Could be a 1st to second shift solenoid or bad Governor?


Also a bad valve body.

 

Thanks Hydra, any of those options sound better than a complete tranny swap.

Well, I did some asking around and the same tranny shop kept getting mentioned as "the guy" to take it to, so it's now sitting in his parking lot waiting to get looked at.

I suppose it's possible that the other shop was right, but my conversation with them didn't exactly inspire confidence. For one, he started the conversation with "it's still slipping". Um, it wasn't slipping when I took it to them, and it wasn't slipping when I picked it up and took it to the other shop... I really get the feeling that even though they claimed to be able to do tranny work, all they did was swap the one sensor that you can get to from outside the transmission and when that didn't work they didn't know what to try next, so they made the leap all the way to "just replace the whole transmission".

Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's in good hands now, so I guess at this point I just sit back and wait and hope for good news....

Thanks guys. Even though I'm not doing the work myself on this particular problem, I always like to be armed with the best info I can get when talking to the shop.

 

Here's a question:

I know that it's important to use the correct fluid in these transmissions, ATF+4.

What I can't seem to get a consistent answer on from anyone I've talked to is, what happens if you put the wrong stuff in?

It just seems awfully coincidental to me that these problems all started less than a week after I had a filter and fluid change done.

I'm hesitant to blame a problem on a shop just because they worked on it last, I've dealt with plenty of that crap in my line of work, but if the verdict from the tranny shop matches up with the problems that could be caused by 4 quarts of dexron being poured in, then I think I'm going to have to go have a serious talk with them.

 

That's not good they put dexron in the transmission. Its got different additives, detergents, and compounds than the Mopar ATF +4 does. The manual calls for it for a reason and its what the transmission was designed to run with. Dexron is made to be run in GM transmissions, not Mopar!

They have different lubrication compounds and more than likely that was a reason you're having the problems you have. The dexron can also destroy the clutch packs as well.

 

yup pretty much what widow said, using the wrong fluid will not provide proper lubrication, causing the clutch packs to wear down prematurely, and other parts to wear out much faster than intended

 

Just to be clear, I don't know for a fact that they did. It's entirely possible that they used the right stuff and it's all just a coincidence. I know which mechanic did the work and he has an excellent reputation.

I'm just suspicious due to the timing of the problems, and the fact that when I called to ask what they put in the mechanic wasn't in that day and the guy I talked to (the owner) couldn't get any more specific than "I'm sure it was probably synthetic...."

My receipt just lists "transmission fluid".

 

I'd definitely get them to pull it up and see what they put in there. It sounds to me like it very well may be your suspicions being true.

 

Yeah. I really hate to make enemies out of this shop, they've treated me pretty darn well on several things, and living in a small town, it's not like there are a hundred others to chose from...

But if my tranny is shot and it turns out to be their mistake, a $2000 repair is a bit more than I think I can bring myself to just overlook....

 

I wouldn't make enemies out of it but I'd bring it to their attention if it's the problem and have them fix it. I can't tell you how many people have come into my shop where something we did went wrong and we had to fix it.

If they're a little bit of a reputable shop they will own up to their mistakes and fix it.

One time I had a guy put full synthetic 15w-40 in an older Oldsmobile that was puting up 350,000 miles and the owner had made sure we'd put conventional in it. The guy brought that thing back so fast we ended up havin to replace an oil pump, cylinder heads, etc, all in all, about $3,000 worth of parts/labor for free because it was our mistake.

The guy that made the mistake is no longer with us but the guy that we had to put our time and money into still is coming to us.

Just call and see what they put in and if they say anything but ATF +4, especially Dexron, I'd confront them about it. No one has to spend their money and fix someone elses mistake because someone got lazy.

 

Yeah, that's definitely on my list of things to do. But I think at this point I'm going to sit tight until the transmission expert gets a chance to look at it, then get his opinion on possible causes.

No sense in even beginning to stir the pot if the problem turns out to be something totally unrelated.