my 97 3.8 auto won't go all the way to 4th gear when the engine is cold. usually when this happens, it will only go to 2nd at first, then up to 3rd when it gets warmer, then finally to 4th after a little longer. most of the time, if i start the car cold in the morning, at first it will idle at 1400 rpms, then drop to 900 at the lowest when it gets warm. usually i only have to get it to 1200 or 1100 for the problem to go away, except when the temp gets in the teens. but the other day, it was about 22 degrees (with high winds in addition), i went out and started it cold, waited 10 minutes to go to 900. i took off on a 45 mph road, went only to 2nd. then it took 5 minutes to get it to go to 3rd, then shortly after that it finally went to 4th. what could be my problem? by the way the car has 84k miles on it, the tranny fluid is only about 9k miles old. this is never a problem in warm weather.

 

Assuming you fluid level is right. As a general rule this type of problem is cause by hardend seals. The seals will not seal when it is hard so when the tramission trys to shift to that gear it drops the main line pressure, the shift never happens. As it warms up the sealgets softer then it seals.Of course you want to get a transmission shop to check it out for you. They can hook up a pressure gage and see if they see the drop in pressure. You will have to leave it there over night so they can test it cold. With the electronic shift controls it is possible it is something else. .

This will mean the seals will need replaced which mean the transmission will need completely torn down. You might as well put a master kit in it. Most shops will only warranty a master kit.

 

youre probably exactly right. the car sat for a year in the sun if that would make this situation anymore likely.

 

There is an one other option but its risky. You know the trans rebuild in a can you can buy at Walmart? Most of the time they are completly useless but IF your problem is hardendseals it may help. Use it as directed on the can.Seals aredesigned to work with certian types of fluid in a prefect world the fluid should have NO effect on the seals. If you add a fluid that can react with the seals you can soffen and swell seals.

The risky part is you can swell seals that are working perfectly and cause another problem. Plus if you have a crack in a seal and the only reason your trans is still working is because the seal is hard it could cause it to stop working all together.

So I tell people if you are ready to get the trans rebuild but you would like to put it off for a while then you can try it. Figure themost it will cost you is a tow. Make sure you tell your transmission shop you put it in there, theymay want togivethe the parts a extra cleaning

If you need to rely on this car and you can not afford the rebuild right now. Let the car warm up in the driveway. These almost shifts are very hard on the clutch packs. Most of thetime when people drive cars in this condition they end upon a tow truck becuase of a wiped out clutch pack not the seal failing.

 

yeah, i do let it warm whenever possible, but i rely on this car, so i'm going to have to put off the tranny rebuild. i'll be starting mechanic school in about a year anyway, so i'm hoping someday i maybe able to do it myself.