Transmission Woes

[jgeorg]

I pretty well know my tranny is going but I'm hoping for some opinions on my course of action. Right now the car won't get out of second. The only time is if I'm going down a hill, I'll pop it into neutral to coast and when it gets over 40 mph I'll put in drive and it seems to be in third gear. Otherwise I'm only going 30 mph. The fluid level is good and it doesn't smell burnt. It's still red in color. What are the speeds that the gears change? I have a feeling overdrive is gone. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[LeSabre97mint]

Originally Posted by jgeorg

I pretty well know my tranny is going but I'm hoping for some opinions on my course of action. Right now the car won't get out of second. The only time is if I'm going down a hill, I'll pop it into neutral to coast and when it gets over 40 mph I'll put in drive and it seems to be in third gear. Otherwise I'm only going 30 mph. The fluid level is good and it doesn't smell burnt. It's still red in color. What are the speeds that the gears change? I have a feeling overdrive is gone. Any suggestions are appreciated.

What year? Millage? other items that may be happening?

Dan

[jgeorg]

Sorry. '90 LeSabre. 400,000 km.

[jgeorg]

The car goes into gear but it has a hard time getting out of 2nd gear. It will eventually but the car is revving too high and it won't go into overdrive even if you get it to change to 3rd.

[HotZ28]

The transmission has a vacuum modulator to help control the shift points. It has a diaphragm inside of it that will develop a leak and will cause the shifting to become erratic. Look on the front side on the transmission. There is a short, 90 degree molded vacuum line connected to it. Pull the vacuum line off and see if any transmission fluid comes out of it. If it does, the diaphragm is bad and you will definitely need to replace the modulator.

If no fluid comes out, that does not necessarily mean it's good either. Trace the tube up to the engine and make sure there are no vacuum leaks and the hoses are in good shape. If they are, and you're getting vacuum down to the modulator, then go ahead and replace it.

When you remove the modulator there will be a short steel rod going into the transmission. This serves as an adjustment for the shift points. There are several lengths of rods available for adjustment. You shouldn't need to change it, just make sure you don't lose it and make sure you put it back in. FYI... the longer the rod, the higher the shift point, the shorter the rod, the lower the shift point.