delerium75

So my '97 has been progressively more harsh in shifts from 1-2 the past year...moreso when cold, especially when going easy on the throttle when cold first thing after it's been sitting. 2-3 shifts in the 3500-5000rpm range have a slight delay before slamming into gear...IE, hang at whatever rpm for about a second, then hit hard into 3rd.

About a year ago, I had to replace the dropping resistor cuz that failed (HARD shifts in all gears) so I know this problem is different in nature. Are the current symptoms an indicator of the infamous shift selenoid problem? Anyone who's experienced both on different timeframes, please chime in.

delerium75

Bump. Anyone?

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

First off, check the fluid level.

My trans was doing that for a LONG time (years). I just replaced with 224k on it. It was still working, but the jerky 1-2 and the laggy 2-3 were getting worse and worse. That is the typical sign of a failing trans but mine sure was taking its sweet time in dying.

I replaced it with a 70k unit about a month ago.

So basically, live with it, or replace it. That's my advice.

MaxKlinger

I'm pretty sure that's perfectly normal. My 1-2 shift is pretty hard when it's been sitting cold for a while, and it doesn't get any easier when I drive it easy. 2-3 and 3-4 shifts don't feel peachy, either, but once it warms up mine is pretty smooth. Does yours get any better when it's warmed up?

When was the last time you changed your tranny fluid? Fresh fluid helps to keep your trans happy, that's why I change it every 15k miles.

RastaManMax

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, check the transmission fluid. Mine was shifting hard when cold because the crappy OEM Nissan fluid was in rough shape, after a good flush with Amsoil, everything became like butter.

LEMAR

delerium75

I'm almost afraid to change the fluid. After I got the car at 77K, had all fluids changed including tranny and that's actually when the weird 2-3 shift surfaced along with harder than normal 1-2. Now with 130K, and shifting worse than it was, I'm thinking changing may help to prematurely kill the tranny. Experience was similar with an old Taurus I had in college and changing it made it go from "not bad" to "It's gonna blow in two months" (which it did).

MaxKlinger

It's not likely that changing your fluid will hurt it. Have you looked at the fluid recently? What color is it? It should be red or pink on color. Does it smell burnt?

Do not compare the Ford AXOD Transmission to our automatics. The AXOD was designed 10 years prior, during an era when American cars were climbing out of the doldrums. While they weren't bad transmissions (we had an '86 Sable that shifted just fine for the 111k miles we owned the car) they don't have near the smoothness nor the longevity of the Nissan RF404A or whatever it is we have in the Maxima.

wikidminds

whats the drop resistror for? sorry for the "newbieness"... and where is it located?

f550maranello2

iTrader: (2)

[QUOTE=MaxKlinger]It's not likely that changing your fluid will hurt it. /QUOTE]


NOT completely true... it all depends on how long you havent changed the fluid... if you have not changed the fluid in more than 60k miles thats when i would be worried about changing it... 2 cars in the family had the same problem 1) 1989 sentra... fluid was burn to hell.... we changed it cuz the car had like 220k miles.... it lasted another moth before it failed... 2)1990 lumina same exect problem... my dad changed the fluid and filter it failed in a week... just my 2 cents...

MaxKlinger

[QUOTE=f550maranello2] Yeah, I've heard arguments that if a transmission is that far gone that changing the fluid will hurt it. Regardless of whether or not those arguments are true, I doubt this guy has enough miles for that to have happened to a Max. Delerium75: What color is your tranny fluid? Does it smell burnt? How many miles are on the car now? How many miles since it's last been changed?

As for the drop resistor...I'm not completely sure how it works and where it's located, but I understand it to be a variable resistor that is a part of the transmission control system. The voltage drop across the resistor dictates how much pressure will be in the fluid lines and therefore how hard/fast the transmission will shift. Is there an electrical or controls engineer on the ORG who can explain it better?

JackBauer

My car is doing the same thing, and I just had all my fluid drained and replaced, and the problem still occurs I dont know what else to do besides buy a new tranny which would really suck, and my car only had 110k miles on it