briandors Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 95 Cutlass Supreme convertible, 3.1, 134k miles. I bought it with a rebuilt tranny at 118k miles (case was painted baby blue). I have noticed that the 1 to 2 shift has gotten firmer, harsher. If I'm real light on the gas, it feels ok, or real heavy it feels kind of normal too, but under normal acceleration 1 to 2 jerks more than it should. I don't know when the tranny was rebuilt, or when the fluid was changed. Should I drop the pan and replace filter and fluid? And if so, would you all recommend I stick to regular fluid or go Mobil1 ATF? I saw a post saying it's 8 to 9 quarts of fluid on the refill. I don't feel any slipping, no other gears bang. Thanks for any advice! Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 I'd say it sounds fine as long as its not slipping or making noises Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOut Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 Is the 1-2 shift slow proceeded by a thunk into gear, or is it quick with a hard shift. If its the prior one then I'd recomend a fluid change, although it could be something as simple as not having enough fluid in the transmission. I would personally stay away from synthetic fluid in a high mileage transmission. I read a whole long paper that basically came to the conclusion that the added friction modifiers in synthetic fluids tend to let the clutches slip just a tad more than they would with normal fluid which leads to more heat and thus more wear in a transmission not designed for the synthetic fluid. My personal experience seems to back this finding, after changing the filter and putting in Valvoline synthetic fluid in my tranny (93k miles on it) it exploded two weeks later without notice. Coincidence perhaps, but enough to turn me off of ever putting synthetic fluid in an old tranny again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 A bad transmission vacuum modulator can cause really firm shifts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goph Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 A bad transmission vacuum modulator can cause really firm shifts... My car did the exact same thing and then we replaced this and problem fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 put in an adjustable modulator, crank it up and make em all firm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briandors Posted August 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 I don't think I'd say it's slow in any way. There's no hesitation, no slippage before the shift, and the shift seems to happen at the correct RPM. I keep tabs on the fluid very carefully, it's definitely near the maximum while hot. It's just really firm. And only 1 to 2, and 2 back down to 1. In fact the hard I brake, the more the 2 to 1 bangs. How hard is this vacuum modulator to get to? If it means dropping the tranny I'll have to pass, for now anyway. Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 How hard is this vacuum modulator to get to? If it means dropping the tranny I'll have to pass, for now anyway. Its very easy to get to.. it sits under your airbox area, has a vaccuum line run into it and the other side of the modulator goes right into the tranny. Remove the airbox and you should be able to get to it no problem. Might want to get a Haynes manual if you aren't sure what it looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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