Transmission slipping when cold

[dh271]

2004 Impala base model. For the last month my transmission slips through the first couple of gears until it warms up in city driving. It usually takes about 30 minutes or so of driving before it`s ok. Highway speed is fine, no problems. It takes a couple of seconds to grab a gear when I first start driving. I have high mileage on this car and I`m going to change the fluid and filter this week.
Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and then corrected it by doing a fluid and filter change. The car has always shifted a little rough through the gears to begin with.
If the tranny was bad, wouldn`t it slip even when the fluid warms up? Any ideas? Just fishing here for a few ideas.
Also, should I have a complete flush or just do the pan drop and add some Lucas tranny fluid with it?

[2005chevimpala]

Originally Posted by dh271

2004 Impala base model. For the last month my transmission slips through the first couple of gears until it warms up in city driving. It usually takes about 30 minutes or so of driving before it`s ok. Highway speed is fine, no problems. It takes a couple of seconds to grab a gear when I first start driving. I have high mileage on this car and I`m going to change the fluid and filter this week.
Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and then corrected it by doing a fluid and filter change. The car has always shifted a little rough through the gears to begin with.
If the tranny was bad, wouldn`t it slip even when the fluid warms up? Any ideas? Just fishing here for a few ideas.
Also, should I have a complete flush or just do the pan drop and add some Lucas tranny fluid with it?

Your pcs,pressure control soiliend is bad in your tranny,these cars are famous for it,this job costs approx $600-$1000 to get repaired,there are lots of posts on this site if you look for then on this issue,what you might want to try is to unhook your neg bat terminal overnight to see if you can temp reset your computer to make your tranny work better,i have had 25 impalas since 2000-2005 models and some have to have the pcs replaced and others i just reset the computer by unhooking the neg terminal overnight

[dh271]

Thanks for the info. I`ve read other post about this problem and here`s what I`ll do:
1) I`ll disconnect the negative terminal for a couple of minutes and reconnect and idle it for 60 seconds and repeat.
2) I`ll get a scan and find out if the hidden code P1811 comes up.
3) I`ll take a baseball bat and beat it the car until it looks like a tuna can.

See, I do have a plan.......

[dh271]

Disconnecting the battery and resetting computer didn`t make it better.
I had two different auto shops do a code scan and no codes showed up. I did one myself and no codes showed up (wanted to see for myself).
I`ll do a fluid and filter change next.
When the pcs is going bad, does it slip in reverse a little also or only in forward gears?

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by dh271

Disconnecting the battery and resetting computer didn`t make it better.
I had two different auto shops do a code scan and no codes showed up. I did one myself and no codes showed up (wanted to see for myself).
I`ll do a fluid and filter change next.
When the pcs is going bad, does it slip in reverse a little also or only in forward gears?

how many miles since the last fluid/filter change...how many miles on vehicle...If this vehicle is well over 125,000mi dump it..no sense putting any more money into this beat vehicle..


2500.oo will get that tranny running like new...

[Gems]

Read thru my thread here:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=919663

My tranny has been shifting perfectly since I followed the advice of BNaylor...

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by Gems

Read thru my thread here:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=919663

My tranny has been shifting perfectly since I followed the advice of BNaylor...

GEMs is this what you did ????? : BNAYLOR quote "Just to be safe I would run the Seafoam through, then do a pan drop. Install a new screen filter and then resupply with the Dex VI. You can get it at Walmart under the Supertech brand for around $3 per qt. See pic below. You will need around 8 qt. The system should hold around 7.5 qts with a pan drop service. Use an AC Delco TF304 screen filter which is the same as the SPX/Filtran brand since Filtran makes the Delco screen filter " end quote....

[Gems]

Yes, that is what I did... Tranny then shifted nice and smooth...

After that procedure I have used a hand pump fluid extractor to pull a quart at a time of additional tranny fluid out from the dip stick tube and replaced the extracted fluid with fresh Dexron VI... I have done that about a quart at a time, each weekend for 3 times now... I'll do that a few more times so that I have a high percentage of clean Dexron VI in the tranny...

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by Gems

Yes, that is what I did... Tranny then shifted nice and smooth...

After that procedure I have used a hand pump fluid extractor to pull a quart at a time of additional tranny fluid out from the dip stick tube and replaced the extracted fluid with fresh Dexron VI... I have done that about a quart at a time, each weekend for 3 times now... I'll do that a few more times so that I have a high percentage of clean Dexron VI in the tranny...

on the older GM transmissions you could place a 3/8inch tubing down the dip stick so that it would go to the bottom of the pan and you could suck out all but 1/2 quart of fluid from tranny...then drop pan with no mess...

now what I do is get drain plug pan use the drain plug because on the new tranny's there is a piece of metal partially blocking the hole and like you said only a quart can be sucked out..

[Gems]

Originally Posted by j cAT

on the older GM transmissions you could place a 3/8inch tubing down the dip stick so that it would go to the bottom of the pan and you could suck out all but 1/2 quart of fluid from tranny...then drop pan with no mess...

now what I do is get drain plug pan use the drain plug because on the new tranny's there is a piece of metal partially blocking the hole and like you said only a quart can be sucked out..

Yup, that's a better way to do it... The whole point of this, on an older transmission, is to get as much fluid out as possible without doing the "dreaded" fluid purge which can create more problems than it helps...

[Adrian09]

can some one help me with this problem i just had my transmission changed like 3 weeks ago...

[chevymandan]

Faulty Pressure Control Solenoid, GM knows about it, there are TSB about it. Harsh shifts when hot. The best and cheapest thing to do is call GM and complain. Their number is 1-800-222-1020. These transmissions are known to be defective but have yet to be recalled. I called today 6-21-2010. Ask for it to be recalled. If they get enough calls they will. Maybe


Update
installed transgo sk4t65e kit accumulator springs, filter and fluid and it shifts great now, total cost about 160, easy to do

[Nopower2move]

My automatic transmission is also sliiping whenver it is first driven (regardless of the temperature outside). Will it do any damage to keep driving it?

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by Nopower2move

My automatic transmission is also sliiping whenver it is first driven (regardless of the temperature outside). Will it do any damage to keep driving it?

your transmission is damaged if slipping.

what are your transmission service intervals. do you use the correct dexron VI fluid in it ? If the tranny has dexron III with over 100,ooomi on it it will need major work .

[Nopower2move]

It has 107,000 miles on it and has not been serviced since I had it. Funny thing it is not slipping now and the weather has been cooler (it doesn't seem to slip when the weather is hot). Is this normal for a bad transmission to do this intermittenly or is there something else that could be mimicking a slipping transmission?