I've got a 94 SOHC that the transmission will not shift into any gear, forward or reverse. At first I could get it into 1st and 2nd and reverse, but now nothing. I've searched the forum, and the top three conclusions I've come up with are:

1. Fluid and filter needs to be changed
2. TCU gone bad
3. Transmission needs to be rebuilt

#1 could possibly be the solution, and I'll admit I'm horrible with transmission maintenance, I've had the car 8 years and never changed the fluid/filter, so my question on this point is: Will changing fluid/filter be a solution, or is it moot at this point?

#2 I've never had experience with, I remember seeing in a thread here when the capacitors start to leak you get a "fishy" smell. There's no noticeable fishy smell in the car, so the question is:
How powerful is the smell?

#3 Actually been there before. About 2 years after I bought the car; I was driving home and it stopped shifting then, no warning. My question here is:
Rebuild again (I got about 110,000 miles out of the rebuild), replace with used/rebuilt, or go with a new transmission?

The last time I had it rebuilt I was about $1,800, parts and labor.

Thanks

 

definitely check the tcu for leaking capacitors. Best way is not to try and smell but actually look at it.
With that many miles on there it might need a rebuild but good rebuild should last more than 110k.
Changing fluid when it's not shifting at all more than likely will not help. Just make sure the fluid level is good.

 

Thanks for the reply yevgenievich.

I've had a little more time to diagnose the problems and symptoms, and I've come up with this:

The car will shift into reverse and "L" gears. It will not "catch gear" in "D" or "2". I've checked the fluid, it appears to be in good condition, @ appropriate levels, and doesn't smell burned. I pulled the tcu, and performed a visual inspection. The board was clean, with no burn marks or evidence of capacitor leakage. However, as noted somewhere, (I think it was ecmtogo's site), no evidence does not mean no damage, so I'm sending it in to them for a rebuild.

 

Another update: I got my tcu back from ecmtogo. They did a fine job on the rebuild and the turnaround was super quick. Installed into my car - same problem. I have determined the trans is in 'limp home' mode. Since we can rule out the tcu, what else can cause the trans to go into said mode?

 

check for the codes on the trans.
here is the link to the image, and at the very bottom of it there are instructions on how to check for codes. Let me know if it shows anything and i can check the meaning of the codes.
http://www.hotrodders.com/gallery/da...shooting_2.JPG
also check the cable adjustment like in the picture above

 

I checked the codes, nothing came up. All I got was the "waveform normal" code. The cable adjustment also checked out as good.

 

try to go trough these:
http://www.hotrodders.com/gallery/da...blshooting.JPG