Hello and Merry Christmas to everyone,

I have a 1993 88 with the 3.8l v6. Currently the car will not shift into 3rd and will, if I push it to 100km/h, shift past 3rd into overdrive.

Fluid is perfect (right on full line). I have checked the vaccum line to the transmission solonoid and even though all looked ok replaced all the soft rubber portions with new ones. I did not replace the hard line but traced it with my fingers and found no obvious cracks/leaks. I have also replaced the transmission solonoid. Both with no effect on the issue.

The shifting from 1-2 is fine, not hard or anything. (I never had a hard shifting issue)

I have not checked any codes as I am waiting on a friend to come back into town who has a scan tool.

I am wondering if this is related. Over the past couple of years I would rarely have a condition where the transmission would not go into gear; it would stay in neutral. This only happened when it was really cold out and the car would always go into gear if you let it warm up for a couple of minutes. This only happened a couple of times over the years but I mention it here because it happened a couple of days before this problem so not sure if related. I have not had it since.

Any thoughts or is the scan tool the first order of business?

Thank You for any assistance you can offer.

Hi there-

I know you said that you checked the fluid and it was full, but did you note the condition of the fluid? You can smell it, and if it's burnt it will smell similar to hot brakes or a slipping clutch- Also note its color, and if there is any particulate in it. If something has happened to the clutch packs, you'll be able to tell by the condition of the fluid.

On an OBD I car like yours, I don't think a "scan tool" will tell you anything about the transmission unless the MIL (Service engine soon) light is on. You can check with the old paper clip method illustrated in the second post of the thread found here.

If there are any codes present, they will flash in order. When you jump the pins, the code 12 will flash 3 times, followed by any stored codes. It flashes the code by flashing the MIL light, so 12 would be one flash, short pause, 2 flashes, short pause, followed by the next code.

If there are no codes stored, and the fluid is clean and full, I would take the car in for a flush and fill, preferably one where they can show you what was in the bottom of the pan, and what condition the filter was in.

It could very well be that 3 "gear" has been damaged, in which case the transmission will need a rebuild or replacement. In fact, that is my gut feeling on what is wrong with it, but it is best to go through the process of diagnostics first, to rule out any other possibilities.

Hope this helps,
Andrew

This would eliminate a vacuum leak. An faulty modulator would raise shift points in all gears.


If you haven't seen a check (service) engine light, it's unlikely you will find any.


Vacuum line goes to the Modulator.

There are four solenoids: Three control shifts and one controls converter lockup.


Have a competent trans shop do the diagnosis.

Norm

Thank You for the helpful replies Andrewk and 88 Coupe,

In summary,

* Fluid is slowly getting darker, currently its still mostly pink but I can tell the difference within the past month. Fluid was last changed 2 years ago, approx 30,000 km.
* Fluid appears to have a barely noticeable burned smell to it, again, that wasn't there last month.
* No apparent particulate in the fluid.
* During the last couple of warmer days (40-49 degrees compared to 25-30 last week) the shifting started working again most of the time (approx 7 out of 10 times).
* Check engine light is not on but a code 39 is in memory. This code is from using an ODB reader from Canadian tire. this code could be torque converter related or clutch related. (sorry, don't have exact description as I didn't write it down because of next point)
* I booked an appt with the dealership down the street to have them diagnose it and recommend next steps.
* Thanks for letting me know about the four solonoids, I'm going to read up on that for my own info as I know very little about automatic transmisions.

If the recommendation is a rebuild then I will do a transmission swap as I do have a low km 1994 bonneville SSEi transmission in my spare pile which is the same model transmission.

Thanks Everyone again for your prompt help!
Gary

Just one thing to double check the trans your putting in should be the HD version of the 4t60-e, yours beinga n/a car has the regular 4t60, everything phsyicly will bolt up and same with electrical connections but the final gear ratio might be diffrent check the Tag on the Trans look it up it should tell you what gear you have in that trans, and likewise for the current trans in your car. if they are diffrent your speedo wont read correctly and your traction control (if equiped) might have issues.

TCC (lockup converter) is inoperative.

Easy fix if it's the switch, relay, or a loose electrical connection. Not so easy if it's the converter, but easier (and more practical) than replacing it with a used trans from a different application.

From your description, it could be a pressure issue. If so, a rebuild would be in order.

Norm

Happy New Year Everyone,

The shop diagnosed the problem and indicated the issue is with the transmission (electrical/external related components checked out ok) and it requires a rebuild. As I expected, the cost is expensive. Therefore we are going with the swap (my time is free and my friends work for beer )and I will then keep the transmission and look into rebuilding it for a spare later on when finances permit. (Or, depending on cost, I may just look at picking up another low km one from a parted out car). The current spare only has 76,000 miles on it so it is a good unit.

The shop compared the transmissions and indicated exactly what 91parkave said; that the shifting will be harder and the speedo will be off but other than that this is perfectly doable. The speedo will indicate higher speed so that's perfect as then I can be sure that I will always be under the speed limit.

I can't do the swap for another couple of weeks as I'm on a 14 day work schedule currently. Since the transmission has been shifting fine and working ok as long as you keep the speeds below 60 (so the revs don't get too high) I'm planning on leaving it alone until either spring or the unit fails. I'm hoping it lasts the way it is until spring. (when the temperature went up to the low 40's last week it even started shifting properly!).

The shop indicated that keeping the speed low will keep from burning out 2nd gear and, at this point, this may keep things running ok until I have time for the swap but they wouldn't promise - which I expected and am ok with.

Thanks to everyone for their valuable input; as always it is very much appreciated.

Did a fluid and filter change today to see what is in the filter and bottom of pan as well as to get rid of the current burnt fluid.

We found small pieces of black clutch material and a number of metal pieces (about 10) in both the filter and pan. The metal pieces are interesting as they are not chunks of metal but appear to be off of a clip or something that is made out of very thin metal.

I'm hoping that keeping the driving down to city only will keep the fluid from getting burnt until we can replace the tranny in the next couple of weeks.

I have attached a picture of the pieces; not very clear unfortunately as my camera is not great at up close pics.