Delay going into reverse with Automatic Transmission
Frank Feuerbacher
Hello,
Over the past several months, my '95 Saturn SL2 has been slow about
shifting into reverse when the Automatic transmission is hot (20 minutes
of highway driving on a cool day). When it does shift, it does it hard,
with a noticable jerk. I have changed the oil and filter, but there is
little, if any improvement. The car has 45,000 miles on it, and I have
been nice to the vehicle.
Any ideas? I hate to let someone touch a transmission. Once someone
opens one up, they are never the same.
Thanx
Frank
Xiao-Long Li
In article <35113E11...@austin.ibm.com>,
Frank Feuerbacher <fba...@austin.ibm.com> wrote:
>Over the past several months, my '95 Saturn SL2 has been slow about
>shifting into reverse when the Automatic transmission is hot (20 minutes
>of highway driving on a cool day). When it does shift, it does it hard,
>with a noticable jerk. I have changed the oil and filter, but there is
>little, if any improvement. The car has 45,000 miles on it, and I have
>been nice to the vehicle.
Well, that is not a good sign. Usually, when the transmission is gone,
the reverse is the first one to go. Take it to the dealer and see what
they say...
Good Luck!
--
Xiao-Long Li (Shaw) :)
Undergraduate EE, School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Engineering
E-mail: gt6...@prism.gatech.edu Mailbox: 336374, Georgia Tech Station
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332-1675
Jeromy Slee
Frank,
It sounds to me that it may be on its way out. Instead of
having it rebuilt call a place called M&S Recycling in Cali
((800-695-4700)), you can get a very low miled tranny for around $450.
Id tell you about their reliability but right now my SC is in my garage
getting a major tune up and face lift..... ;-> ....hope that helps ya
out man.
Jeromy Slee
91 SC ((AkA the Honda Beater)) ;->
Kurt Fanslow
>Over the past several months, my '95 Saturn SL2 has been slow about
>shifting into reverse when the Automatic transmission is hot (20 minutes
>of highway driving on a cool day). When it does shift, it does it hard,
>with a noticable jerk. I have changed the oil and filter, but there is
>little, if any improvement. The car has 45,000 miles on it, and I have
>been nice to the vehicle.
>
>opens one up, they are never the same.
Replace the transmission fluid, preferably with synthetic.
Stevebarke
>Any ideas? I hate to let someone touch a transmission. Once someone
>opens one up, they are never the same.
>
>
I really don't have any ideas on your problem, but am curious where you got the
misconception that once a trans is "opened up" that it is never the same. A
competant transmission man can almost always improve on what the manufacturer
fouled up in the first place in the case of an automatic transmission.
Steve Barker
Spam doesn't bother me, I just delete it.
Stevebarke
In article <6erlfk$k...@dfw-ixnews11.ix.netcom.com>, Kurt Fanslow
<kfan...@ix.netcom.com> writes:
>>with a noticable jerk. I have changed the oil and filter, but there is
>>little, if any improvement. The car has 45,000 miles on it, and I have
>>been nice to the vehicle.
>>
>>Any ideas? I hate to let someone touch a transmission. Once someone
>>opens one up, they are never the same.
>
>Replace the transmission fluid, preferably with synthetic.
>
>
A few lines above your reply, the man stated that he changed the fluid and
filter. And synthetic is not always better.
SaturnFix
>Over the past several months, my '95 Saturn SL2 has been slow about shifting
into reverse when the Automatic transmission is hot (20 minutes of highway
jerk. I have changed the oil and filter, but there is little, if any
improvement. The car has 45,000 miles on it, and I have been nice to the
vehicle.
>Any ideas? I hate to let someone touch a transmission. Once someone opens one
up, they are never the same.
>
The condition you describe is most often related to a bulletin that Saturn has
out about a problem with the valvebody in the trans. If the trans still goes
into reverse, then the transmission is probably ok, and does not need to be
replaced. Replacing the valvebody only requires removing the battery and
taking the top cover off the trans case. The trans does not come out of the
car. The fluid doesn't even need to be drained. The valvebody can be replaced
or repaired, depending on your needs, and usually fixes the problem. DO NOT
let anyone convince you that changing the fluid, even to synthetic, will fix
the problem. DO NOT let anyone talk you into rebuilding the entire
transmission. Saturn has a bulletin that deals with this problem and this
repair should be done first. If the repair doesn't work, and there is reason
to believe that there is a problem inside the trans, then have it diagnosed by
a competent Saturn technician. Get a second opinion, even from another Saturn
tech. The local trans shops are not going to even want to touch a Saturn, let
alone know how to fix them. I know. A small trans shop is where I first
started as a mechanic.
You are right about transmissions not being the same after being opened up and
worked on, but only if the mechanic doesn't know what he is doing. I have
worked on hundreds of transmissions, and have had very good success. When
dealing with a major repair, and the car is still drivable, you should ALWAYS
get a second opinion no matter what.
You should call the dealer and ask them if they are familiar with the bulletin
from Saturn and tell them that you are experiencing the conditions of the
bulletin. See what they tell you.
SaturnFix
Milo E
>The local trans shops are not going to even want to touch a Saturn, let
>alone know how to fix them. I know. A small trans shop is where I first
>started as a mechanic.
Is this because the design of the Saturn trans is different (no planetary
gears, etc.) from most automatics?