. Yours is not engaging.
There is probably a valve in the
transmission “hanging up”. Having the
transmission serviced with new fluid may
help the problem. Next step, the
valve body will have to be removed and
cleaned paying special attention to the TCC
solenoid. The TCC solenoid may have to
be replaced.
Question:
1987 Ford Tarus 4 cylinder 2.5L mileage:
180,000. Transmission will not shift
into any gear, was operating just fine
driving all over town. Stopped again
put in park shut off, started shifted into
rev, nut, 1st, 2nd low nothing. No
fluid leak. {Note ATX Model
Trans.) Checked the shift lever to
trans cable free and moving through the
transaxle housing and free and moving the
throttle valve control linkage, linkage
moved freely through all the gears but no
response except when in park it held vehicle
could not push, when shifted into any other
gear could push car freely. The shift
lever cable is not engaging the gear inside
the transmission to shift the unit. Or
could the transaxle control lever-attaching
nut slipped out of adjustment causing a no
shift problem? Also, I removed
the pan, new filter and looked inside, noted
a lever inside at the cable entrance
hanging, you could move it freely with a
long screwdriver (thin), spring loaded,
could not see very well but moved through
the gears and it felt like a shift but then
when I went back to park and tried again
nothing. I pushed the lever inside up
when in low and it clicked though the gears,
then as I said above noting again.
Will top off fluid when get it down and
level but I don’t think its lack of fluid
now? Sorry such a long? But I
thought you needed to know this stuff to
diagnosis!
Answer:
Not good news! From what you have told
us, it sounds like you need a transmission
overhaul.
Question:
1999 Dodge Intrepid mileage: 63,461.
My car jerks two to three times when just
about coming to a stop. This is
intermittent and only happens when slowly
stopping and is sometimes very pronounced.
Feels like the transmission incorrectly
shifting but dealer says nothing wrong.
It is worse when car has been driven for
longer periods of time. What can be
the problem? No codes indicating
transmission problem.
Answer: Your car has a
lock-up torque converter in the
transmission. It locks-up only in high
gear. It is supposed to disengage at
lower speeds. Yours is not
disengaging. There is probably a valve
in the transmission “hanging up”. The
valve body will have to be removed and
cleaned paying special attention to the TCC
solenoid. The TCC solenoid may have to
be replaced.
MORE: Transmission questions
Repair Topics /
Transmission-1 /
Transmission-2 /
Transmission-3 /
Transmission-4 /
Transmission-5
/ Transmission-6 /
Transmission-7
/ Transmission-8
/ Transmission-9
/ Transmission-10
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