95 SL-1 Engine/Tranny Problem???

[nell1]

I have a 95 sl1 automatic with 155k miles on it. I was driving today and I noticed a funny burning smell... kind of like burning rubber, but not quite. It kind of had a sort of a burning hot metal smell to it, it that makes sense. I had been driving for a while and the engine was hot. the RPMs dropped very low when I came to a stop. the temp gauge went up over the halfway point. It started shifting gears erratically and the SES light came on. I pulled over to check it out. Tranny fluid was good, oil level good, belt seemed to be in ok shape. I couldn't see any obvious problems. I read the engine codes and I got a tranny code 23 (no 3rd gear.)

It may have been my imagination, but it seemed to me that I had to brake much harder to get the car to stop and that the steering was looser. I also go a nasty lurch from the change in gear when I slowed to make a stop.

I had previously noticed recently that the RPMs always seemed much lower than they should be while idle, especially when the engine was warm.

I have also gotten the same tranny code several times before.

Any ideas what the problem could be?

[SabreKhan]

My very first guess would be to check the thermostat. That may be causing overheating which would in turn cause other problems.