uphill/need to punch it out

[regalfriend]

1997 Regal GS when i go up a hill i notice the car loses speed..Trans wont come out of 4th or lockup...while im climbing the nhill RPM's drop and car goes slower....when i give it a little gas the car seems to bog down and lose speed...the only way to overcome this is to punch the gas to shift to a lower gear any suggestions?

[GTP Dad]

Have the torque convertor clutch solenoid checked. It is probably not unlocking. If you touch the brake rather than going do a lower gear does it release? If so that is your problem. It will probably need to be replaced. You should try a tranny shop for full diagnosis.

[regalfriend]

thanks GTPDAD...problem is that tranny was replaced about 3000 miles ago....im 100% sure they put a 4t65e..not the HD version...it has been back for problems 5 times...they tried to BS me and say that this is the same tranny as the regal LS...i know its not...the splines are bigger...different flex plate, different output shaft and more...i know alot of parts are interchangable for these 2 units...after i brought it back i think they changed out some of the new parts with the ones taken out in the first place.......also since i noticed the problem on hills there has been a vibration that seems to be coming from the tranny under moderate to heavy acceleration...and the performance feature doesnt work at all....with the old tranny when i used the performance button it allowed the tranny to shift at higher rpm's and it seemed to shift alot faster(higher line pressure?)...with the old tranny, under light to moderate acceleration i did'nt even feel it shifting. The only way i knew it shifted was when i seen the RPM's drop...with the new tranny i feel all shifts...at low acceleration the shift is harsh...at hard acceleration it seems to shift to slow....I know im in a difficult position... the only way i can prove it's not the right transmission is to have a complete teardown...also there is a clunking when i shift into reverse...it only happens in reverse....some people tell me it's the cv joint and some people tell me it's the tranny...any input would be appreciated..thanks...

[GTP Dad]

The CV joint would cause a vibration not the problem you state. One thing you might want to try is to disconnect the power from the PCM for a while to clear the adaptive settings that have been set by normal driving to see if that does anything. Also have the car scanned to see if there are any misfire codes. I also hope they gave you a warranty on that transmission because it seems like there is a problem that they didn't correct and it will keep giving you problems.

[richtazz]

did they install a new or used or rebuilt trans? Sounds like the shop didn't do you right and are trying to weasel their way out of responsibility.