89 LXi automatic transmission problems. PLZ HELP!!

[blackedoutlxi]

ok so i just had to put a new motor in it and i switched back to the old transmission i had (which was good when i took it out). first day i drove it across town and did fine. transmission shifted fine but the tv cable that runs inside the car needed some adjusting because the gears werent lining up with the lights on my dash. so i started it back drove it back across town to my house and it was slipping really bad so i put more tranny fluid in and now its full. only problem now is when i put it in drive it takes off fine but i have to shift it up to second gear by pulling my shifter back and then it wont shift out of second gear. anybody have a clue as to what my problem could be? im about tired of messing with it :/

[2oodoor]

The cable you describe is NOT the TV cable, that is the shift cable. The tv is connected to the throttle and throttle body depending on what model you have.
If the tv cable is off,froze, lever bent, cable retainer bent, the trans will not shift.

[blackedoutlxi]

i just replaced the i shaped bolt that connects that cable to the shifter. i have it adjusted right finally but it just wont shift out of second gear at all. and to get it to go from 1st to 2nd gear i have to pull it down from D4 to 2? its a nightmare

[blackedoutlxi]

so i guess nobody else has any idea of what it could be either?

[Chrismfc]

I would love for someone to figure this out, I've got the same problem from third to fourth, just while the cars warming up. Once it's warm it doesn't do it. Changed fluid three times in the year I've owned the car and nothing. I can wiggle the shifter between D3 and D4 to get it to shift to 4th, sometimes even nudge it towards neutral to shift. Automatics suck.

[Dr_Snooz]

If you can wiggle it into gear, a little adjustment should take care of it.

[2oodoor]

Does it line up good in park and reverse?

[blackedoutlxi]

it lines up good until i pull it down into drive. when i go to put it back into park i checked neutral and reverse. it goes into neutral where it should but then dont even try to take reverse until it goes back into park first. and when its in park i can still push the car forward like its not in park

[blackedoutlxi]

and ya id just adjust the shift cable a few threads to fix that problem. just dont break the bolt the cable connects to lol honda cant order them anymore and the whole shifter assembly is $300 and its on backorder. i had to go to a junk yard and drill the rivet out of one because thats how there held in.


I would love for someone to figure this out, I've got the same problem from third to fourth, just while the cars warming up. Once it's warm it doesn't do it. Changed fluid three times in the year I've owned the car and nothing. I can wiggle the shifter between D3 and D4 to get it to shift to 4th, sometimes even nudge it towards neutral to shift. Automatics suck.

[Chrismfc]

Yeah I know the cable adjustment stuff is easy to figure out for me. The massive slip between gears when the fluid is still cold is what I can't figure out.

[Chrismfc]

What's the connection close to the fire wall on the transmission that looks like a coil wire type connection? Has a little boot over it.

[A18A]

does the other end go into the firewall? if so, that's the speedo cable

[Chrismfc]

No I don't think that's what I'm trying to figure out. Should the speedometer cable pull in and out easily? This thing was just barely sitting in the housing and I've never had a problem with my speedometer. Is there any type of pressure regulator back there or anything?

[2oodoor]

The little lever on the front of the trans or directly under the battery, contols pressure in the valve body. Oh, and there is a cable going to it that works kinda like a mechanical throttle position sensor. If it ain't indexed correctly the shifts will be highly erratic if at all.
It does sound like the shifter was off align too.
Ive replaced the shifter cable before and it was not like any ive done before.
There should be a u clip holding the speedo cable in, the pressure power steering pressure is controled by the speedo....

[Dr_Snooz]

Yeah I know the cable adjustment stuff is easy to figure out for me. The massive slip between gears when the fluid is still cold is what I can't figure out.

I would start with a fluid flush but it sounds like there might be some valve body damage too.

[Chrismfc]

I'm kinda scared of a full flush. The last thing I want to do is have to try and change the filter. Unless someone knows a quick and simple way to tear the tranny half way apart.

[Chrismfc]

The speedo cable has to send some kind of data to the ecu. The cable was loose barely making connection. I cleaned it up with some sand paper and a little petroleum jelly, put it in there right and all of a sudden I'm having to loosen my tv cable cause its trying to break my neck it's shifting so hard. No slipping whatsoever. I don't know.

[Dr_Snooz]

The speedo cable has to send some kind of data to the ecu.

It does, but it wouldn't affect your shifting. You got some issues going on there. The trans filter stays put until you rebulid the trans. If you're afraid of a flush, just do the ghetto flush where you do a series of drain and fills over the course of a few hundred miles.