2003 Montana Shifting Slow (More Info)

[Rrey199]

Hey all. Thanks for any input. 2003 pontiac montana. Since about 2 weeks ago, the car tops out in rpms and wont shift from 1st to 2nd. Then suddendly, it shifts. Thing is it's only when you drive for the first time that day. After it does it the first time, its fine afterwards, shifting smoothly regardless of how its driven.
Was a little low on fluid (1/2 qt) so I topped it off. No change.The fluid looked a bit brownish, so I'm going to have it flushed and serviced to see if that helps. Anything else that may be causing it?
I'm having trouble getting my brain around why it only does it once, then not again until the next day.
I've done alot of work on vehicles over the years, but a transmission is still a mysterious beast to me. Thanks

[1999montana]

Originally Posted by Rrey199

Hey all. Thanks for any input. 2003 pontiac montana. Since about 2 weeks ago, the car tops out in rpms and wont shift from 1st to 2nd. Then suddendly, it shifts. Thing is it's only when you drive for the first time that day. After it does it the first time, its fine afterwards, shifting smoothly regardless of how its driven.
Was a little low on fluid (1/2 qt) so I topped it off. No change.The fluid looked a bit brownish, so I'm going to have it flushed and serviced to see if that helps. Anything else that may be causing it?
I'm having trouble getting my brain around why it only does it once, then not again until the next day.
I've done alot of work on vehicles over the years, but a transmission is still a mysterious beast to me. Thanks

Better to drop and drain. No flush. New filter and approx 8 liters of trans fluid. Can do it in your garage, but don't drop the pan all at once, take a few bolts out at a time and let the pan begin to pull away from the trans. When it has given up draining take the last few bolts out and carefully lower the pan and dump it into whatever you are catching the fluid in.

Remove the old filter and the grommet that holds it up to the fluid intake and put the new grommet that comes with the filter on it and press the filter home until it feels like it clicked into place. If you leave the old grommet up inside, you will not be able to install the new filter properly. Save the gasket from the drop as it should be a re-useable design. Don't over torque the bolts when you re-assemble or you run the risk of a leak. Seems to me no more than 12 ft/lbs.

If the fluid is brown it's burnt, which means other things could be cooked too due to slippage.

[Tech II]

Also wouldn't hurt to have the tranny scanned for codes.....

But it does sound like something is sticking.....as the fluid warms and things expand, then there is no problem.....

[JabbaTHutt]

My 2003 is doing the exact same thing. If I park it for 5 or 10 minutes it will do it again.

How many others I wonder are having this same issue?