Tranny problems? Or Electrical

[Lotus49]

Well im having problems again.. this one has me stumped. I start the car in the morning.. starts right up fine. Settles down to about 1000 rpm untill it warms up. Then settles down to a nice 750 rpm idle.. I put it into gear . It goes very smoothly. Sometimes u cant even feel it. If i where to put it back into park.. it would idle at 1000. then go into gear kinda hard.. i put it back into park and now it idles at 1250 and SLAMS into gear. Same if i start it up and drive. It shifts very nicely.. But after a min or so .. sometimes it wont even shift, or it will shift very late and hard. But if i stop and turn the car off for even a second and then start it again.. it settles down to 750 and goes into gear very nicely. I noticed the engine light comes on once in a while now.. only stays on for about 30 seconds then goes off. usually after that light comes on .. or right before it does is where i start to have the problems.

it just started today.. nothing special happened.

its a 1994 Z28 Lt1 auto

[chevytrucks92]

Have you checked your transmission fluid?

[Lotus49]

yes, i cant get a reading ,, goes all up the stick.. i brought it to a tranny shop.. they said i was down a quart.. ive never been able to read it

[chevytrucks92]

Well you may be checking it wrong. You have to have your car running and in Park.

If they told ya it was down a quart, then that is probably why you are having shifting trouble.

[Lotus49]

I check it in park.. netrual.. and sometimes i have my friend hold the brake with it in gear.. i can never get a reading

[Lotus49]

and what about the engine light?...

[chevytrucks92]

Just leave it in park when you check the fluid level.
And always wipe the dipstick off when you pull it out the first time, and then stick it back in and pull it back out and don't tilt it up (so the fluid don't run up the stick). If you can't get a reading that way, then I don't know what to tell ya, lol

As for the check engine light. They come on for a number of reasons, could be emissions, could be an electrical problem. I'm not really familiar with Camaros. Do you have some kind of throttle positioning sensor? Or maybe you have an O2 sensor going south.

How does your tranny shift when your driving? Does it shift smooth or does it shift hard?

[Lotus49]

well at 1st it shifts smooth and right on the correct rpm at normal throttle.. then sometimes all of a sudden it will either not shift at all or slam itself into gear.. but if i shut the car off and start if right back up... it shifts fine then starts all over.. oh and i know how to check the tranny

[chevytrucks92]

Well, it could be an electrical problem with the trans (it is electronic controlled right?), but if a shop said you was a quart low then there is a good chance that is your problem.

[Lotus49]

and what would cause the high idle.. it idles now at 1500

[chevytrucks92]

Well your car has to have some kind of idle control sensor, and that is probably casuing your high idle. Now I dont know where it is on a LT1, but its probably in your Throttle Body.

[351wStang]

Some cars require that the trans be checked in neutral. But I think those are mostly mopars and take ATF +3 where I beleive your camaro probably takes dex/merc III.