DodgeIntrepid.Net Forums banner

Tranny issue? Seriously?

3K views 27 replies 6 participants last post by  mnitetrain 
#1 · (Edited)
Car hesitates to move from a stop but ONLY in the heat!

My 97 and I have been through many woes. In the past year I've replaced the timing belt, water pump, subframe bushings, rack bushings (should have replaced the whole rack — it still steers funny) struts and tie rods.

It has an issue now that seems minor to me but scares me. Let's say I am driving at a good pace, coming off the highway or on one of those rural roads with a 55 mph speed limit. I stop for a red light. It is time to accelerate. Sometimes, it is reluctant to do so. I watch the RPM's climb to 1.5 and then it finally kicks into gear. The RPM's drop and it has no problems with higher speeds.

Roomie was riding in the car with me when it did that and took that moment to say, "My car was doing this right before the transmission died."

I should mention that the previous owner had this transmission rebuilt about 70,000 miles ago.

A year or two ago it was stuck in second gear. I took it to a tranny shop and they said I had a faulty speed sensor.

It's overdue for a fluid change so I was thinking of taking her back there and ask them to check it out.

What do you think?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Definitely check the fluid level... and color of said fluid. Hopefully still pretty red/pink and not so much a brown/opaque.

My first guess would be it's a tad low - remember to check fluid level when engine/trans is up at operating temp, while engine is running.
 
#5 ·
OK, I am house-sitting 10 miles from work so I drove it home from work (went through all the gears and yes, had the same problem accelerating after red lights, it would resist going above 15 mph for a sec) and checked the fluid.

It is red (a little black on the stick from general engine messyness ... I need to get it changed) and full.

I did notice a bubble, just one, on the stick.

I think it's time to have the Tranny Guys look it over. Sigh.
 
#7 ·
It sort-of sounds like a sticking low/reverse piston. We used to have issues with these at stops or near stops where the car feels like you just got rear ended.

That one is all the way back at the end of the case. Just on the other side of the transfer gears.

Sounds like the O/H they did has done well for 70k un-serviced miles. Time for another!
 
#8 ·
I didn't understand 90 percent of that, but a) it hasn't been "unserviced" - it just got a speed sensor 2 years ago and b) there is no way it is worth a complete overhaul at 15 years and 177,000 miles.

I should mention a few more things.

It has been ungodly hot in Ohio.

Last night, I went to take a friend to the hospital.It was significantly cooler upon our return trip between 1 and 2 a.m. Was it my imagination, or did it not act up a bit on this trip?

Also, when I had the timing belt done in the fall, the mechanic mentioned that the lines to the transmission cooler looked worn and old. So I'm guessing the heat has something to do with this.

Let's see if this car can be saved.
 
#9 ·
Speed sensors are not part of a service, IMHO...

Filters and fluid etc. are though. Not trying to condemn your car but, I'd rebuild that trans in a heartbeat. If that is what it needs. Yes, that is a big IF.

We got hit by the heat too. I think they said it has been over 100 for 5 days in a row. Good Luck!
 
#10 ·
Well if you want to put $3,000 into a car that is worth half that, you are welcome to. If that's what it needs, I will sell it to you, you can throw your $4,500 down the drain and I will take the $1,500 and buy another beater to get me through!

It's been a good, good, good car but when they exceed 175K it's time to start thinking about replacing them.
 
#11 ·
Good point. When either of my LH cars get to the $1000 point for a single repair...it'll be parted out or sent to the salvage yard.
 
#12 ·
$1000 doesn't scare me,,,,even on my 94 Vision....i did that to put in a used tranny in it 3 years ago......best value so far..i would do it again if my tranny needs fixing. If this is a replacing a tranny issue, i would attempt to first find a used one if possible before rebuilding it.
 
#13 ·
You can buy either of my trashed LH cars at that time for $3000 and put your $1000 in it then! LOL!
 
#16 ·
And most of the people on these boards actually have a clue when it comes to repairs. I'm pretty much the only chick on the team and as a single, I need to pay for every repair I make!

I haven't invested $1,000 but when i had the Thermostat/Timing Belt/Water Pump crisis, I came close. I also had a liar telling me I needed a head gasket. The Timing Belt was costy but worth it. The head gasket would not have been.

This car had a rebuilt transmission when I bought it. I know cars of this age and style are prone to transmission issues ... why on earth would I get a USED tranny?

I'm still of the firm hope that it's a quick and easy fix.
 
#18 ·
Well I took the car to a transmission shop. Unfortunately, it was a nice, cool day. And you know how the tooth doesn't hurt the day of the dentist appointment? It was kind of like that.

So he seemed more focused on a cheap fix than an accurate diagnosis. Said it threw a "mess of codes" but only 2 were transmission related. He "re-learned" them, whatever that means. Added a pint of fluid even though it wasn't really low. And told me to call if it happened again. Also, the steering was "spooky." I will post a separate rant about that.

The next day, while driving it back and forth to the alignment shop to resolve the "spooky steering" issue, it had a bit of a hiccup on the way to work. I was accelerating on a main road. The RPM went up to 2,000. And the spedometer was firmly stuck at zero. About 10 seconds later it jumped to 30.

But since I haven't driven in the heat too much, it has been relatively problem-free. It did seem to be acting up just a bit on the way to work today.

I have a sinking feeling it's an electrical issue of some sort. A friend mentioned that she once had a car that did the same thing. It wasn't a transmission, but she couldn't remember what it was.

Once I solve the "spooky steering," I may put it on the market. It has run like a champ over the past year, but with the steering and front end issues, and the oversensitivity it has to heat since I replaced the thermostat, water pump and timing belt and now this, it's probably not worth keeping. But I really can't think about car replacement til spring ...
 
#19 ·
So, are you saying the car was already moving and you tried to accelerate to a higher speed? Is this when the speedo went to zero?

If so, that would be an indicator of an output speed sensor on the transmission. The engine controller gets it's speed signal from the transmission controller which is hard wired to the output speed sensor. Once the engine controller gets the signal it relays this to the instrument cluster where it is changed from an electrical signal into a physical meter reading, (In this case the speedometer.) If the source signal is not there then all the related issues can occur

Yes, you may have a wiring issue but, I'd bet the output speed sensor on the transmission may be having connection issues or, is failing.

I would try an OSS and see if the symptoms are resolved. (20 - 30 bucks + installation)
 
#20 ·
I don't know what an OSS is but wouldn't it have thrown a code, even if it wasn't doing that problem that day?

It never MOVED from zero from the time I was stopped at the top of the street until it finally jumped to 30 a few blocks down the road. It was the first time it's EVER done that, and I suspect the heat and the fact that I'd already driven it 40 miles or more that day had a lot to do with it. I put a speed sensor in it when it was stuck in 2nd gear.

Other than that incident, its hiccups seem milder and further in between. I've also taken pains to drive it shorter distances. But it did also seem to be "panting" by the time I got to work this afternoon. (A distance of about 18 miles, 10 of it highway.)
 
#22 ·
Since they checked the codes, I am thinking this is one of the ones it threw at the Tranny shop.

Since they "re-learned" the codes last Wednesday it has done this maybe 5 times. ALL on days when the heat exceeded 90, ALL on days when I was doing a lot of stop and go driving, ALL on days when the heat needle was around 50 percent. It hasn't done the thing with the spedometer since last week. Mostly, it's hesitant to get going at a stop sign but goes anyway.

When I replaced a speed sensor last year, the car remained firmly stuck in 2nd gear.

So would transmission sensors be sensitive to the heat? If so, could those "transmission cooler lines" have anything to do with it?
 
#23 ·
I'm not sure what was meant by "Re-Learned the codes"

You can read and erase codes with a scan tool. You can re-learn the adaptive memory of the transmission controller, (Frequently called a "Quick-Learn"), with an advanced scan tool or DRBIII.

I'm trying to correlate the ambient temperature to the symptoms and I am coming up blank. Except possibly the transmission temperature sensor which is an internal part.

The leaking cooler lines are not something you want to put off for very long since they will cause complete transmission failure if the fluid drops too low for an extended period. Not to mention funky shifts along the way.

I just overhauled a 42RLE transmission in a Jeep wrangler today. This transmission has many of the same basic characteristics as yours, including a low tolerance for neglect. don't take this wong, I'm not saying you're neglectful but, leaks must be addressed promptly. This Jeep had only 27K on the odometer.
 
#24 ·
I'm not sure either but they said something along the lines of taking them back to factory specs and said that it may run differently as it gets used to my driving again.

I never said the lines LEAKED. I said another mechanic noticed that the lines to the TRANSMISSION COOLER looked a bit old. Probably that they weren't replaced when the tranny cooler was.

In the entire time I have owned the car, the transmission fluid has NEVER gone too low.

I am thinking it's not related to the transmission so maybe I should change the title of this thread if I can. It only does this on hot days. If it's 70 or 80 degrees, it runs just fine. When it's 90, it also "pants" just like the rest of us. And occaisionally doesn't like to get moving after a stop. Again, much like the rest of us.
 
#25 ·
Just wanted to say thanks all. I did some more research on the spedometer issue and am more convinced than ever that it is an "output speed sensor." Tranny shop can't get me in til next week, so I am going to replace it on my only day shift.

It scared me quite a bit when it also was stuck in second gear for a while.

Tranny guy tells me there are 2 speed sensors, input and output. I replaced the input 2 years ago at a cost of $43, including installation and tax.
 
#26 ·
Wow - $43 installed is quite a deal. I hope it was an OEM sensor - in the past few years it seems that aftermarket parts for our cars has taken a nosedive in reliability/quality.

I'd almost be inclined to wonder if that same sensor is the culprit? Failing under high-underhood temps?

If it was aftermarket that was installed, I'd be suspicious of that same one still being faulty, personally.

But again, depending on the symptoms, may point definitely to the output speed sensor (speedo needle 'bouncing' or falling to zero, etc).

I do hope it's another inexpensive fix. :)
 
#27 ·
I'm not sure what kind of sensor they installed, but it is NOT the same sensor, unless it needs BOTH of them. The thing with the spedometer is NOT a symptom of an input speed sensor. When I told him people were telling me the OUTPUT speed sensor was to blame, he asked if the spedometer sometimes read zero, The INPUT speed sensor, which they replaced last time, does not cause spedometer problems.

I just do not have any peace about replacing my car until spring.

It was $20 for the sensor, $20 for the labor, and tax.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top