wierd tranny problem

[Bigmaxxin]

recently my auto tranny on my '89 LXI coupe, shudders kind of when it shifts into second, and only second, also the car seems to "rev" in between shifts, like its having trouble engagging, is this a severe problem?

[Cheeseburger]

see if you need trany oil. i had the same problem and all it needed was some oil

[Bigmaxxin]

cool my friend is gonna help me with changing that tonight, is there anything else i should change or is it just auto tranny fluid?

[Cheeseburger]

try that first

[Bigmaxxin]

how much atf is needed , we bought 3 quarts how much does it take? :dunno:

[tonytouch]

i think it takes about 5

[tonytouch]

if the tranny fluid is really low the bell housing may need some to make sure you dont overfill thats very important. however i hate to say it on my 87 accord i blew the tranny 3 times and all three times thats the first thing it did was rev between gears dont drive the car too hard and if you end up having to change the tranny (i sure hope not) and have specific questions ask me ill let you know how to do.

[tonytouch]

5 litres that is (im canadian)

[Bigmaxxin]

well it ended up using about 2.5 quarts, and the revving between gears is gone, but there is still a slight shudder (the fluid helped this problem alot) between upshifting from 1st to 2nd, but thats only if i take it easy, if i punch it it shifts smoothere, and flawless until the pos tops out at about 120, so its doin pretty good, thanx for the help guys, now i just have to fix the newly blown headlight.

[Cheeseburger]

i think it fills up with 3.2 quarts

wow i finally helped someone on the board . My mission is now complete .

[1988starter]

try changing it again because when you drane it out a lot stays in there still when I do auto's I alaways change them once drive for about 15-20 minutes and do it again.

[89LxiAg]

I agree with 88starter, either you could change the transmission fluid twice as he suggested, or find a nice shop with an automatic transmission fluid changer. They work really well and claim to replace more old fluid than a simple drain and refill. When my brother had trouble with his tranny, he paid his buddy about $100 and used the auto changer - seemed to smooth things right out.

I would also recommend adding some Lucas Transmission Fix to the ATF during your next change, just be sure to figure in the amount of Lucas you add to the total amount of fluid your transmission will hold. I'd hate for you to overfill it.

[Bigmaxxin]

ok ill do that!

[Bigmaxxin]

yeah this car is so fucked it makes me want to do some stuff to it that it wouldnt like, anyway as per your guys instructions i changed it again, but now it seems to have gotten worse, when going up a hill, it will have trouble, and sometimes shudder, the problem is that there is a lot of fuckin hills here, so this makes the car almost useless, i have a strong suspision that the torque converter is fucked. so a. how much would one cost? and b. would i be able to put one in, keep in mind i had a hard time replacing my water pump. (it took me several hours) and if it would be too hard, how much does a tranny cost?

[DanG86LX]

Mine is doing the same, shudders when upshifting 1st->2nd. Is not the torque conv, the 2nd clutch is almost gone (AT got 4 clutches!). And u're damn right, going uphill is a bitch, cause trany downshifts to 1st and then back to 2nd with the dreadful shudder..
For me changing trany is not an option, i rather ditch the car. However i found a way to avoid shudder.. Auto-trany always upshifts when easing the gas, so i rev in 1st just below RPMs when trany might auto-shifts 1-2, and then ease the gas (like having a stick!).

[89LxiAg]

Well according to my manual, a lot of work goes into changing the torque converter. The work includes disconnecting a lot of stuff, and raising the engine slightly (need an engine hoist). So if you can do without your car for a while, then you could perform this operation. P.S. An 89 LXi torque converter from Honda costs $500. The transmission can only be more money unless you get one from a junk yard, but who knows how it was driven before it arrived there. I would suggest a thorough inspection by a certified transmission specialist before you attempt this repair.

[Bigmaxxin]

i think im gonna just say screw it, cause the car was purchased for 500, and it has already taken 1000 in electronics repairs, the thing is sometimes the car wont go anywhere, and just rev, but im not sure if that was the old tranny fluid still in the system, so ill try the stick trick, otherwise i think im gonna donate it, and get a new car.

[Bigmaxxin]

well today, the only problem i encountered was the big hill onto my road, this is a steep hill, and there is a sharp turn so there is not much speed to be gotten before, so it maybe doing okay afterall.*knock on wood*