95 lesabre xmission

[danshot]

Looking for some help. My 95 Lesabre limited transmission seems to be stuck in 3rd or 4th gear. Slow stating out and no shifting. Park, reverse, and nuetral is all fine. You can manually shift between 2 and 3 on the prndl. Mr Transmission tell me it's internal failure. I don't want to overhaul it, which they want to do. Hopefully someone has seen this before and save me a lot. I'm thinking maybe shift solenoids or something, which i know is a big job. Any help is appreciated.

[Tech II]

Have you scanned this for transmission codes?

Could be something as simple as a shift solenoid OR it could be the tranny harness has a rub through problem(have seen stud bolts rub through wire looms) and the circuit to the solenoid is compromised.....If diagnosis leads to a shift solenoid, it's not a big job....involves partially dropping the tranny on the driver's side, removing the axle and the tranny side cover.....

Get several opinions.....there are a ton of tranny shops out there....

[HotZ28]

Have the trans and PCM scanned for codes. 1995 was a bad year for quad driver failures in the PCM, which can duplicate this problem. If you have a quad driver failure, replace the PCM first.

[danshot]

So I got the car back from mr transmission. I was just going to start piddleing with it. Taking my time. I was looking at some of the wiring prints on all data. Just rying to see what all i can check. So I noticed a fuse that I never did check, labled "cooling fan/trans". It,s the power for the shift solenoids. So after checking that fuse. found it was blown. Replaced it and all is good to go for now. It's just unbelievalbe to me the fact that the transmission shop told me it was internal failure, fluid smelled burnt, and had some lining material in it. No wonder i always have reservations about taking my vehicles anywhere for repair.
Thank you! I do appreciate the help.

[Tech II]

If a fuse was blown, like I said before, check the tranny harness for a rub through condition against a stud or sharp edge......

[danshot]

Tech II, you also said get several opinions. Which I should have done. I guess thats always a good idea. Especially with transmisssions. I'll be checking for wire chafing today. Thanks for the help.

[dpalomaki]

It's just unbelievalbe to me the fact that the transmission shop told me it was internal failure,

When the only tool you have is a hammer, it is surprising how many problems look like a nail.

You can check yourself if the tranny fluid smells burned. When was the last filter/fluid change, not that it would blow a fuse?

As noted above, check carefully for what might be blowing a fuse, especially if it goes again. Are the radiator fans running OK?

[danshot]

Well i don't think the fans were working. My son was driving the car home from the transmission shop. He stopped in a gasstation to go in and buy something. He left the car running. When he came out he noticed the temp gauge was showing higher than normal. That kind of lead me to the fuse. I had to grill him for that information though. I try to teach him how to diagnose problems. What were you doing when the problem started? When did it start occuring? How did it act? What was going on just prior to the problem? ETC..... Hard to get kids to tell you exactly what happened. Seems they just want another car when one screws up...