2000 Venture Kicks

[jac1028]

[color=darkorange]When accelerating the and reaching 20-30mph the van seems to kick foward, it feels like a hard trans shift. It does not do this all the time, infact it only does it maybe 4 out of 10 times, but when it has its fits of kicking, its annoying. Took it to dealer, they drove it and said its fine, took it again, they told me it was a dirty gas filter, it still kicks, I don't trust dealer. It could go a hole week without the kick and then out of nowhere it kicks foward (or that's what it feels like), only in drive mode, not reverse, any ideas what it could be?? changed trans fluid weeks ago, trans for the most part is smooth and shift quietly. Took Van to reputible trans fluid changing place, assuming proper fluid was used. I checked trans fluid level, ok, not dirty, or grindy, perfect.

[omanj79]

i'm having the same problem with mine took it to tran guy and he replace a plate and had the computer reprogramed and it still has been doing it just not as much. have you come up with anything yet to get yours fixed

[GMMerlin]

Does this happen only during a shift point or just when driving down the road?
Does it feel like the engine momentarily shuts off and back on again?
What may be happening is a wiring harness is chaffed causing a wire to short to ground changing the signal to the PCM.
Has any work been done lately?

[omanj79]

it only does it when the van is shifting sometime it will be lite and then sometime it can jerk pretty hard like you are popping the clutch on a 5 speed

[GMMerlin]

Originally Posted by omanj79

it only does it when the van is shifting sometime it will be lite and then sometime it can jerk pretty hard like you are popping the clutch on a 5 speed

There was a GM TSB #00-07-30-002B that referenced a problem with the PC solenoid inside the transmission.
The faulty solenoid would cause pressure changes inside the trans that would cause the trans to shift hard or shutter.

[omanj79]

i think they replaced that part and then a part with alot of hole and brass liking stuff on it

it mostly happens after the van warms up and we go somewhere long distance 50-75 miles or when we go to town and do alot of starting and stopping

[enelrad]

We have had the same problem TWICE! Once at 30 000 km and then again at 77 000 km.

Fortunately the first time was under warrenty.
Unfortunately the second time it wasn't and cost us $618.

The dealarship replaced the trans pressure control solenoid in both cases.

The first time around they said they had never seen this problem before....fixed it and said we should never have the same problem!
Keeping our fingers crossed that this is the last replacement.

Has anyone else had to have this repair twice?

[jamx13]

I bought a 2000 Venture w/107k miles about a month ago. When I took it out for a short test ride, everything was fine. After closing the deal & driving it for a while, I discovered that it had the "hard shift" problem which I've now found is common with the 4T65E tranny. I talked to a friend who works at an auto repair shop & he stopped by with a small diagnostics computer which found code 1811? (I think) which indicates a bad PCS solenoid. I did some searching online & found a company called "Thrasher" that builds high performance 4T65E trannies & sells shift improver kits. They offered an e-mail address for questions, so I dropped them a line with a brief explanation of my problem...here's their reply:

"The solenoid controls the line pressure, with the hard shifting you're experiencing harder than normal line pressures, just like a shift kit would do. It isn't damaging, just an annoyance. The clutches actually last longer with higher pressure because of less slip. The only time harder pressures become damaging are when you have enough torque (race engine) that the shifts bang so hard that hard (steel) parts get stressed and fractured and broken. Obviously, the 3400 in the u-van won't generate that sort of torque so it's just an annoyance!"

Hope that helps.

I'm still considering tackling the job myself...the PCS solenoid is less that $50, but I've been told that accessing the side cover where the solenoid is may require quite a bit of dismantling....

[jamx13]

Since Thrasher was nice enough to take the time to answer my question (especially since it was obvious that I wasn't gonna be purchasing one of their products), let me give them a plug...here's their website:

http://www.thrashercharged.com/l67_htm/shiftkit.shtm

[blueice052375]

My wife thought this hard shifting was the beginnings of a serious transmission problem so since it had 80k miles on it anyway I decided to try to trade it in. To find out the van is not even worth low book trade in value and I still owe about retail on it so trading it in got shot down by the bank. I called a trusted mechanic about the hard shifting and he found some error codes in the system (which he did not tell me what codes yet) but since he could not duplicate the problem he told me to bring it back when it starts experiencing the problem again. Since the kicks are soo sporatic here at one time and gone the next this has not been possible. I did notice that the kicks occur more when the engine is warm but many times it does not kick at all. I will take some of these suggestions mentioned in this BBS string to him to see if these sensors and other parts might be the root cause. This mechanic is real good and proven in the past to be real honest so I should be able to get a good answer.

[KJRich]

My '99 Venture did this also. I was showing MAF codes along with tranny codes. I replaced the MAF sensor and it hasn't jerked since.

[omanj79]

what is the MAF sensor thanks

[KJRich]

Mass airflow, its in the tubing between the air filter box and the throttle body. Should be over on the drivers side of the underhood area, near the coolant tank. I wouldn't change it unless its showing a code, though. About a $105 part at most stores, not the dealer.