Rebuild time, plain and simple. Not good to hear I know.

 

I'm planning on a rebuild soon anyway - I guess at this point I'm just curious what could be causing my particular problems now. I have some experience with auto trans rebuilding and know that generally when you completely disassemble and overhaul a unit and clean everything and install new parts it will work properly after that. The trick is being able to diagnose the problem before you take it apart. Besides - if I could find a way or fix to nurse it along for awhile - I would. While I agree that obviously the trans is worn internally (especially at 179k miles) - this seems more of a control issue (valve body or servo or something else) than a wear issue causing the immediate problem. It just gets me that there is no slipping while driving - I think that my main issue is that second gear is just plain missing - can't figure why.

 

I don't know about nursing along. These have the potential to die when it is least convenient. As far as diagnosing, it it appearant that the front band is nearly gone at a minimum. Chek out MonteC's transmission thread in the DIY section. Lots of good info there.

As far as a control issue, it is possible, but at 173k, anything else could go wrong at any time. I would also recommend hardeing transmission if my plans include keeping the truck for a long time. I believe the additional cost is money well spent.