(Tranny) Cant run in 3rd?

[nsm484]

Ok... heres the story
After reading many many many things on here about riding
in 3rd under 60mph... i thought that was a good idea... and
tried it myself.......... To my Dismay ;(

Driving in 3rd... no problem... But I cannot let go of the gas:
Once I stop holding the gas, like when i want to slow down alittle without hitting the brakes. insted of slowing down normaly...
it acts as if its in Netural... RPM's go down to around say 750-700,
then it revs up and you can feel the tranny catching a gear, then repeats the loop the entire time my foot isnt on the gas in 3rd.. I tried this also in 2nd, no problem, and 1st, no problem...
only seems to be a problem in 3rd, and it defantly doesnt do it
in D eather.

Now appon reading other tranny threads... there was talk of the
brakebands in the tranny, where if to tight (i think?!?!) that it will feel as if you hit the brake as the tranny shifts gears... My car does feel like this, under certan acceleration circumstances....
Could this be the cause of my weird 3rd gear problem?
or is my Orig Tranny just about to go?

Note: I dont drive durring the day much, its mostly an eve/night driver, sence I work overnight. The hotest part of the day it sees within the last 2 weeks is dusk... so atleast its not getting this
nasty Muggy Daytime Florida heat!


Any reply would be helpfull as im totaly confused as to whats going on... and almost afrade to adjust the brake bands, as the thread i was reading said it was a super sentive adjustment.

-Roger

No idea man, as long as when you floor it and it doesnt bog and slip or Power Mode isnt comming on and staying on, then i wouldnt be too worried, i plan on killing my 2nd tranny here soon so i will let you know how it acts when it begins to die..

[nsm484]

Originally posted by tancred
No idea man, as long as when you floor it and it doesnt bog and slip or Power Mode isnt comming on and staying on, then i wouldnt be too worried, i plan on killing my 2nd tranny here soon so i will let you know how it acts when it begins to die..

Another thing that happened a few days ago.. as I was getting
on I-95 to head to work... There was alot of traffic, so everyone getting on the Interstate from that enterence was going 5-10mph?!?!?!? Anywho... one I got an opening, I floored it, and got
the good ole raction... it just went! then an IDIOT changed lanes without signaling and got infront of me and I had to let go of the gas RIGHT BEFORE I hit 2nd, and after i let go of the gas, it made a huge "THUD" into 2nd gear... all i could do was cringe at the
sound that it made... I havent done any major accelerating sence then... cause that also realy bothered me ;(

My differential is making a THUD when you accelerate then let off fast, its like it wanted to hit the next gear but had to settle for staying in the current one. I have had 1 tranny go from good to bad on me, all my fault aswell. The beginning signs of my tranny going out was the slippage, later on, when going uphill it wouldnt even want to grab in gear. Finally it would randomly go in and out of power mode, and power mode would stay on and never come off, which was kinda fun to drive like that but...My advice, leave it in D, dont jack with it, I used to shift my auto everyday, from 1-D i would downshift and abuse it. I promised myself with this new SVX that it would be in D exclusively.

The THud could be a lot of things, I think my current tranny is on the way out the door or my differential is...it grabs, then lets loose, just cruising around town. Until the engine gets up to temp. So I would advise maybe check the DIFFs....the clunk/thud is most likely a diff....

[nsm484]

Anyone else have an idea of the problem im having, or have had the same problem?

[IggDawg]

do you have the resistor next to the battery disconnected? the ubiquitous "resistor mod"? what you're experiencing sounds a lot like the "hunting" the tranny does when you disconnect the line pressure resistor. if it is disconnected, try reconnecting it and see if you still have the issue. Keep in mind that it is vitally important to be drinking a guinness whenever you are working with this resistor. Otherwise the magic will escape and all the power will fall out of your car.

[lee]

Originally posted by IggDawg
do you have the resistor next to the battery disconnected? the ubiquitous "resistor mod"? what you're experiencing sounds a lot like the "hunting" the tranny does when you disconnect the line pressure resistor. if it is disconnected, try reconnecting it and see if you still have the issue. Keep in mind that it is vitally important to be drinking a guinness whenever you are working with this resistor. Otherwise the magic will escape and all the power will fall out of your car.

I agree with everything you said, with one potential exception. I believe Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and/or Suntory should be substituted. Perhaps we should ask Joe for a definitive opinion of Irish Ale while working on a Japanese vehicle. I know from personal experience that Newcastle Brown helps me when I work on my Norton...as always, YMMV

[Gargoyle]

I find this topic verry interseting.
I have allwase prefered a Stick but but have had several 4 speed Auto's (85- 5.0 LX Mustang) ( 87 Z-28 ) (92 Park Ave Ultra * factory super charger super fun in a straight line ) & I still have the 88 LeSabre .
Now on every one of those I found that with anything other than freeway driving I would get MUCH better response driving In 3 or D ( as opposed to O-D ) As those big monsters seemed to lug in OD & performance suffered .. Plus the LeSabre felt like it was in pain in OD @ city speeds. So I have allwase told friends & Family to get into the habit of stayin out of O-D unless on the freeway.

That said however My SVX seems to not care if it's in 3 or O-D it will smoothly drop to 3rd with a small squirt of pedal & go from 4'th to 2'nd Like a Bat outa Hadies if I drop the hammer. Now I would still love to have a 5 speed but the Auto in my SVX ( so far ) is the most responsive driver sensitive Auto I have ever driven & the shifts are super smooth with normal driving & verry firm with Aggresive driving ( perhaps is the fact I only have 56 K & I am fanatical about fluid changes )

At any rate I would love to hear more input from pep's about there thoughts on this topic..

[nsm484]

Originally posted by IggDawg
do you have the resistor next to the battery disconnected? the ubiquitous "resistor mod"? what you're experiencing sounds a lot like the "hunting" the tranny does when you disconnect the line pressure resistor. if it is disconnected, try reconnecting it and see if you still have the issue. Keep in mind that it is vitally important to be drinking a guinness whenever you are working with this resistor. Otherwise the magic will escape and all the power will fall out of your car.

Thats the weird thing... its pluged in

[NomadTW]

that is exactily what happens w/ the resistor removed or if it went bad

go to your fav subaru dealership and ask them to test the resistance on the resistor and tell you if it's right

or someone here could tell you the proper resistance that it should have

if it's bad replace it (dont' buy it from soa tho, it's surely priced obscenely, go to a junkyard or soemthing)

[nsm484]

Originally posted by NomadTW
that is exactily what happens w/ the resistor removed or if it went bad
go to your fav subaru dealership and ask them to test the resistance on the resistor and tell you if it's right
or someone here could tell you the proper resistance that it should have
if it's bad replace it (dont' buy it from soa tho, it's surely priced obscenely, go to a junkyard or soemthing)

no SVX'es in a junkyard within a 60 mile radius.
I THINK a Tampa junkyard mite have one... but damn
thats a drive for a part ;(

[NikFu S.]

Start saving your money.
Start being nice to your tranny.
Keep a close eye on your T fluid.
Wash your undercarriage (when it's cold) and check for burning smells when/after driving.
If it seems like pressure is low, get it flushed, find out for sure.
Install a cooler soon as possible.