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TRANSMISSION WOES


BrianD
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My 98 Pathy trans started acting up. The fluid lux fine.

I don't get over drive till it's really hot. When on the hiway it shifts between 3rd and over drive - ...a LOT .. and often..with no hills in sight.

Mine has been acting weird over the last few years - it takes more and more and more time to shift into overdrive every winter. Now this.

I'm thinking it's a Trans fluid temp sensor? Yer thots?...and if so..where do I find it?

If NOT..what shud I be looking at?

If I've gotta pull the trans pan, what filter and oil shud I be buying?

 

The CEL came on - I checked for codes and it's the same Evap 1448 and ??? another one, for years now, and so it's got nuthin' to do with the trans prolm.

Any advice, tips or trix will be appreciated.

Thanx Brian

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My hunch is it's your coolant temp sensor for the ECM and not the gauge. If you look at the top coolant neck on your engine you will see two sensors. The foremost one is the one for the coolant temp gauge and the second one in the behind it is the sensor for the ECM. That one could cause fuel mileage and running issues because the ecu thinks your engine is not warm enough so it stops it from shifting into overdrive.

 

The transmission has one or maybe two coolant temp sensors but I cannot remember for sure. If you were to drop your transmission oil plan you will see them.

 

 

Edited by Cuong Nguyen
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Did you ever install an external trans cooler? I have the 3.5 and added one for towing but it caused in increase in the time it takes to shift into OD. Takes even longer in the winter. Might have a blockage, flow issue or just need a new sensor as mentioned. When was the last time the trans fluid was serviced?

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Thanx Coung - my temp gauge on the dash reads "normal" ..maybe even on the cool end.. I looked for the thermostat last night - Cudn't even Find IT! what the ...? But I did have a look at the temp sensor near the distributor, on the coolant hose housing, cleaned it and used some electrical contact goo on it.

I haven't driven it yet since but it was corroded and very dirty. It shifted so hard into second the other day while turning it chirped the tire! 1st time ever. Cudda been a fluke in the hot sun.

Lukd underneath - no leaks. I watched this video. This guy is pretty amazing. IMO.

 

I hope I DON"T have this happen. So I'm driving the wife's little corolla till I can make a plan and get some answers B4 spending a ton of $$.

I shudda mentioned - I got this truck for $500 - 8 yrs ago - never ever changed the fluid ( I know I know) and it's at 335,000 kms - 210,000 miles.

It's gotta trans cooler as well.

Thinking I shud drop the pan..replace the fluid and filter and button it up 1st , before taking it to a transmission shop?

You think I need a trans flush and not just a drain?

Wud it make any difference or is it waste of $ to do this without professional help?

The truck is in ruff shape but still werx great...and I like keeping it on the road to rub it in the face of all ppl driving all that high end, high dollar cars and trucks...even btr when I drive by and their cars are on the tow hook.

The looks I get are priceless.

 

Thanx guys

 

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I'm getting a new filter and gasket today & gonna do a semi flush. But FIRST.. I'm going to disconnect the trans cooler line at the rad and use the power of the engine to pump out the fluid. I'll drop the pan and see what's inside before adding any new fluid. If it's full of chunks of steel it'll go to the transmission shop and I'll return all the stuff I already bought yesterday. If not, I'll install the new filter and gasket and reinstall the pan and continue with flushing with the 8 litres of Dexron 3 Mercron fluid.

It seems to me like the least expensive, possible fix before spending any real $$$.

I looked for the trans cooler and did not find it where it supposed to be in the FSM. The lines only go into the bottom of the rad.

Yer thots?

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Cool video! That thing had some serious kibbles and bits going on inside.

 

The factory trans cooler is inside the lower rad tank. It transfers the trans heat to the engine coolant.

 

I didn't bother dropping the pan on my '93. I just unhooked a cooler line, ran the engine until it quit pumping, added fluid, pumped it out, and repeated that until the fluid coming out looked clean. The old fluid (after 231k miles if it was original) looked good on the stick but it was brown in the bucket and I saw a little metallic shimmer when I first disconnected the cooler line. I put it back together with an aftermarket cooler and a Magnefine external filter to hopefully catch whatever small particles of crap the flush didn't get rid of.

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Thanx for that. I did the same. I went to pick up my filter and gasket yesterday and they didn't arrive. I went forward anyway cause it's the only time I cud do it.

So I didn't drop the pan either. Pumped out the the trans by disconnecting the driver side hose from the rad. Connected a clear hose to it and started the engine. The fluid pumps out FAST and it was kinda purple brown in colour. Did a re-connect - Added 3 litres trans fluid and a litre of Sea Foam Trans Tune - started it and shifted slowly thru all the gears for 3 - 4 minutes ..drained it again and it was almost black at 1st...and then purple and then reddish.

There was a weird high pitched zzzip sound - low to high in pitch -when shifting into 1st a few times.?

Added a bottle of LUCAS trans fix and a few more litres. Did a test drive. It was acting ..differently. Came home and checked the level - added more fluid. Test drive - shifted into OD at slow speed before even 2 kms.

Got on the highway and after jumping back and forth between 3 & 4 a few times it stayed locked up in OD and now shifts properly. It seems like it's a win for around $120.

I used 8 litres of Fluid $64 - 1 can of Sea Foam $15 - 1 container of Lucas Trans Fix $20 and a Plastic catch container. $20

Gotta drive it today and see if it's still OK when it's cold. Thanx 4 yer help!

 

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I wish I had seen that video before I rebuilt my transmission. The ant rattle clip had be baffled for weeks. When I pulled the clutch pack the clip was just sitting in the bottom of the case and I had no idea where it came from.

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UPDATE - ya well. It worked yesterday but not today. Damn! So WHY doesn't it shift today then?

The temp gauge on the dash showed cold and didn't move till over 2 km and It's 70 degrees outside. Drove it at 100 km for 9 km - it never shifted into OD once.

turned around - drove another 9 - 10 km this time 100 to 120 km - and it still didn't shift into OD.

It's hard reading the dipstick - can't clearly tell if I have too much fluid in it. Someone mentioned it CUD be the thermostat and/ or a temp sensor on the thermostat housing.

It least it tried to shift into OD before the flush and was MUCH better even yesterday.

There's no CEL either.

Your suggestions?

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Finally had some time (and parts) so I pulled the pan today. It was absolutely clean with NO steel shavings in it. The magnet lukd like it has 1/16th" of black grease on it. I poked around and the particles kinda stood straight up. I was expecting to see something wrong Still looking for answers to why it won't shift into 4th gear. The trans fluid looked PURPLE!

What the..? Any suggestions on what I shud do next?

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Purple? Should be red. I don't know if royal purple is purple so you have to check. Check the tcu for codes along with ecu if you can get it to work. That's a start.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

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