Auto transmission mystery

[brauer]

Hello,

My 2000 SL2 is giving me transmission problems. The symptoms are:

1. When cold, shifting happens with 'clunks' between gears -- harshest going into reverse from park;
2. Clunking goes away as the engine heats up;
3. There are air bubbles on the trans. fluid dipstick.

The dealer says that there is a loose connection at the buss plate wire harness, and wants to replace the harness and 1 actuator ($615 total).

The dealership recently (1 mo. ago) did some other work and at that time changed the fluid and filter. Might these symptoms be related to that earlier work?

Thanks!

[sierrap615]

auto trans aren't my specialty, but it sound to me like a dirty valve body, that explans the shifting, but not the air bubbles. trans service may or may not be related. ask on saturnfans.com for better help.

[carguy83]

there is a link on saturnfans.com on how to clean the tranny and whatnot... i have an auto and it did the whole SLAMMING thing a while ago... but i spent the money at the dealer to fix it and then i just found out i got ripped off

[sierrap615]

yes, saturnfans.com has a "reverse slam cure" that sometimes works, but i fear that your trans is past the quick fix stage.

[carguy83]

yeah umm, bubbles on the dipstick is something i've never heard of before...

[sierrap615]

Originally Posted by carguy83

yeah umm, bubbles on the dipstick is something i've never heard of before...

it means you have a air leak somewhere airating the oil. a common example is a blown headgasket will lead to excessive bubbles in the coolent.

[DM_Rok]

Since you had the upper valve body replaced recently to cure the slamming issue, I would suspect possibly an internal gasket leak at the valvebody to trans case surface. Also, a faulty actuator / loose connection can occur during this procedure. The Actuator Bus plate may need to be replaced. I would recommend taking it back to the dealeer where the previous service was performed, since this could be an issue of improper installation during the previous repair.

As for the bubbles on the dipstick....maybe an additive was put in the ATF?