1-2 shift too soft

[Ron]

It don't sound like the the engine is doing what the tach says it is, to me. Tach shows changes to late/slow, maybe??

Is the two quick bump sounds at 7-8 seconds the road/shift shutter/?

[81dmc]

It don't sound like the the engine is doing what the tach says it is, to me. Tach shows changes to late/slow, maybe??

Is the two quick bump sounds at 7-8 seconds the road/shift shutter/?

The bang you hear around 6-7 seconds is 1st gear finally catching. It slips before catching hard.


And tach is slightly behind as it runs via CAN Bus.

[81dmc]

So I?ve noticed the 1-2 slip isn?t there when cold.

[Michael]

Few things.
You can not tell if a filter needs to be replaced by looking at it. The part that usually clogs up is hidden under the clamshells.

I just replaced my shift computer with a rebuilt one. The rebuilt one was faulty pushing my car into 2nd at times with no warning and other times it would not shift out of 1st and/or second. My second shift computer works flawlessly. Point is a rebuilt computer can malfunction too.

Make yourself some shift lights and see what the computer is telling the solenoids to do. It will help you zero in on the issue.

Next time you have the pan off, inspect the wiring at the solenoid plug to the solenoids themselves just to make sure they are not visibly damaged.

So I?ve noticed the 1-2 slip isn?t there when cold.

That is a textbook symptom of a clogged filter. Not saying it is but if you have an oe filter, it's a good place to start.

[81dmc]

Few things.
You can not tell if a filter needs to be replaced by looking at it. The part that usually clogs up is hidden under the clamshells.

I just replaced my shift computer with a rebuilt one. The rebuilt one was faulty pushing my car into 2nd at times with no warning and other times it would not shift out of 1st and/or second. My second shift computer works flawlessly. Point is a rebuilt computer can malfunction too.

Make yourself some shift lights and see what the computer is telling the solenoids to do. It will help you zero in on the issue.

Next time you have the pan off, inspect the wiring at the solenoid plug to the solenoids themselves just to make sure they are not visibly damaged.


That is a textbook symptom of a clogged filter. Not saying it is but if you have an oe filter, it's a good place to start.

Had the pan off a few days ago. Wires looked good and I cut open the old filter and it was mostly clean. I replaced it with one of your filters anyways.

[David T]

If you notice that the shifts improve once it warms up the possible causes include;
Low fluid
Wrong fluid
Low line pressure
Clogged filter

[81dmc]

If you notice that the shifts improve once it warms up the possible causes include;
Low fluid
Wrong fluid
Low line pressure
Clogged filter

Opposite. Shift gets worse as it heats up.

[Michael]

At the end of the day, if your fluid is fresh and filter is clean and the shifting is fine but slipping or "flare shifting", then I would be expecting trans a rebuild in your near future.

[81dmc]

At the end of the day, if your fluid is fresh and filter is clean and the shifting is fine but slipping or "flare shifting", then I would be expecting trans a rebuild in your near future.

Yeah, I'm starting to think that may be the case. I have been driving it rather hard to get the 3.0 dialed in. I'll probably keep going until I lose it completely.

Are these things really a pain to overhaul? I've rebuilt an GM type transmission before, but never a transaxle.

Also, are there any special tools I should start looking for?

[WHO1DMC]

Forgive me if im off base but some of the symptoms are of a bad converter.
If you're going to invest in a rebuild I would include a new converter.



Dave B.