marcusa Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 I posted recently about my transmission fluid leak. Now I've got other issues as well. The leak was apparently because the mechanic may have overfilled the transmission. I watched him do it and at some point it took 3 quarts to move into the full from low. Now that it dropped about 2 quarts on my driveway it seems to have stopped leaking. Its reading close to full (though its hard to get an accurate reading like with the engine oil), so I guess all is well. BUT... something doesn't feel right. I'm not even sure if it's related to it or not. Its doing a few things: -sometimes the RPM bounce between 2 spots when going about 40MPH. Not sure if it's the transmission being indecisive about overdrive, a problem with the transmission, or an unrelated problem. Car is too quiet to be able to tell if it's shifting or not. -Sometimes when I slow down to a near stop and go to the accelerator again it softly slams. There's a edefinite sudden jerk, just no loud noise or anything, and its only sometimes. It feels more like when you start to spin one wheel trying to turn into a street quick and it catches again. -Same problem rarely pops up when I'm at the end of slowing down, as if I'd manually selected 1 or something. -Seems a bit hesitant at times -overheated to a touch past 5/8 (from 3/8) yesterday when sitting at a light for a few minutes. Odd it did that considering it's the first time in months here in TX that I did not use the AC. Moved back down after 3 minutes of steady cruising. -When starting, sometimes it needs a second try and sometimes the RPM or speedometer markers jump way up. -lower fuel economy, though it could be due to the Ethanol that's now put in. This is all I can think of. It's probably nothing but I get paranoid easy, and the whole transmission incident has me on the lookout. When the fluid was changed 4 weeks ago it was old but still clean and nothing of note on the magnet. Not sure if it's even the transmission. Spark plugs are of unknown age and accessory belt is coming to pieces. I just had to put in a new electronic distributor 2 months ago since old one went out unexpectantly. And though the light isn't on yet, I'm going to change my oil since it's been almost 6,000 miles. It just feels weird leaving it int here for so long. Power aside from occasional blips seems fine, and quickly (for 1 second) throttling to 3/4 when stopped in Drive shows no sign of slipping. Not sure how to test a cat converter, but car does have 160,000 miles and it may very well be original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusa Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Can anyone at all speculate on anything? I forgot to mention but sometimes the shift to Overdrive isn't the smoothest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 -overheated to a touch past 5/8 (from 3/8) yesterday when sitting at a light for a few minutes. Odd it did that considering it's the first time in months here in TX that I did not use the AC. Moved back down after 3 minutes of steady cruising. the fans turn on at a lower temperature when the a/c is one than when it is off. what you describe seems somewhat normal help us out! I have no idea on what your car is. other than your avatar pic! engine type(3.5 or 4.0 or ?), mileage etc etc. (and put it in your signature!) a friends olds aurora was acting up... it did not successfully start everytime. but my 93 vert doesn;t want to start all the time either seems to work best if i key it one and wait for the pump to completely prime.. friend's aurora did the same guage 'hop up' on start up. it may be normal. if in doubt change your sparkplugs. (do you know how to?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusa Posted October 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Oh boy, I didn't even notice I never filled that out. It in now, 1998 INtrigue w/ the 3800 Series II. My previous ride was a 1997 Saturn, so I know about priming fuel pumps... :/ I'm going to check my plugs tomorrow and see how they look. I just always hate doing that because sometimes they're fine but old, and in the process of changing you end up needing new wires/plugs (and have no car to get to the parts store). Thanks for the help, I'll get right on it. BTW, I used NGK V-Power on my Saturn, are those the best for the 3800 or do any others (i.e. Platinum G-power, Iridium IX or another brand altogether) work better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusa Posted October 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Allright, I got the behavior nailed today. I was turning right onto a kind-of fast street (45MPH speed limit), but no big hurry. I gave it 1/4-1/3 throttle and felt the problem. It feels like the wheel spinning, but I was nowhere near fast or sharp enough to cause that. I kept the throttle steady this time and it did it for a whole second and self-corrected. This was after driving more than 60 miles (30 miles both ways, 8 city 20 hwy 2 city and vice-versa) without a hitch, highway or city portions. I guess this means it's probably NOT the transmission, since they like to act up when completely cold or when hot after extended use. In fact, after the highway driving it didn't occur until after I had stopped and shut it off for over 1/2 hour. I'm starting to really think plugs/wires, but you guys are the experts here. What do you think? Also, which plugs/wires are best? Like I mentioned before, I used NGK V-Power on my Saturn, and want to know if those the best for the 3800 or do any others (i.e. Platinum G-power, Iridium IX or another brand altogether) work better? What about wires, should I go DELCO or are there better ones for comparable price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Sounds to me like your converter is slipping. It would cause: rpms to vary at cruising, hesitance at accel, poor mpg . And with 255k miles, thats a definite possibility! But let some of the other guru's chime in here before you go this way. I wouldnt think plugs wires because you would notice a misfire or just rough running for sure. In your first post you said you installed a new distributor??? on a 3800 series II ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusa Posted October 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 I was afraid it might've been the torque converter, but I figured after a long drive it would act up more rather than less, since if they are slipping they'll overheat. There was also nothing of note on the transmission fluid change, though it did get overfilled causing me to drop 2 quarts on the driveway.Unless overfilling can kill it. I'm a dummy when it comes to auto transmissions, my family has only driven them in the past decade, and we only had all auto transmissions in 2000. I'm still stuck on old times, by distributor I meant the flat metal electronic thing that sits under the coilpacks. The big wire plugs into it, it's really thin, and it set me back over $300. I figured its function is the same as a distributor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusa Posted October 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Does anyone at all have any thoughts? I really need the help here, I'm panicking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusa Posted November 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 Okay, update. For a while I thought it was going to get better but today it was hell. When first accelerating from a stop, car started shuddering. Didn't happen when engine was cool, only after warming up. The shuddering feels exactly the same as when you go from N to D and accelerate too early. To reiterate main points: -ATF was overfilled by about 2 quarts I'd say -I'm beginning to suspect Dexron II was used instead of the III recommended. I'm saying this because I remember waiting at the mechanic for more fluid and I'm pretty sure when the delivery guy came in it said II on the box, I remember finding it odd that it was a "low" number. I wasn't even sure they sold that anymore, but a quick check of my local auto parts store I found a 55 gallon barrel of the stuff! Anyone else have any thoughts? I've been meaning to take it to a different mechanic and cough up the $$-$$$ for their opinion but I've been extremely busy, and unfortunately that has included driving more than usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro Posted November 4, 2006 Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 wait...does your car have 255k or 160k? your sig says one thing but you say another lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCM Posted November 4, 2006 Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 And I thought my car had problems... Hopefully you can get all of this taken care of, I'd help but I have no knowledge of this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusa Posted November 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 The car is Canadian (I'm not and I'm in Texas), so the odometer reads 255,000 (well, almost 257,000 km now) but it's in kilometers. I was hoping the miles being the tiny tick marks on the speedometer would help me talk myself out of a speeding ticket should I get caught but unfortunately that didn't materialize. Sorry for the confusion though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted November 5, 2006 Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 -When starting, sometimes it needs a second try and sometimes the RPM or speedometer markers jump way up. it came to mind that this is what my friends car, an 01 with 3.5 did.... and maybe normal. IDK about this car, but aren;t many new GMs made where the guage display what they read from a data stream now? could be the same with yours, meaning a momentary delay to activate? it sounds like low line pressure in the tranny issue. waht was done? tranny flush? new filter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcusa Posted November 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 They dropped the pan, changed the filter and put fresh fluid in. no flush, it was running perfectly fine. What's low line pressure? You'll have to excuse me but I'm an AT idiot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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