2000 Trooper 3.5 v6 Tranny Shuddering

[00trooper]

My Trooper has 69K mi on it and lately has been shuddering/jerking when starting from a dead stop (bad when it's cold/not so bad when warm). If I don't get on the pedal hard and just let it kinda roll to a start (5 -10 mph) it's fine and I don't have any problems shifting 1,2,3,4 etc. And when I come to a stop at a light or stop sign, it feels almost like the tranny is coming out of gear and popping back in.

Some people have advised flushing the fluid but I'm not sure after reading about another guy's tranny failing after doing so. I bought it used at 68K and don't know the history so I'm a little worried about a full flush. Any ideas or suggestions. Anyone heard of this problem, I'v had some cars with trannies go bad before but never seen anything like this.

Thanks!
Angelo - NJ

[amigo-2k]

could be low or dirty tranny fluid.

if you are going to change it, have them drop the pan and replace the fluid. you will only change out about 40% of the fluid and will hopefully keep the tranny healthy.

flushing at 70k for the first time may be a bad thing.

[rodeo02]

I'd do a drain and refill or two & see if she clears up. Then do a pan drop and filter change. It's possible the ATF was never touched on this 4L30E. These need the ATF changed every ~30-40Kmi max.

Joel

[00trooper]

Yea that's what I figured. But I wanted to get some expert advice here before I went ahead with it. I'll drop the pan and swap the ATF and post a reply and let you know how it went. As for now, busy with Memorial Day BBQs!!!

[00trooper]

Thanks fellas! I went ahead and had the tranny ATF & gasket swapped and it seems to have fixed the shudder! GREAT. The only thing that wasn't fixed was the bump in the tranny when I come to a solid stop. The guy at Lee Myles says it could turn into a "major transmission repair" if they tried to fix it so I decided to live with it (it's not that bad anyway).

I'm getting ready to go out and take 'er for a ride while cold to see how she reacts, but as of now, all looks good!

Thanks again,
Angelo - NJ

[amigo-2k]

There one grease zerk on your trooper and it is in the slip yolk. If it is dry you can feel that bump. Rodeo/Amigo's do not have a zerk and we have to drop the drive shaft to regease it.

[00trooper]

Thanks, I'll look into that, can you explain where the slip yoke is exactly. I'm not that mechanically inclined, but I try.

On another note, I gotta say I'm glad I change my own oil because yesterday I was doing an oil change and noticed a small puddle of none other than... TRANNY FLUID! I was horrified, I thought I was going to have to replace something until I looked closer and noticed that the guys at Lee Myles didn't tighten the fill nut! It is still running good, but I have no idea how much fluid I lost. I'm gonna really give it to those guys on Monday!

Angelo