Problems with Shifting

Hi guys, I have a few issues lately with my aurora.

1. The check engine light is on and the car seems sluggish. It is jumping at each gear shift rather than going though smoothy.

2. The ac is blowing hot air. When I turn on the ac the compressor makes a noise, but does not cool.

Solutions? Answers?

What year is your Aurora? Other than the jump, can you get into third, or are you limited to first and second? If the latter, you have the shift solenoid problem affecting '95's and some '96s.
Sounds like your AC compressor may have bit it. This is a common failure point. Running the AC compressor low in refrigerant can lead to the AC compressor "grenading" into little bits, which means an expensive repair. Best to take the car to an automotive cooling specialist...

--Robert

My 95 just started shifting funny the other day too.

It's sort of done it about once a month for the last 80k miles. Whatever the culprit is, it's on it's last legs now. Anytime my baby gets warmed up it shifts like a figgin bus. That and I get a horrendous thump shifting out of park (or neutral). It used to go away after driving forward just a few feet, but no more. Of to the tranny shop for me on Monday.

I'll let you know what they find.

dsatt12, I have the same problem with the "bump" coming out of park, especially when I go into reverse. However, once my 95 warms up, it shifts more easily out of park into reverse. It does shift rough though when driving. Someone mentioned a common problem with the shift solenoid in 95s...can that be explained more and how to correct it? Would be greatly appreciated.

I also have the neverending check engine light. I have a lot of problems with this car, partly due to the fact that it is my wife's car, and all she seems to know how to do is get in and drive...and tell me about the problems when she can't ignore them any longer. :banghead:

This car has cost me a load of money trying to keep it on the road. But it still has lots of power. oh, btw, well over 100K miles on this one.

Sorry about the delay- I had a week's vacation up fishing in MN. Here's what I got from the tranny shop.

The clunking in my case turned out to be the turbine speed sensor. On my 95 anyway, it would come back as an 'input speed sensor' code. The transmission shop I took it to (after a different tranny shop and a regular mechanic that suggested tranny shop #2...) was able to have a scan tool hooked up when they noticed the signal from that speed sensor cut out. So basically the engine and tranny would be moving at different speeds when it tried to engage into gear making a horrendous clunk. As that sensor got worse and it didn't report while driving it would slip a bit in between gears, but that was a new development. The clunking only used to happen when I'd be stopped.

Now the bad news is they had to pull the transimission and partially disassemble it to fix this. All 3 shops agreed that tranny remaoval and re-installation alone is rated at about $500 by all their labor guides. I forked out $1250 all told- $700 labor, $450 in parts, and tax. I OK'ed them to replace everything replaceable in there just so I'd never have to do it again, so there were 2 solenoids, that turbine speed sensor and a crapload of really expensive gaskets and o-rings. The main seal on the tranny halves was like $45 alone!

As for the shift solenoids, those went out on me a while back. I had no warning that I noticed at any rate. My wife was driving on her way to that lake house in MN coincidentally, and it just 'started acting funny'. Sorry I can't be more descriptive there. When I went and picked it up, it would run fine in 1st and 2nd, would seem to shift into 3rd, but would drop right back out. It was a little hard to tell- maybe it was just slipping out of gear and then would re-engage 2nd when the car's speed dropped. I slogged my way home via a lot of county roads in 2nd gear. A tranny shop replaced the 2 shift solenoids responsible for 3rd and 4th gears and cleaned out the burned up fluid I'd make getting it home for $300. They told me there is a plastic clip that holds a filter in between those two solenoids. When the tranny gets hot and softens that clip a bit, plus likely a car with some miles on it to plug up that filter and add some backpressure, that clip breaks. The solenoids themselves are under some pressure from the sides and need that clip to hold them upright. They both crack and lean together. Now those solenoids (which they gave me when I got the car back) had the usual coil design on the top part, then a check valve part on the bottom of the unit so fluid can only go one way. The check valve part was what cracked, so I think sometimes it would work and then slip back. These solenoids are supposed to be in their own little pan off to the side of the tranny, so it's not too bad to fix them.

Oh, the reason this is a problem with 95s and some 96s is that GM switched to a metal clip to hold that filter partway through the 96 production run. Nice to know some 6 cent part is gonna cost some folks hundreds if not thousands of $. I know the garage my wife stopped at in Northfield MN wanted to get a rebuilt transmission when she got stranded there. They were gonna gouge her for over $5000 all told. I had to hold back the urge to spit on the guy's shoes when he told me $3600 plus $1500 labor when I got there the next morning. I liked my $300 fix much much better.

My 97 has the exact 2 issues you mention. Jumpy trans and blown compressor. My AC went from cold one day to hot the next. I tried a local shop but they didn't identify the failure...and they said that it was an "electrical problem". Anyway, I took it to an olds mechanic for a better assessment. He diagnosed the compressor failure straight off, and I am still working on the "deal", but I would count on about $300-400 for the (new) compressor/clutch and orifice tube (rebuilt will be less)and about 4+ hours of labor charges. There is also a dryer unit which you can replace but I am told it is a difficult R&R, so I am skipping this based on the mechanics recommendation, and my high mileage vehicle...probably being good for another 50K before I retire it. If I can get this done for under $600 i'll be lucky.

Other than some oil leaks, thin brake rotors, and some replaced/broken parts (alternator, belts, battery, busted antenna and trunk support) this car has been outstanding. With a 156K miles, I have to say that the 4.0 Northstar has got to be one of GM's best engine designs ever. 250 horses and around 21-22 MPG...what's not to like!

Hmm, I don't recall there being extra difficulty in getting at the dessicant once you get the other a/c parts out. I was at the small town garage shooting the breeze with the mechanic while he was impugning the parentage of my car and the GM engineers whose unholy rituals spawned it. He wasn't happy that he had to take off the oil filter bracket to get to the compressor and things like that. It took him about 12 hours total- thank god he stood by his original labor estimate of 2.5.

You might get a better deal from a dedicated a/c shop. The problem is it's getting to be that warm time of the year when their prices go up. Bad timing. How's your presonal finances radvra? That always seemed to be the other deciding factor when my baby started to act up :)

dstat...........I have a problem with my tranny (I think) that I'm wondering if you experienced the same. Sometimes,
while I'm accelerating from 20 MPH, I feel the tranny shift in and out and sometimes my MPH gage goes to 0 as do the RPM's.
Also when on cruise, I can sometimes feel the car jerking. I don't wanna put $$$ into it so I'm hoping I won't get a total
failure. This condition sound familiar??

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding your symptoms, but they don't really sound familiar.

Take it in to a good transmission shop. I got the feeling they make enough off the actual repairs that virtually all of them will scan and otherwise diagnose troubles for free.

Hey RICKEB, I am currently having the problem with the noise/thud when shifting to reverse from park. The diagnosis is the rear motor mount deterioration. Open the hood and have someone start the car and put the shifter into reverse. If you see the engine "roll" towards the front of the car an unusual amount, you have the same problem. It only gets worse.
ANYONE...transmissions are not my forte, although I replaced the shift solenoids in my '95 as it would not shift from 2nd to third gear. It was easy, only problem is when you pull the lower valve body off and take it apart, check balls and springs fly everywhere. Fortunately the FSM has a detailed view of the valve body so I was able to replace the check balls and springs in their proper place. As someone stated, the updated solenoid shift kit (called A & B) has a metal clip with a machine bolt that fastens the microfilter and clip to the valve body. The original one is plastic from GM and does not hold up.
I am experiencing a downshift problem. When on a coasting downshift from 2nd to lst, the transmission sometimes slips badly, as if in neutral, and engages harshly when it does come back in. Diagnosis.....rebuild the transmission for $1,700 and $250 for the torque converter PLUS anything else they find while in there. Probable cost....$2 to $3 K.