Harsh 1-2 Shift
 

In the past month, the transmission has developed a harsh 1 to 2 shift, with significant drive train shock felt. The shift is best described as similar to when driving a manual transmission and doing a quick 1-2 shift and letting go of the clutch abruptly.

Is there a pressure valve on the 4EAT or something that regulates the delay in between shifts?

Thx.

VK

power light
 

Does the power light come on and blink 16 times when you start the car? If so the most likely cause of the harsh shift is that the trannsmission resistor is dead/dying.

Re: power light
 

No blinks.

It doesn't behave like a dead resistor in 3rd gear coasting, with the revs dropping.

I'll probably take a measurement at the resistor though, to see if it's much out of spec, but from others playing with the resistance, I don't think there was any noticable difference in shifting qualities.

VK

Troubleshooting
 

Victor

The ATSUG manual suggests the following list of things to check for the symptom you describe, shock 1-2

Their codes in order listed:

3,23,13,10,70,76.

I quoted the order in case the higher likelihood of problem is from the left of the list. They refer to:

3: Faulty control unit [Transmission Exterior Part]
23: Valve Sticking [Parts Inside Oil Pan]
13: Faulty 2A accumulator [PIOP]
10: Faulty Throttle Sensor [TEP]
70: Deterioration of ATF [Other Parts]
76: Poor Engine Performance [OP]

You might check with Beav which of these he would track first.

Joe

Joe,

I think I stumbled onto my problem today... Too hot ATF.

Reason? My A/C condenser in front of the tranny cooler is leaking, and has caused the A/C condenser to pick up a lot of dirt, blocking air flow.

Or that's my primary theory. I'm going to leave it for now and fix the A/C condenser first. Also going to try to hose out the dirt and see what happens.

:(

VK

That's a good place to start.

If the oil has been over-hot for a while, you should be able to get that burnt smell from it.

However, have you by-passed the OE cooler? Because if not, and the oil is not burnt and brown, this may indicate problem elsewhere.

Check the connections between the tranny loom and the TCU, and see that the TCU is securely grounded.

After this, checking the TPS is probably the next easiest to do, but I have a sneaking suspicion you have a sticky valve or the 2A accumulator is faulty. Good news here, if you are an optimist, the tranny need not come out for this fix, they are both accessible from dropping the pan.

Hope it sorts handy for you,

Joe:)