I'm not very informative when it come's to transmissions, but I'm beginning to think that mine is in need of a rebuild. Would any of these symptoms be a clue?

Gearing in and out - As if it is confused as to which gear to gear into.

1st and 2nd gear is fine, but 3rd almost acts as if it doesn't fully engage before overdrive does. I'm talking just as soon as 3rd engages, it doesn't take one second before overdrive does, with any speed. The only time it doesn't really is if I'm at WOT.

Would a shift kit be a cure for all of my problems? If so, which one and how difficult is it to install? I try and do most of the work myself to save the expense of having someone else do it. Live and Learn.

Yea, I know it's been covered, but who knows. Maybe somebody is going to say something different than what has already been discussed. Any help guys?

 

Check to make sure your tranny fluid is at the right level, but I think you are going to be looking at a rebuild. And yes a good shift kit will help the tranny life, but in your case I dont think its going to help you.

 

Take it to a few trans shops. If they won't listen to your description of the problem - go somewhere else. If they do listen and even drive it then just say "it needs rebuilt" - go somewhere else. Try to find someone that will give you a few specific solutions like "the throttle valve is sticking in the bore" or the "reverse band needs adjusted" or "the pressure sensor could be bad".

 

just a tip i tried; check ur fluid and do a smell test, if it smells a kinda burnt smell (its stinks lol) then your friction material could be bad (def rebuild), you could try and change your filter and fluid. Im not saying this would fix your problem but it has worked for me in the past. It could fix your problem for a few days but then it could start acting up again. Im not mechanic so dont take those suggestions to heart. I def agree with lv360ram though and get a professional opinion.

 

if I have O/D turned on, mine will also shift to OD just as soon as the TC locks up. I think i , have the old shift programming which goes from 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> TC-Lock -> Overdrive. I just leave OD off and don't worry about it.

At what speed and in what gear is your transmission "hunting the right gear"? frequent downshifting from OD and especially with cruise control on can be related to a bad throttle position sensor (TPS). mine had that problem too.

 

Usually between 1st and 2rd gear. I'm not positive on the speed, but I'd say around 30-40 mph.

 

If it is hunting/slipping between 1st and 2nd then it may be your governor pressure sensor and solenoid. I rebuilt my trans myself and when I got to driving it again it would slip on occasion going into 2nd. I replaced these two parts (total parts cost about $120) and the problem went right away.