1989 Camry Shift issue

[ifixthings]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

I'm no trans expert but a few questions come to mind. How many miles are on this car? How old is the trans fluid that is in there? What color is it?

Mike

close to 240k miles. and i have no idea how old the trans fluid is. and i wanna say its a goldish(?) looking color. i've been to autozone and asked them about it and the guy said the bands might need to be tightened. but i'll try flushing and refilling the trans first to see if that corrects the problem.

[Mike Gerber]

"i'll try flushing and refilling the trans first to see if that corrects the problem."

Draining and refilling the transmission through the drain plug in the bottom of the pan (if that's what you meant) (you actually refill through the dipstick hole) only drains about 1/3 of the transmission fluid. You might want to try one of the places that uses a machine hooked up to your transmission and drains and refills about 99% of the fluid. Or you could drain and refill the fluid using the drain plug, a number of times after driving a few hundred miles each time. That and keep your fingers crossed. 240,000 miles is a lot of miles, especially not knowing when the fluid has been previously changed.

Good luck.

Mike

[ifixthings]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

"i'll try flushing and refilling the trans first to see if that corrects the problem."

Draining and refilling the transmission through the drain plug in the bottom of the pan (if that's what you meant) (you actually refill through the dipstick hole) only drains about 1/3 of the transmission fluid. You might want to try one of the places that uses a machine hooked up to your transmission and drains and refills about 99% of the fluid. Or you could drain and refill the fluid using the drain plug, a number of times after driving a few hundred miles each time. That and keep your fingers crossed. 240,000 miles is a lot of miles, especially not knowing when the fluid has been previously changed.

Good luck.

Mike

for close to 240k it still runs like a dream, aside from the transmission lol. its a crust bucket buts its a tough crust bucket. ill ask around some more and see if i can find a trans shop that'll diagnose it. thanks mike. ill keep ya'll updated.

[270+camry]

To dobb, i'd tell you to check to see if ur TCM is throwing any codes and also ur transmission solenoids, they can be cleaned sometimes and that can do a world of good. They aren't cheap. sorry that was 3 years late but id put money on that it's solenoids.

to ifixthings, it serisously always helps to clean the solenoids bro, or at least doesnt hurt. topping off the tranny fluid wont always help if u got a nasty fluid and a stopped up filter. Mike is right, doing the tree shade fluid job wont change all the fluid out, but at the same time it beats the hell out of 160 bucks to get it flushed. i say pull the trans pan off, drain it, check the solenoids since i think in that car they are inside the pan (on some cars they bolt to the outside, my car is manual so i cant tell you.) also check to see if ur trans is throwin off any codes, i think its behind the glove box, hopefuly someone chimes in an tells u the exact location of these things but im sure you can google it. when u get all that done and have changed the filter and gasket, drive for like 100 miles to let the fluid cycle into the torque converter and then flush it again. the fluid and all ain't cheap if you are on a budget but it's worth the preventive maintenance.

question, does ur engine run hot? hot engine means hot trans and hot trans shift like dog crap.

[jdmccright]

It is recommended that you NOT have the transmission power flushed at this point at a shop. Any varnish and build-up that has formed inside can break loose during the flush and re-deposit inside the valve body and cause a total failure. Do as suggested with a fluid drain and replace the filter inside the pan. Run it a few hundred miles then drain and refill again. Repeat drive, drain, and refill again. This allows the gunk to be slowly redissolved.

You might consider adding some transmission fix such as Lucas Oil (don't overfill) to the last refill. Use only the amount as directed. It's a thicker fluid that helps older valve body seals maintain pressures. I have not read or heard of anyone else having issues with this stuff, but I have used it successfully (so far) in my old Chevy truck.

Hope this helps!