Hey guys, I got a '97 4x4 1500 5.2L. Basically the problem is over the past 2-3 days it's been slightly difficult to start up, and shift through the gears. I was having to let off the gas to shift. Now, I can't get it to shift past 2nd gear. Any ideas?

 

5 speed manual right?


there was a couple years there where the input shaft would wear and not allow the clutch to grab...

 

no it's the automatic, sorry I forgot to mention that

 

Does it shift when you take your foot off the gas? Like at 40-50mph?

 

Your transmission is done. This is the main problem with these transmissions. The seals that have to do with shifting between 2nd and 3rd gear blow out, causing the hydraulic pressure to be too low to shift. Try adding a bottle of lucas trans fix to it, my uncle's 96 had this problem and tried that as a last resort. Its shifted for 20,000 miles but you have to drive it like a very, very, very old man or else it blows the built up lucas out of the cavity...

 

that's unfortunate. I was hoping it was maybe a clogged filter. And no, it won't shift if i let off the gas at 40-50mph. Is it possible that this happened over the course of 2-3 days?

 

im having a similar problem with my 95. sometimes (esp. after it has sat a while and its cold out)it doesnt wanna shiftwanna shift out of 2nd, but it eventualy does. sometime if u let off it will shift , then other times u gotta put her flat to the floor and she'll shift at around 4500-5000 , but i hate runnin my truck like that. itsbut it seems to be gettin worse. next weekend im planin to changethe filter and toadjust the bands. but dodo yall think shes had it?

 

yea that's exactly what mine was like a while ago, and like yours it just seemed to be gettin worse to where it is now. I've asked around and the same response i've gotten was its the "governor pressure solenoid" and/or the "governor pressure sensor."

I had a problem with my firebird that was a similar situation. It wouldn't shift out of first gear, and it turned out that the governor gear was shattered (it's plastic) and it wouldn't allow the governor to shift gears.

I decided to take it to my mechanic to take a look at it, I don't have the time to be crawling on snow and ice working outside in 25 degree weather.

 

i guess its time to buy a wreck and do a 5-speed swap!

 

I took it to the shop. They're saying $500 for new solenoids in the tranmission. That includes labor and all parts. Does this sound reasonable?

Also, all I need is for this truck to keep working for another 6 months. The engine is still strong, but the guy was saying there is a chance it won't make it six months with the new solenoids, and that it might need to be rebuilt. If that's the case, I'm going to have to scrap the truck, cause I won't pay for it to get rebuilt. Any ideas?