donskeeter

there are probably about 100 of these topics, but i'm still not to clear on the whole thing, and i'm getting some weird behaviors.

i have a 97, with 72k miles, and i don't know if the trans. has ever been serviced. i've only owned the car since 69k miles.

i might have had one time when the trans. may have thumped, but never at highway speed. when i let off the gas at highway speed, the car does seem to drop in rpm, as if i pushed in the clutch in a stick, and then comes back up after a second.

last night, i was driving down a pretty steep, long incline, and took my foot completely the gas. once again, the rpms would fluctuate 300 or so rpms. i am in drive while this is happening, by the way. this wasn't abrupt, it was a smooth fluctuation, no thumping that i could feel, just seemed like what the rpms would do if you were slowly revving the engine while sitting in your driveway.

i have recoded the trans., and that is about it. also, if in drive, and only going about 55 or 60, it never really feels smooth. feels like i'm driving a stick that i need to downshift.

i'm not too worried right now about a trans. failure, but i'm thinking i should do or get the service done. and i'm still confused about the whole tps thing. i'll keep reading on that one.

what do the experts out here think?

thanks,

don

PaulW

If you send it to Gabor, he can fix this to prevent it from happening. This is "thump" or a mild case of it....he knows how to modify the valve body so that it prevents this from happening.

It's the torque converter going into regulating mode and over shooting (basically disengaging too much) because it's worn.

donskeeter

and if that's what hunting is, that's not what is happening to me. my rpm's were going the other way, going from about 1500-1800 or so down about 300, then back up.

paul, will a trans. service potentially help the situation, or give me a good cushion to start setting money aside?

i'm about a 4.5 hour drive from chicago, not too bad, so i might need to get something set up.

thanks for the help.

PaulW

A fluid change won't do a thing to change it. It's a mechanical component worn out that does not allow it to control the regulation of the torque converter correctly, basically it over shoots.

donskeeter

from what i've read, it sounds like i can probably drive like this for a while, but i don't want to jack something else up in the transmission.

donskeeter

tozo, i sent you an email ....

PaulW

It just won't be smooth when you lift off the gas. It doesn't break anything.

gtreng1

for watching it though, I've been looking to see if anyone has the same problem. 5 days at the dealer and they couldnt figure it out. Its not bad as long as I stay on tip
mode

CINCY MIKE

I could ride along and see how it's acting up. I went two years before it died

Mike

sanchir82

I am having the exact same problem. It is exactly what you guys are describing. Shifting is not smooth at all. Up shift and down shifts occur with a slight jerk (like manual). When it downshifts it jerks and feels almost like when you are pressing on the brakes a little bit. Once in a while the transmission thumps when I let the gas pedal go at highway speeds and let it roll then when I press the gas pedal back it thumps and goes into gear.

I got a check engine light with the Torque Converter Stuck OFf code.

An indie shop diagnosed it for me and said I have to replace the Torque Converter. Will replacing it solver the problem? Or is something else causing the torque converter to slip or "drop out" (what exactly is drop out?)

oh the quote to replacing the torque converter was $2500. what do you think?

Thanks guys.