Terrano D21 over revving and loosing power on hills - help

[seanphoon]

Hi, Can anyone help with this? My 1993 auto terrano is over revving uphill when its trying to change down through the gears - It feels like is slips into neutral (the RPM revvs to over 4000) as the truck looses power and speed. Very frustrating!
Have been to 2 mechanics who both said different things - one said its the kick down cable, the other said its the torque converter or tramission.
Anyone had this happen?? Hoping its an easy fix.....Help!

[jhamelin819]

slipping clutch?

[Terranovation]

First things first - when was the last time the transmission was totally flushed out?

Secondly, is the right fluid in there? Dexron III is suitable although Nissan recommend theirs is better.

Third, check your belts. If they are a bit loose then tighten them up. You'll actually notice a slight improvement in response.

Fourth, is the transmission getting fully warmed up? From what you describe, mine does the same thing on hills, especially when it's still cold. When it's warmed up, no problems.

For flushing the transmission it involves removing the bash plate under the front, then you'll have access to the back of your transmission cooler. Remove the hose on the right hand side (it's the hose feeding down from the top of the right side of the transmission cooler. Right side being as if you are laying down looking up underneath the front of your Terrano.)

Put a drain pan underneath and start up for a couple of seconds then turn off. Check underneath to make sure you pulled off the right hose, if so then the drain pan should have fluid in it, with trans fluid coming out of the hose too. If you pulled the wrong hose off, you'll have transmission fluid mess to clean up but don't worry too much about it, trans fluid is easier to wipe up than engine oil is!

So start the car up, this pumps all the trans fluid out of the system, torque converter and all.

When the hose starts sputtering, turn off the car, reconnect the trans hose. Climb underneath and locate the trans pan drain plug, undo that and you might get a bit more fluid out of the pan. Install new washer on the drain nut and tighten back up.

Now, refill the trans with the same amount you got out. You'll need about 8 litres? I think I could be wrong it might be between 6 - 8 litres, but buy 2 x 4 litre Dexron III. I recommend the Castrol blend, it has on it "for Asian vehicles" ours typically being jap imports.

Refill through the trans dipstick putting in the first 4 litres, then it's a good idea to start up the engine, go through each gear so the new fluid can go through all the gear meashes. While the engine runs, pour in a bit more trans fluid, checking it on the dipstick for correct level.

To get the absolute correct level, check the level with the vehicle in park and with engine running and fully warmed up after a 20 min drive.

If after all this and the transmission is still slipping out of gear going up hills then it's definitely a syncro problem and the bands need adjusting. Good luck and don't let any dodge mechanic rip you off.