Auto tranny issues...

Hey guys,

I've had my '87 LXi for a week now. I decided to name her Sal.
This last week the tranny has been sluggish wanting to use first gear until she warmed up for a minute, but once warm she shifted like butter, until today.

I went on a long two hour drive in the mountians today, shifted fine the whole way. When I got back down I noticed I had to give it about half throttle to get it to shift into 1st gear from a dead stop, and it wanted to hold 1st gear longer than it should.

I got home, let her sit for a few hours. Decided to drive her again, this time she wouldn't shift out of first at all unless I put it in 2. Got to about 5000 RPM and it finally shifted straight into 4th. After that it would go from 2 - 3 - 4, but it won't shift into 1st unless you really press on the gas.

Any Ideas? Flushing it a good idea, or would it cause more harm than good?

Have you even checked your fluid level? Check it.Automatics are a hydraulically operated system. If fluid is low things will not operate properly. Here is a thread.https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40885

Ted, if you find that your fluid is at the correct level, do you know how old the ATF is? Perhaps a couple of drain and refills separated by a few hundred miles might show some improvement?

Apparently these autos have filters/strainers that are only able to replaced by disassembling the transmission...

I'd suggest doing a drain and refill with some Dexron, drive 600 or so miles (or about two gas tankfuls) then another drain and refill. If you see improvement after these, I would then do one more drain and refill after another 600 miles (two tanks) and do one more but this time with Honda ATF. If you see even MORE improvement, wait until the next Oil Change (so hopefully a few thousand miles) and do one LAST drain and refill with more Honda ATF...since you don't completely drain out all of the old ATF, hopefully by the time the final refill comes, the majority of the ATF will be Honda ATF. FOR SURE it will be like 90-100% NEW ATF and not the stuff you are running on now (assuming that's your issue of course).

The reason I have you use Dexron at first is because it is much cheaper than Honda ATF and was originally recommended by the owners manuals back then anyhow. Plus if this does NOT give you any improvement, you are only out the price of 4-8 Dexron quarts rather than 4-8 Honda ATF ($3-$4 a quart vs $7-$10 a quart!!) Of course if this does give you improvement, the Honda ATF is definitely worth the price and shift quality in the end...your auto will thank you too!!

I suspect your tranny is about done. Check your TV cable. Try a flush. Try experimenting with different kinds of fluid, different kinds of additives, etc. But be ready with a replacement trans.