Transmission will not shift until it warms up by driving it for approx. 15 mins

[Shannon]

I purchased a 1986 ford tempo that had only 36,000 miles on it at purchase.
About a month after purchasing the car the automatic transmission started
taking longer and longer to shift out of first gear. At this point it takes
about 15 mins of driving to get it to shift at all and then a bit longer to
complete its cycle through gears and again a bit longer before it is shifting
consistently. It does not slip and the engine runs great I'm just not sure why
it would do this. I've tried changing the fluid and filter and I've put in
some lucas oil. Any simple solutions or does it need a rebuild?


--
posted from
http://www.motorsforum.com/ford/transmission-will-not-shift-until-it-warms-up-by-driving-it-76671-.htm
using MotorsForum's Web, RSS and Social Media Interface to
alt.autos.ford and other automotive groups

[Ashton Crusher]

On Sat, 09 Mar 2013 18:18:01 +0000, Shannon
<065b0505594b06f549...@example.com> wrote:

>I purchased a 1986 ford tempo that had only 36,000 miles on it at purchase.
>About a month after purchasing the car the automatic transmission started
>taking longer and longer to shift out of first gear. At this point it takes
>about 15 mins of driving to get it to shift at all and then a bit longer to
>complete its cycle through gears and again a bit longer before it is shifting
>consistently. It does not slip and the engine runs great I'm just not sure why
>it would do this. I've tried changing the fluid and filter and I've put in
>some lucas oil. Any simple solutions or does it need a rebuild?

At this point you have nothing to lose by trying more chemical cures,
such as the various seal conditioners and stop leaks that are sold.
You can also add a couple cans of STP to thicken the ATF. I put in a
couple cans of the seal conditioner and that helped my S-10 for a
while, then it started having delayed shifts more and more so I put in
2 or maybe 3 cans of the STP to thicken the ATF. That also helped. I
would estimate that I got an extra two years out of the transmission
by doing that. The STP won't hurt anything, it just makes the ATF a
bit more viscous so it doesn't leak past the worn internal seals as
easily. The higher viscosity does create slightly more internal power
loss in the tranny but not enough to matter for normal people.

[Scott Smith]

Do not use additives, this is do to a partially clogged trans oil filter, thick additives will make it worse, (when the oil warms up it get thinner and gets threw the partially clogged filter easier do to getting thinner at hotter temps, you need to have the trasmission fuel and filter changed to repair the problem , if after that if it comes back the problem (the engine was probally overheated, resulting in band damage form the tranmission cooler), I'm a registered journeymen mechanic and know the things, email me direct at scott...@aol.com for any further help, i'll see if I can save you a bunch of money....

[Sheldon]

"Scott Smith" <scott...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:be7109b9-f6ec-4fa8...@googlegroups.com...

Do not use additives, this is do to a partially clogged trans oil filter,
thick additives will make it worse, (when the oil warms up it get thinner
and gets threw the partially clogged filter easier do to getting thinner at
hotter temps, you need to have the trasmission fuel and filter changed to
repair the problem , if after that if it comes back the problem (the engine
was probally overheated, resulting in band damage form the tranmission
cooler), I'm a registered journeymen mechanic and know the things, email me
direct at scott...@aol.com for any further help, i'll see if I can save
you a bunch of money....


On Saturday, March 9, 2013 10:18:01 AM UTC-8, Shannon wrote:
> I purchased a 1986 ford tempo that had only 36,000 miles on it at
> purchase.
>
> About a month after purchasing the car the automatic transmission started
>
> taking longer and longer to shift out of first gear. At this point it
> takes
>
> about 15 mins of driving to get it to shift at all and then a bit longer
> to
>
> complete its cycle through gears and again a bit longer before it is
> shifting
>
> consistently. It does not slip and the engine runs great I'm just not sure
> why
>
> it would do this. I've tried changing the fluid and filter and I've put in
>
> some lucas oil. Any simple solutions or does it need a rebuild?
>
>

To add to the discussion: Many shops can now power flush your tranny which
might resolve any fluid problems being discussed here. IMHO if you keep
changing out fluids without doing this you may not get to the root of the
problem. FYI, I'm not a mechanic but I believe Scott is on the right track.

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

A so called "power flush" will not solve a plugged filter, if that is
the problem. Check the condition of the fluid. Not hard to tell if it
is thick just on your fingers. Smell it - stinks? possibly burned.
Colour? Red OK, brown or black - burned.

If the fluid doesn't stink and is a nice pink coulour, with a good
slippery feel, it is extremely unlikey to be a fluid problem.

I too am an automotive technician - licenced for over 40 years - and
the RIGHT additive can often do the job very effectively - for a very
small fraction of the cost of "shotgunning" the problem with a full
transmission overhaul.

Just another possibility - is the fluid level just a WEE bit low???
On a 1989/90 Aeostar the dipstick was marked aboit 1/4 inch low -
worked fine in warm weather but was dicey when cold - worked fine when
overfilled 1/4".

It really sounds to me like one of the valves in the valve body is
sticky - and the friction modifier additive addresses this quite
effectively. If it doesn't work, it won't hurt anything and you can
still rebuild the tranny.

[Geoff Welsh]

been a long time since I saw a car that old, but wasn't shift point
purely vacuum related back then? Seems a failing external shift
modulator could act differently at diff. temps as stated.
GW

[Ashton Crusher]

On Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:19:55 -1000, Geoff Welsh <GeeD...@some.rr.com>
wrote:

I don't think any cars were ONLY controlled by the vac mod. Usually
there is a throttle valve that senses the position of the gas pedal,
and a Vac Modulator valve that senses how hard the engine is pulling.
Between the two of them working together PLUS the spinning speed
sensing gizmo on the output shaft that raises pressure the faster the
output shaft is going, all of that together determines when to shift.
Or something like that.

[Geoff Welsh]

oh, boy.... ancient trans theory vs. my memory...I think TV cables
replaced vac modulators as a "load sensor" and the speed sensor was
called a governor, in the dark ages b4 computer control.
GW

[Ashton Crusher]

On Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:43:17 -1000, Geoff Welsh <GeeD...@some.rr.com>

That's what I was trying to think of .. "governor"! Now that you
mention it, I do think some trans used a vac mod plus gov and others
used a TV plus gov and some used all three. So I think your original
thinking was right, you just didn't mention the gov.

[Geoff Welsh]

If a trans had just a governor, it would always shift at a predermined
RPM. The TV-cable or vac.mod. gives the valve body a "sliding scale"
input to decide to shift sooner or later. Since the OP asked about late
shifting...until warm...and already changed the fluid...and the trans
does not slip. the first thing I would do is look at the vacuum
modulator, if it has one. If it's leaking internally it will have fluid
in the hose. (which usually leads to the hose swelling and falling off)
GW

[SC Tom]

"Geoff Welsh" <GeeD...@some.rr.com> wrote in message
news:kitcm4$bat$1...@dont-email.me...

And puffs of white smoke from the exhaust (1964 Plymouth Fury, or 1964 Buick
Skylark, I don't remember which). I can remember fixing it before the hose
swelled and fell off :-)
--
SC Tom

[Geoff Welsh]

SC Tom wrote:
>
> "Geoff Welsh" <GeeD...@some.rr.com> wrote in message

> If it's leaking internally it will have
>> fluid in the hose. (which usually leads to the hose swelling and
>> falling off)
>> GW
>
> And puffs of white smoke from the exhaust (1964 Plymouth Fury, or 1964
> Buick Skylark, I don't remember which). I can remember fixing it before
> the hose swelled and fell off :-)

lol. Yes I just remembered what a great "internal engine cleaner" trans
fluid makes. and it's cheaper than SeaFoam!

GW

[SC Tom]

"Geoff Welsh" <GeeD...@some.rr.com> wrote in message

news:kivkfj$s15$1...@dont-email.me...

Yep, long before the days of catalytic converters. I don't think it would be
very good for them :-)
--
SC Tom

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

Likely the buick because the old Mopar used a kickdown linkage and no
modulator valve.

[SC Tom]

<cl...@snyder.on.ca> wrote in message
news:ch47l81d2e6gh3b1l...@4ax.com...

You're probably right. I had a 70-something Nova that also had the modulator
go out.
Late 60's, early 70's Fords had the kick-down rod also. One of my jobs at
the Wayne Assembly Plant (now known as Wayne Stamping & Assembly) was
putting transmissions on the engines and hooking the kick-down rod to the
transmission linkage. Good times . . . NOT!! It was good money for the time,
though (especially when we were working those 80-hour weeks).
--
SC Tom

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

Many (or at least some) FORDs used both. The modulator adjusted
line pressure and the kickdown operated passing gear.IIRC

[SC Tom]

<cl...@snyder.on.ca> wrote in message
news:fia9l816k3u71qecf...@4ax.com...

> line pressure and the kickdown operated passing gear. IIRC.

Yep. Hence the name "kick-down" :-) I know that the C4 and C6 that went on
the Galaxies had both; the kick down was adjusted as it was connected to the
carb linkage, then tested at EOL (end of line). The modulator was vacuum
operated, and, IIRC, set the shifting point by the amount of vacuum created
by the engine RPMs. That was external. They also had an internal governor on
the output shaft. Been a LOOOONG time since I worked on anything that old
:-)
--
SC Tom

[danz...@gmail.com]

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

Go to your local ford dealer and buy a little bottle of "friction
modifier" for their limitted slip differential.
(https://www.americanmuscle.com/frpp-friction-modifier.html)
It has solved a LOT of sticky transmission valve problems - and for
$11.00 US, you REALLY cannot loose by trying it.

Warning - the stuff STINKS!!!!!!