Transmission slipping when cold

supercoupe92FL

Registered User
I just moved here to upstate NY from Florida. Got nice cool weather now and colder nights and mornings than my car has ever really experienced, and its only going to get worse as winter comes.
Anyway, I have noticed that when i start the car in the morning, and put the transmission in drive or reverse, it will sometimes not engage and stay in neutral until you give it a bit of throttle (1500rpm) or so until it will shift into 1st or R. The rest of the gears shift fine, including OD. Then when I come to a stop, sometimes the transmission will shift back into neutral and stay there until you give it gas or just engage into 1st by itself. It will do this until the engine has warmed up then everything is fine. I checked the fluid after the engine warmed up and I drove for half an hour and it was on the high end of normal just slightly over the line. I guess it never happened in FL because it was not cold enough. Is this a fluid issue or something more serious occurring?

Any input would be appreciated
 
Check the cold level on the tranny fluid. What may be happening is the fluid level is low but after you drive the car the fluid heats up and expands. Low fluid will heat up so much that it can give you false level readings. If you will look in a service manual they will generaly mention a fluid temp that is considered hot and if the fluid level you are trying to read is hotter than what they state your level will look full or higher.
Do you understand what I'm trying to say here?
 
Yes that makes sense about the fluid, i'll check that. But it does say in the manual that in order to get an accurate reading, to check the fluid level after the engine has warmed up. To be more specific, i think it says after driving like 15 miles/half hour or around there. Thats why I checked it after it warmed up.
 
I understand what your saying about level checking procedure you used to check the fluid level.
But if you start out at a level lower than should be at cold then that fluid level will heat up faster than the proper cold level will.
That in turn will cause the fluid level to rise at a faster rate because of the extra slip the tranny has until the level rises.
If the fluid starts to become pretty hot it will read high on the dipstick.
 
Ok, I checked the tranny fluid when cold, and it was higher than it was when it is cold! This doesnt make any sense, why would cold fluid read higher than the fluid after the car has been driven for a while. Would having too much fluid cause the slipping tranny when cold?
 
Yes I was on level ground.
I dont know when the fluid/filter was changed last. I bought the car with 91,000 miles and dont really know the history before that. Has 106,000 on it now. I have heard that if the fluid has not been changed ever and I go to change it now, the tranny may fall apart as the old fluid has metal particles in it that hold the tranny together. Is this true? I read it on this forum and concluded that if you dont know the history of your tranny, just leave it alone and wait for it to fall apart on its own as the rebuild is going to be needed whether it be now or when it falls apart later on.
 
If you want a easy fix, try Lucas Automatic Transmission Treatment. Mine was slipping bad last February and I added this stuff and it fixed it immediatley. My transmission is probably living on borrowed time but it does not seem to know it. It shifts great and has never been apart at 175,000. If you do go with a rebuild now look into lentec options.
 
OK thanks, I'll check on that stuff next time i'm at advance auto. I've looked into the lentech option but I just dont have the $$ for that right now. In fact if my tranny does go I will probably have to sell the car. I just cant afford the maintenance on it anymore.
 
Have a 91 auto....began this around 95K miles....did filter and new fluid.

It was almost perfect for about 20K miles...then started acting up like you say a bit more and more progressively.

But now it has about 140K on it....and it's abused constantly...but for the slip now and then out of the driveway....it runs great.....

so I don't see this as any real sign your trans will be going south anytime soon....just get it serviced for about $100 or do it yourself...
 
OK, your problem sounds like the classic one of worn out fluid.
I have a 95SC and also own/operate a quick lube business. I see many cars/trucks in my shop with the exact same symptom you have described.

A rule of thumb (unless the vehicle is used under harsh conditions) is to change the trans filter and replace fluid (the fluid that is lost when the trans pan is removed...about 4-4.5qts) at 30Kmi and then again at 60Kmi. When you get to about 80K-90Kmi, then you should (again) change the filter but this time have the transmission flushed. A flush will change out 100% of the old fluid. I'd also add a bottle of something like Lubeguard (Red bottle) fluid addative to supple up the clutches.

Trust me, you don't want to let this go on without attention. I do this for a living and see this happen again and again.

best regards....
 
I know I want to change the fluid but have heard the horror stories in other threads on this forum about changing the fluid when you dont know the history of the car. I dont want to change the fluid that is holding together the tranny and then have to rebuild the whole thing. Like the fluid is a reddish brown but it doesnt smell burnt, how can you tell if changing the fluid will be safe?
 
I can't think of anything that would

really come apart due to better fluid...that doesn't make sense....

Be a bit wary of the "horror" stories....
What might be a typical story is someone is beating on a trans...which is in need of a rebuild....and decides to try and spruce it up with a service....and then finds that it won't continue to take the beating....but what was going to happen was probably going to happen anyway.

Keep in mind in general these cars do put so much torque on the trans ...and with the weight of the car....and the temptation to hit the gas....it's almost impossible not to put a high level of strain on the trans.

On other cars....like my Ford wagon....I've nursed a the AOD past a possible horrible existence with the first owner, to now 150K miles with 2 trans changes...and it'll probably go 200K + because it's not getting beat on.

What I've heard in general about the AOD is that you HAVE to do fluid changes to give it any chance of lasting a long time. There are other bullet proof trans like the C6 and other chevy trans that you can never change the fluid and they outlast the vehicle most of the time.....but that's not the AOD.

The other thing to do is make sure the TV wire is properly adjusted...that's a big factor in trans life....check the treads on that....
 
Well such "horror" stories are rarely true but "new" transmission problems can occur when flushing, but ONLY due to the fact that the transmission is way, way overdue for service.

As transmission fluid goes bad the hydrolic properties start to fail, resulting in erratic transmisison shifting and "clutching". When that happens, the fluid addatives start to break down and form as sludge in the bottom of the fluid pan. If left too long, clutches can start to degrade and actually break off and add to the sludge problem. Worst case is that (due to the poor fluid vescosity) gears start to clash (grind) and metal shavings start to make their way thru the transmission (via the fluid flow) and generally end up on the magnet in the pan bottom.

When the new filter is installed, the pan is cleaned (sludge, bits of parts, etc.), the magnet is clean (metal shavings) and whatever fluid is in the pan is disgarded and replaced. Problems can occur when new, clean fluid is installed and should sludge or shavings or whatever foreign matter be lodged in places other than the pan, they may get stuck in valves, or fluid passages...this rarely happens but their is a possibility.

Now, your choice is to not do anything, and the cold slipping problem with get worse and worse until the transmission will eventually "eat" a metal gear, bushing, or even a clutch (then it will not move the car) or you can roll the dice and have the filter and fluid totally replaced. I generally do about 20 trannys a week and might see 3-4 a year than end up worse than they began. Once the problem damages a gear, clutch, bushing,....whatever, no "cheap" service such as a filter and fluid change will help. Then the tranny must be removed and rebuilt.

By servicing the tranny regularly, you can avoid being in this "decision making" delima.

PS...not knowing the history is no excuse for NOT servicing anything mechanical....to the contrary, NOT knowing the history is the VERY reason to service it and begin fresh. When I buy a used vehicle I always assume nothing has been done and change oil, check brakes, check plugs, wires....blah...I bet you do to.....
 
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