’03 Chevy Impala 3.4l 100k Gulping/Jolting.

[Colt Hero]

’03 Chevy Impala 3.4l 100k Gulping/Jolting.

My father’s car. He’s in the process of pulling the OBD-II codes – if there are any.

Here’s a summary of what he described to me:

Car has been having problems with ‘gulping jolts’ on and off, almost resulting in a stall. Mechanic took a look at it and ended up installing a “transmission kit” and fluid for $125+ (said an indicator light told him the fluid was low … is there such an indicator for transmission fluid on this car??). Of course, this did not fix the problem. Problems seems to happen from speeds up to 45 mph (and lower speeds may be worse). Car seems to perform OK at Interstate speeds (65 mph+), but there is a rough feeling underfoot. Problem does not start right away … maybe 5-10 miles after startup. Feels like it’s not getting enough gas.

His intake gaskets were supposedly replaced about a year or so ago.

[maxwedge]

First time I've seen that description for a car problem. Anyway, many things could cause " this" , rough trans shifts, low fuel pressure, ignition problelms, clogged fuel filter to name some, addt'l onsite diagnsis must be done, There is no trans fluid level warning lite.

[Colt Hero]

He's saying no CHECK ENGINE light and , therefore, no codes. Also turns out the LOW FLUID was brake fluid and not tranny fluid. The tranny fluid was changed for some other reason, apparently.

[maxwedge]

There could still be pending codes when a full scan is done as well as misfire counts.

[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.

[Colt Hero]

chevymandan,

Thanks, I'll pass that info along to my Dad!

[SierraK1500]

You need to get another mechanic.
Best bet is to take it to your Chevrolet dealer and have them fix it.
Sounds like the fuel injection. A problem perhaps?

There is no such thing as a low Tranny fluid light. You have a dipstick for that as well as the oil. Seems you got ripped off. Only light that comes on in the Communication Center is your Change oil Light.

Have the dealer run the codes as sometimes there is a problem that will NOT turn on the check engine light. A code may be present. Thats about 80 bucks in some dealers.

A shame that shops and crooked mechanics can do that to you.
Lets find out the problem!

John

[chevymandan]

i got the transgo sk4t65e kit and changed accumulator springs and spacers, works great, really easy to do. drop pan, unbolt accumulator housing, pull out piston, replace spring with ones in kit and reinstall. takes about 160 bucks and about an hour

[tirwin88]

My husbands 03 Impala had the same issue or a very similar. It was the EGR valve. A friend of ours just sprayed some cleaner in the EGR to clean it out and it stopped jolting etc for about a year. It is back again and he advised us to just replace it if it happens again. Not sure if this is the same thing you are experiencing!

[Colt Hero]

I was in town for a week about 5 weeks ago and didn't get a chance to test drive the car. Now I'm too far away to do it again for a while, but another crisis (Nursing Home situation) has taken the fore there, so I don't expect to hear anything more on this for a while.

Thanks for all the input for now...

[2005chevimpala]

Originally Posted by chevymandan

i got the transgo sk4t65e kit and changed accumulator springs and spacers, works great, really easy to do. drop pan, unbolt accumulator housing, pull out piston, replace spring with ones in kit and reinstall. takes about 160 bucks and about an hour

Can someone give me the names of the places I can get this kit for my 2005 impala,my solienide was done 5 times in 3 years,I'm in Canada and would like to know where to buy the kit and how exactly is it installed,I saw a post on here about it 3 months ago but can't find it noe,also i think someone may have had pics posted of how to install the kit.

[chevymandan]

i found the kit by going to ebay.com and search "transgo sk4t65e" you can buy it from there or any tranny shop should sell them most likely at an inflated price

[chevymandan]

I found it easy to do. If you can change your tranny filter you can install this.
You will need about 9 qts of tranny fluid
I used seafoam for transmissions in the car for about 100 miles before I did the job, its suppose to clean out everything
Install new filter and fluid after installing the kit
I used just the stuff for the accumulator housing, this kit comes with a lot more stuff I didn't use. Some people like some of the other kits, which just come with the plastic shims instead of metal. I have not had any hard shifts since I installed the kit.

I am not a mechanic, but this is how I did it and found info on the specs, double check just to be sure

1. disconnect battery
2. drain tranny fluid
3. take off tranny pan , keep the gasket because it is more than likely going to be the reusable type ( metal lined)
4. Unbolt accumulator housing, there are 4 or 5 bolts that mount the accumulator to the tranny, but all of the bolts for the accumulator need to come out sooner or later.
5. It will have 3 lines going to the accumulator housing, they just slip out with a little finesse
6. Open up accumulator housing and you will see a gasket, which can be reused, and 2 pistons
7. Pull those out along with the springs, you will reuse the springs on top of the piston, but not below the piston
8. The transgo kit uses 3 springs in the 3rd position along with a shim above and below the piston (It will tell you this in the kit)
9. 2nd uses 2 springs with a shim below the piston.
10. The rods in which the pistons ride on will fit into the bore at the bottom of the accumulator housing
11. Clean gaskets and bolt everything back together, make sure the 3 lines are secure and fully installed into the housing
12. 8mm bolts - 8 ft lbs, 10mm bolts- 18 ft lbs

I think the whole job cost me about $150 and took about 2 hours. 1 hour to do the job and another to set up and clean up. I have seen people changing the PCS and having the same problem over and over, but the shift kit seems to do the trick from what I have read.

[2005chevimpala]

Originally Posted by chevymandan

I found it easy to do. If you can change your tranny filter you can install this.
You will need about 9 qts of tranny fluid
I used seafoam for transmissions in the car for about 100 miles before I did the job, its suppose to clean out everything
Install new filter and fluid after installing the kit
I used just the stuff for the accumulator housing, this kit comes with a lot more stuff I didn't use. Some people like some of the other kits, which just come with the plastic shims instead of metal. I have not had any hard shifts since I installed the kit.

I am not a mechanic, but this is how I did it and found info on the specs, double check just to be sure

1. disconnect battery
2. drain tranny fluid
3. take off tranny pan , keep the gasket because it is more than likely going to be the reusable type ( metal lined)
4. Unbolt accumulator housing, there are 4 or 5 bolts that mount the accumulator to the tranny, but all of the bolts for the accumulator need to come out sooner or later.
5. It will have 3 lines going to the accumulator housing, they just slip out with a little finesse
6. Open up accumulator housing and you will see a gasket, which can be reused, and 2 pistons
7. Pull those out along with the springs, you will reuse the springs on top of the piston, but not below the piston
8. The transgo kit uses 3 springs in the 3rd position along with a shim above and below the piston (It will tell you this in the kit)
9. 2nd uses 2 springs with a shim below the piston.
10. The rods in which the pistons ride on will fit into the bore at the bottom of the accumulator housing
11. Clean gaskets and bolt everything back together, make sure the 3 lines are secure and fully installed into the housing
12. 8mm bolts - 8 ft lbs, 10mm bolts- 18 ft lbs

I think the whole job cost me about $150 and took about 2 hours. 1 hour to do the job and another to set up and clean up. I have seen people changing the PCS and having the same problem over and over, but the shift kit seems to do the trick from what I have read.

Ok thanks for all the helpfull info guys.

[chevymandan]

the accumulator housing worked for the most part but i still got an occasional jolt so i decided to replace all the solenoids
I was dreading changing the pcs, but it was easier than i thought. I am not a mechanic and I am not suggesting that you do this, this is what I did and it worked fine and saved a bunch of money and was easy to do. Anything you decide to do is your choice and I am not liable for it
1. disconnect battery and drain transmission fluid, put transmission pan back on with a few bolts, you can change the filter when you are done with everything else and put all the bolts back in
2. take off air filter housing and air intake, take electrical plug out of transmission
3. raise boot on steering gear box and take bolt out of steering connecting to steering shaft, it is one bolt and has to come completely out and then slide the shaft up off of it (this is done so you do not damage the steering when you lower the cradle)
4. loosen axle nut and lug nuts so you can get them off when you raise the vehicle.
5. raise vehicle,and support it,take off the following only on drivers side: wheel, brake caliper (hang out of way), lower ball joint off of lower A arm, tie rod end, sway bar
6. now you can take out the 3 strut nuts from up top and tap on the axle nut very lightly, then take the axle nut off to get it out of the front hub assembly,
7. push down on the lower A arm, and pull the strut out (i left the strut, rotor, front hub assembly as one when i took it out), also take out engine splash shield which has 3 plastic rivets in it, then pull out axle, i used a slide hammer
8. I had 3 different areas of support , the body, the transmission, and the front drivers side cradle
9. I placed a piece of plywood on the jack and used it to support the transmission, be careful not to raise it to high and crack your coolant reservoir
10. I placed another jack on the cradle
11. I used jack stands to support the body
12. I took out the tranny mount nuts that bolt it to the cradle.
13. With the tranny supported, as well as the Cradle, I loosened the 2 drivers side cradle bolts and took them completely out. Lower the cradle down. This allows you to get to the bottom bolts of the side cover. Then lower the transmission down to get the rest of the bolts out.
14. Pull off side cover and replace solenoids. Disconnect wire harness, they have a pin that you must pull out with needle nose pliers, pull out solenoid
15. Reverse procedure to assemble
16. got alignment

This job took about 5 hours, because it was my first time doing it, but it is real easy
I bought a solenoid kit off ebay for $108, fluid and filter for about $60, I used about 10 qts

every car is different so use common sense when you are working on it, you have no one to blame but yourself if you screw up, good luck