Auto trans issues

[jgw1986]

Ok so, 1996 gt auto. I believe AODE? I haven't been able to get far enough underneath it to get a for sure identification yet. here are my issues:

when shifting into drive, from park or neutral, my trans seems stuck in first. I havent red-lined it to see if it would shift, but got it well above where it should be shifting, and it just won't. Now, if I start in 2nd instead, it'll go from 1-2 and then I can push it up into D and it will drive and shift through all the gears, until it goes back into P or N, then restarts the same cycle. I'm thinking either maybe shifter linkage not adjusted properly? or some type of electronic control not working properly. Fluid level is good, nice and pink, smells fine.

Also, when driving normally, it seems to shift more according to speed than throttle. Like, driving the speed limit, give it a little more throttle to pass or speed up, and it will upshift... or if I'm already in OD it won't downshift unless I give it a substantial push (think >75% throttle). To me, this feels like a dead spot on the TPS, which I plan to be testing and probably replacing very soon.

When I got the car the other day, it was having these problems paired with a non-working speedo, so I immediately thought "vss is shot"... Not the case, the ODO gear was broken and jamming up the speedo.

any ideas? no check engine light or OD light flashing btw.

 

[justinschmidt1]

Ok so, 1996 gt auto. I believe AODE? I haven't been able to get far enough underneath it to get a for sure identification yet. here are my issues:

when shifting into drive, from park or neutral, my trans seems stuck in first. I havent red-lined it to see if it would shift, but got it well above where it should be shifting, and it just won't. Now, if I start in 2nd instead, it'll go from 1-2 and then I can push it up into D and it will drive and shift through all the gears, until it goes back into P or N, then restarts the same cycle. I'm thinking either maybe shifter linkage not adjusted properly? or some type of electronic control not working properly. Fluid level is good, nice and pink, smells fine.

Also, when driving normally, it seems to shift more according to speed than throttle. Like, driving the speed limit, give it a little more throttle to pass or speed up, and it will upshift... or if I'm already in OD it won't downshift unless I give it a substantial push (think >75% throttle). To me, this feels like a dead spot on the TPS, which I plan to be testing and probably replacing very soon.

When I got the car the other day, it was having these problems paired with a non-working speedo, so I immediately thought "vss is shot"... Not the case, the ODO gear was broken and jamming up the speedo.

any ideas? no check engine light or OD light flashing btw.

What you said there doesnt even make sense man....

if you put the shifter in 2nd, it should start and hold 2nd gear....if you put the shifter in the 2 position and it starts in first gear there is a problem with your sensor i would think cause that is not normal.

Maybe check out that sensor on the side of the transmission ...I forget what its called right now.

As far as the shifting, the only way to change that is with a tuner ....our cars have shfit schedules and the transmission is set to shift at certain mph's depending on the throttle position.

If you had a xcal2 you can datalog all this stuff to make sure everything is working right althogh I would think a MIL would come up if the TPS was broke

 

[jgw1986]

Yeah man that's what I'm sayin, it doesn't make sense to me either. I did a little experimenting on the way to work:
If I'm driving in D, come to a stop, then put it in 2, it acts like it should... Only second gear. If I come to a light, put it in park, then shift to 2, i get first, then second, then it starts to slip into neutral. At that point, I just push it fwd into D, and it shifts "normally". Also, while shifting "normally", I notice it never goes into neutral, always stays in gear.

And I didn't mean like i wanted to tune it to shift at different times, I meant like its only considering speed when shifting, not throttle position. And if the tps is dEad it will throw a code, but if there is a "dead spot" it won't. For example, going up a hill it will upshift(3->4)

 

[justinschmidt1]

Yeah man that's what I'm sayin, it doesn't make sense to me either. I did a little experimenting on the way to work:
If I'm driving in D, come to a stop, then put it in 2, it acts like it should... Only second gear. If I come to a light, put it in park, then shift to 2, i get first, then second, then it starts to slip into neutral. At that point, I just push it fwd into D, and it shifts "normally". Also, while shifting "normally", I notice it never goes into neutral, always stays in gear.

And I didn't mean like i wanted to tune it to shift at different times, I meant like its only considering speed when shifting, not throttle position. And if the tps is dEad it will throw a code, but if there is a "dead spot" it won't. For example, going up a hill it will upshift(3->4)

As far as the trans shifting crap, the only thing that makes sense to me is the transmission range sensor on the side of the trans.

I would check it out, see if its cracked, broke, loose, unplugged....

worse comes to worse you may have to replace it cause what your describing doesnt sound like the transmission is faulty if it drives normal when you move the shifter around


I would get that worked out and see if the shifting improves

 

[jgw1986]

k I'll check that out when I get a chance. I'm leaving for vacation sat morning so I have to start packing and getting things ready around the house. I'll get to it in a week or two. I didn't know there was a sensor in there, or I would've thought of that. the selector likes to sit "between gears" sometimes. And I dont always feel a definite "click" when its in gear. I figured it was just a lever attached to the trans.

 

[jgw1986]

ok, looooong time no action. I finally got a change to put in a new MLPS and the initial shifter problem ceased, but now it wont start in park, only neutral. I'm thinking some of the linkage may be out of whack? I made sure the neutral lines were perfect before I tightened everything down so I know thats good.