automatic tranny won't shift unless warmed up..

bdfnbrd

Registered User
Okay, what the hell is this crap? my car won't shift untill the tranny is warmed up.. this is a problem cause all the roads leaving my house are 50 mph.. also, my car won't move off the line untill about 2000 rpms sometimes 2500.. it shakes real bad for a second then starts to move.. there is no slipping after it gets moving, it just doesn't want to move untill that rpm, and also when it does start to move, it grabs real hard. do I need a new tranny? also, how hard is it to swap from auto to 5 speed. I have a line on a complete and running 5 speed for 1000 bucks. I would just drive that but it's totally thrashed.. but for purposes of the swap and extra parts, is it worth picking up? thanks guys!

Douglas Day
Middleton Idaho
90' Thunderbird SC
 
in my opinion... i think ur low on fluid! now the auto to 5 speed... i am currently converting mine because i really hate automatics... too much stuff to worry about... you have to worry about the fluid... not to overheat it... not to burn up the transmission and so on... its just too much... as for 5 speed its just the clutch and the syncroes... and thats it..
 
might be a dumb question...

This may be a dumb question but I had to ask because it sounds like what my car was doing. I was wondering if you just bought the car? Maybe it has a stall converter on it you dont know about?, becuase thats what my car was doing before i put it up for the winter when it was cold out it didnt want to shift untill it warmed up now that I got it out for the summer and its been 70 out hasnt done it yet, the other thing that sounds alike is the not moving till 2500 rpm thats what my stall converter is, so up till that rpm my car barley moves.. This might be a worthless post but who knows maybe something to look into if its a new car to you
 
mint91sc said:
This may be a dumb question but I had to ask because it sounds like what my car was doing. I was wondering if you just bought the car? Maybe it has a stall converter on it you dont know about?, becuase thats what my car was doing before i put it up for the winter when it was cold out it didnt want to shift untill it warmed up now that I got it out for the summer and its been 70 out hasnt done it yet, the other thing that sounds alike is the not moving till 2500 rpm thats what my stall converter is, so up till that rpm my car barley moves.. This might be a worthless post but who knows maybe something to look into if its a new car to you

You probably have a tranny problem because if you have an aftermarket torque convertor it will be the same every time.
 
mint91sc: With a higher stall converter in your transmission, the car should still move off the line pretty much like stock, although the engine will rev up faster and to a higher rpm. If it doesn't move until 2500rpm something is wrong with it. The stall speed doesn't mean you have to hit that rpm before moving.
 
it sounds like the torque converter but if you are going to change that change the tranny too believe me transmission work on these cars suck and I have had better luck with my wifes camaro 96 than these sc's I still wonder what the f*** Ford was thinking when they did that but still just get you tranny rebuilt it is quicker and easier and also remember this no one can out shift a automatic.
 
For what its worth

It is not a forgone conclusion that the AOD is a bad design. My original AOD lasted 186,000 miles. In fact, it still works fine other than the O/D band has some wear which causes it to drop out on hot days. I replaced it with a lower mileage AOD because I live in a hot summer state and I lucked into a great deal on a used one.

What you will often find is when one breaks, it can be due to neglect (never changing the fluid :rolleyes: ), abuse (funny shift tricks), or bone-headedness.. such as leaving the TV cable off :eek: :eek: As for the bone-head part, a couple of years back, in my dumber days, I actually let a shop work on my SC.. big mistake.. the bone-head cracked the grommet and just left the cable sitting there.. I drove around for a day or so and noticed it, grumbled a bit, and reconnected it with a cable strap.. Only years later did I come to realize just how close I was to having a fried tranny from that. :eek:
 
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mint91sc said:
This may be a dumb question but I had to ask because it sounds like what my car was doing. I was wondering if you just bought the car? Maybe it has a stall converter on it you dont know about?, becuase thats what my car was doing before i put it up for the winter when it was cold out it didnt want to shift untill it warmed up now that I got it out for the summer and its been 70 out hasnt done it yet, the other thing that sounds alike is the not moving till 2500 rpm thats what my stall converter is, so up till that rpm my car barley moves.. This might be a worthless post but who knows maybe something to look into if its a new car to you


If you have a 2500 stall and your car barely moves until that rpm something is wrong with it. I have a 2800 stall in my car and I can easily keep up the pace of slow traffic at about 1400 rpm.
 
I doubt the problem is the torque converter here. AOD converters in general don't go that bad. Loose fins and ballooning seem to be the largest issues. The ballooning doesn't go far because the cover hits the crank bolts. In order for the converter to do what you are saying you would have to have blown the roller clutch inside the stator. I have never seen that in an aod converter, the roller clutches are very good. It sounds to me like you either have low fluid,a clogged filter (or missing/blown filter gasket) or a fried forward clutch.
Alan
 
yeah i think its gonna be the blown filter gasket... i remember when i forgot to put the filter gasket on my transmission... boy it did the same thing... wouldn shift until it warmed up... but after that it was fine... i remember i made a post about it on the forum too...
 
I'm pretty sure you know how to check your fluid, and I'll assume you know if there is an aftermarker stall in your car so I would smell your fluid on your dip stick and if if smells burnt then, well you should know what happens next....rebuild!
 
Sounds like your forward clutch to me. As for a 5 speed swap that trans has lots of obsolete parts so this might not be the best thing to do. The biggest problem with this trans is most rebuilders will give you one from 3.8 na or something. It will not hold up. Have them rebuild your trans.
 
Hey man order an Art Carr transmission or use the art carr updates they are awesome find you a good performance rebuiler do not go tojust an everyday shop I got screwed like and had to get a lawyer on it and the lawyer cost almost as much as the tranny (just the princepal) also that was a 4r70 w the aod is a very difficult design. When I was looking at the power flow charts and I really believe you have a bad torque converter but honestly the converter is gonna do one of 2 things if it is going out the car willdrive fine untill 30-40 mph and then it will feel like you hit a brick wall or your car will be very sluggish at untill you hit 30-40 mph and then it will pick up and drive fine. needless to say a good rebuild will do you the best.
 
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