Auto trans in my 2001 4x2 is acting up and I wanted to get ya'lls opinion before dropping some cash.

The truck is slow to shift out of 2nd, especially in the morning. Occasionally ( maybe two times in the last few weeks) it won't shift out of 2nd. I'll have to pull over, put it in park for a few moments, and then it will be ok.

I've checked the fluid, level is good, good color, doesn't smell burnt. Could a simple front band adjustment fix this? I asked a trans shop about a band adjustment, and they told me that the bands shouldn't even need adjusting and that I would probably need a rebuild. If a band adjustment might work, how much would I expect this to cost?

The truck has 178,000 on it with the original trans.

Thanks,
Johnny

 

Any codes?

When was the last time the trans was serviced? Might be a governor pressure sensor/solenoid issue.

I wouldn't go back to that trans shop.

 

Amen brother! The factory service manual specifies that band adjustment is a 100,000 mile maintenance item. A transmission mechanic should know that.

 

No codes, the transmission fluid was changed (not flushed) about 10k miles ago last february.

When it fails to shift to 3rd, I do hear a high pitched whine, but chalked it up to the engine being at about 2600 rpm.

I'll look into the solenoid, maybe it's a cheap fix.

 

They tend to gunk up, and then not operate properly. With that many miles on it..... I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't at least partially the issue. While you are in there, do the filter/fluid/band adjust as well.

 

Well, I just realized I had checked the trans fluid when the truck was off and cold - apparently not the way to check it.

I drove around for a few min to get it up to temp, then with it parked, shifted through all the gears before putting it in neutral to check with the engine running. the dipstick read just at the line between low and full.

Can I just add some more fluid, or do I need to at least do a full fluid change? Transmissions defnitely aren't my area...

 

You can add more fluid, just add a bit at a time, checking in between, and DO NOT overfill it. That can be just as bad as being low......

 

One other possibility is a leaking front drum lip seal.....if it is, as the problem progresses you will start to notice a delay in reverse when cold also...


Brian

 

check the tranny speed sensor, mine was bad and it didnt want to upshift unless i let off the gas for a sec from high rpms and it didnt want to downshift back to first when i stoped and changing that sensor fixed it

 

Sounds like your transmission is in limp mode. It stays in 2nd gear to prevent dmg from occuring to the transmission. If you have no check engine light on this might be hard to figure out..

Usually a bad speed sensor should bring on a check engine light. My mom 4.0 Grand cherokee had the check engine light on for 10 years and she ignored it lol. I finally got someone to check the codes last year and it was the speed sensor and after I replaced it the transmission shifted much better and sooner. Instead of 2300-2500 rpm it shifts around 1800-2200 for all the gears. Im suprised leaving this bad sensor in for 10 years didnt dmg the thing lol. I has 170k miles on it now and runs like it did when we got it 10-11 years ago