1997 Trans acting weird
#1
10-05-2011, 05:28 AM
1997 Trans acting weird
Just wanting to pick a few brains out there.
I have a 1997 Stratus, 2.4L, 41TE Auto Trans. Just yesterday it started acting a little weird. It is kind of intermittent, but after driving for a while, doesn't matter whether it is city or highway, it will not shift into overdrive until you reach 45mph. And when you take your foot off the gas or brake to slow, passing 45mph again it shifts into direct drive. The shift is smooth, and all other gears work fine. There is no engine revving with it so I know the trans is not slipping. If you shut the car off and then restart, the trans shifts normally up through all the gears, even into overdrive before 45mph, but once crossing the 45, slowing down it will drop back into 3rd. It has been a great car and can't complain too much about this due to the fact of the car has 230,000 miles on it. I am thinking it could be a solenoid, pressure switch (both of which are in the solenoid pack), speed sensor or just contamination. The fluid is clean, and the filter was changed approx. 10,000 miles ago. It was leaking fluid from the gaskets under the solenoid pack, but I changed the gaskets and stopped the leak about 6 months ago.
Thanks for your input. I do have a trans off a 2000 stratus SE if I need to rob parts for troubleshooting. I do have the factory service manual, but unlike the maintenance manuals I am used to dealing with (aircraft), the description and operation is not very informative. But after reading, I have come to the conclusions above. There are no codes from cycling the key, but I am going to get my hands on an OBDII scanner and see if there are any stored P codes this weekend.
Thanks again.
I have a 1997 Stratus, 2.4L, 41TE Auto Trans. Just yesterday it started acting a little weird. It is kind of intermittent, but after driving for a while, doesn't matter whether it is city or highway, it will not shift into overdrive until you reach 45mph. And when you take your foot off the gas or brake to slow, passing 45mph again it shifts into direct drive. The shift is smooth, and all other gears work fine. There is no engine revving with it so I know the trans is not slipping. If you shut the car off and then restart, the trans shifts normally up through all the gears, even into overdrive before 45mph, but once crossing the 45, slowing down it will drop back into 3rd. It has been a great car and can't complain too much about this due to the fact of the car has 230,000 miles on it. I am thinking it could be a solenoid, pressure switch (both of which are in the solenoid pack), speed sensor or just contamination. The fluid is clean, and the filter was changed approx. 10,000 miles ago. It was leaking fluid from the gaskets under the solenoid pack, but I changed the gaskets and stopped the leak about 6 months ago.
Thanks for your input. I do have a trans off a 2000 stratus SE if I need to rob parts for troubleshooting. I do have the factory service manual, but unlike the maintenance manuals I am used to dealing with (aircraft), the description and operation is not very informative. But after reading, I have come to the conclusions above. There are no codes from cycling the key, but I am going to get my hands on an OBDII scanner and see if there are any stored P codes this weekend.
Thanks again.
