1995 pathfinder tranny issues

[kndmercer]

I have a 1995 Pathfinder with about 140,000 miles has run great however lately I have been having shifting issues. I have read through the threads on here and have not found anything that quite corners it for me. My issue is shifting into 3rd gear. Reverse and all the other are fine. If I stop and shut the truck of then it goes on without a problem. Sometimes it will do it 4-5 times in my 45 minute trip home and sometimes I have no isue at all. I need to change the fluid and put a different cooler on it but, wondering about any sensors that could be causing it. Any ideas for troubleshooting...the manual almost sounds like "limp in mode" is what I have going on. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

[Precise1]

I need to change the fluid and put a different cooler on it

Do this first, at least the fluid, but the cooler isn't hard or costly either.

 

My issue is shifting into 3rd gear

Elaborate please...

 

B

[nismothunder]

No idea, you need to explane it better.

[kndmercer]

sorry, just now getting a chance to reply...as I said reverse runs fine and sometimes when I drive it I have no problem at all but, other times, and becoming more frequent, I will be driving down the road 65 mph and its like you shifted it out of overdrive and into 2nd gear. Going uphill or downhill, it has happened going either way. Then if you let off the gas the engine goes to idle (like you popped it into netural, no engine braking) and when you step back on the gas the engine races back as if there is no load on it untill it reaches the RPM it was at when you let off the gas. It will not shift past 2nd gear, even after this. I even tried to slow down to about 20MPH and manually shift it into 1st, and it would not even shift down then. If I stop the truck and do not turn the engine off when you take off again its like you are in high gear or starting out in 2nd gear, it will never shift, at all, the whole time you are getting back to speed from a complete stop. Even if you manually shift it. If I stop the truck and shut it off for 10 seconds or so, re-start the truck, it shifts fine as you are getting back to speed, it will shift through all 4 gears. Sometimes it will down shift once in a 45 mile trip, and sometimes it happens every 5 miles. Today I tried something different when it shifted down, I shifted the truck into neutral, turned the key off, as I am running down the road at 65 mph, for about 10 seconds (kinda scary) restarted the truck, shifted back into drive, and never had a problem the rest of the way home, about 40 miles. Since the steering didn't lock, I just let it coast as I shut the engine off, and restarted it. I was still running about 50MPH, engine running, and shifted back into drive. Something else may or may not be relevant...the tac will only go up to 2k and hold steady. There is sometimes however when it will work fine to about 3500 and start bouncing erraticaly between 1k and 4k. The speedometer is not effected at all.