Tommy231
08-03-2004, 08:09 PM
After running my car at the local dragway last week, I had a problem develop with the transmission on the way home. When I exited the freeway in attempt to stop for fuel, I noticed that it didn't want to shift into OD during accelleration, but instead would shift back to 3rd. It even seemed like it was in two gears at once, lugging the engine until the downshift completed back to 3rd.
It seemed to have developed a pretty big leak as well, as the smell of trans fluid was obvious and there was smoke coming off of the exhaust. After checking the fliud level (it was OK) and adding fuel, I tried again to get it to upshift into OD, but to no avail. It was then that I noticed that the trans was leaking only during the "two-gears-at-once" anomaly. It actually left a trail on the road.
I checked the fluid again and needed to add about 1/4 quart. I limped it home in manual 3rd gear and had no further problems or leaks (about 45 miles of stop and go).
Last night I put it on jack stands, and tried to observe what was happening and the problem repeated. It seems to leak out of the upper front of the trans (vent or front seal, I couldn't tell) during the attempted OD upshift event.
Then I noticed that there was some obvious and unusual slack in the TV cable in the idle position. I tried the OD shift with the cable at various extensions and it seemed to shift OK at WOT on the TV (still part throttle). The fluid doesn't seem to be burned.
So I road tested and tried various TV adjustments on the road. The part throttle shift didn't seem to vary in firmness like it should with the TV cable too light or too loose, in fact it seemed harder all the time at part throttle compared to what I am used to.
The slack in the cable tells me something failed in the TV system. The cable still has some light spring return, just not as far as it should. Any ideas about what I should look for when I drop the pan?
It seemed to have developed a pretty big leak as well, as the smell of trans fluid was obvious and there was smoke coming off of the exhaust. After checking the fliud level (it was OK) and adding fuel, I tried again to get it to upshift into OD, but to no avail. It was then that I noticed that the trans was leaking only during the "two-gears-at-once" anomaly. It actually left a trail on the road.
I checked the fluid again and needed to add about 1/4 quart. I limped it home in manual 3rd gear and had no further problems or leaks (about 45 miles of stop and go).
Last night I put it on jack stands, and tried to observe what was happening and the problem repeated. It seems to leak out of the upper front of the trans (vent or front seal, I couldn't tell) during the attempted OD upshift event.
Then I noticed that there was some obvious and unusual slack in the TV cable in the idle position. I tried the OD shift with the cable at various extensions and it seemed to shift OK at WOT on the TV (still part throttle). The fluid doesn't seem to be burned.
So I road tested and tried various TV adjustments on the road. The part throttle shift didn't seem to vary in firmness like it should with the TV cable too light or too loose, in fact it seemed harder all the time at part throttle compared to what I am used to.
The slack in the cable tells me something failed in the TV system. The cable still has some light spring return, just not as far as it should. Any ideas about what I should look for when I drop the pan?