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Question about the 3 speed.


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Posted

For those of you with the three speed, what speed do you reach before you simply run out of gear?

Posted

The speed limiter.

That's odd..

 

The reason I asked is because I felt like pushing the car a lil bit a few days ago, and by the time I got to about 85mph, I just about ran out of rpm's.

Posted

You are stuck in second gear then. :cool:

 

I don't think so, I'm pretty sure I counted 1-2 and 2-3. :cool:

Posted

If I am stuck in 2nd, what would cause that? Bad solenoid?

Posted

Clogged valve body, poor internal pump pressure, mis-adjusted TV cable.

 

The TH-125 3 speed that was in my 1987 Sunbird GT Turbo would run out of RPMs when I hit 110-120MPH. Now I do not know what the final drive ratio is on your 3 speed...but if you are maxed on RPM's at 85 you have a problem if the final drive was not changed. Doubtful, so I would venture to guess that you have a tranny that is stuck in 2nd gear. 3 speed auto's make most motors buzzy (high RPM's at highway speed) because back in the day when 3 speeds were around the average speed limit on the highway was 55 MPH.

 

Make sure you are not counting the torque converter locking and unlocking for shifts as an actual shift in the tranny. Watch your tach to see a drop in RPMs as you drive.

Posted

Clogged valve body, poor internal pump pressure, mis-adjusted TV cable.

 

The TH-125 3 speed that was in my 1987 Sunbird GT Turbo would run out of RPMs when I hit 110-120MPH. Now I do not know what the final drive ratio is on your 3 speed...but if you are maxed on RPM's at 85 you have a problem if the final drive was not changed. Doubtful, so I would venture to guess that you have a tranny that is stuck in 2nd gear. 3 speed auto's make most motors buzzy (high RPM's at highway speed) because back in the day when 3 speeds were around the average speed limit on the highway was 55 MPH.

 

Make sure you are not counting the torque converter locking and unlocking for shifts as an actual shift in the tranny. Watch your tach to see a drop in RPMs as you drive.

 

Ok so you're probably right then. Another thing I should have mentioned (that you just reminded me of) is that I unplugged the TCC connector on the front when it had issues disengaging. Is that my problem?

Posted

Most likely. I remember my Sunbird when I hit the brake pedal it would pull it from being locked in 3rd and it would increase in RPMs by about 500-600 RPM. Was a great thing to do for me if I was getting ready to match speed with someone coming up behind me at highway speed. I would tap the brake and mash the gas....damn near like a passing gear.

Posted

when i had my oild duke powered ciera with the 125c it would seem to run out of any foreward power at around 113.

Posted

my luminas 3 speed had plenty of power till the car topped out. thing drove soooo smooth :) and yea your right about the tapping of the brakes and then pushing on the pedal. the 125c is a odd trans, but does a decent job on the highway.

 

I still wouldnt mind having a 4 speed though.

 

 

my car always gained speed smooth and easy, never struggled. sometimes i was doing 90 and didnt notice because it was so damn smooth :P

 

Thats how ya get tickets these days haha.

 

Posted

At full throttle in my Lumina, 1-2 comes at 47 and 2-3 comes at 78. It does kind of sound like the trans wont go out of second.

Posted

Ok, it's official, my trans isn't going into third. Now how do I fix this? If it's the connector on the front of the transmission, my TCC always stays engaged and kills the car until it cools off, so is there any way I can get third gear without dealing with the TCC?

Posted

Most likely not. It will not lock in to third which is the final drive of the tranny.

 

Have you replaced the TCC? You say it is staying locking in and just kills the motor when you come to a stop?

Posted

Most likely not. It will not lock in to third which is the final drive of the tranny.

 

Have you replaced the TCC? You say it is staying locking in and just kills the motor when you come to a stop?

I didn't replace it, I just unplugged the connector

Posted

Not going into third is probably a valvebody issue. A stuck checkball or a broken spring, maybe a leaky seal. The connector won't make a difference, however if you are going to try to unstick the valvebody, you might as well replace the TCC solenoid while you're at it.

Posted

Ok, I'm kinda confused, this morning I had another oppertunity to see if it would shift and sure enough by the time I got around 85mph I look and I'm hovering around 3K. I think I was giving it too much gas before, I dunno.

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