Transmission stuck in first until reversed and warmed up

[micd]

Hi,
I posted earlier about a shop overfilling our transmission fluid on our 1994 Winnebago Brave Chevy 454 on a P30 chassis. We drained it off and it seemed to drive OK.

So we started on a trip. On the second day we started off early in the morning and found the transmission would not shift out of first. So we pulled over, checked the fluid, reversed out of our pulled over spot and it started shifting with a jerk. This lasted for about 5 or 6 miles and then it started shifting OK again.

We called some transmission shops in Roswell NM (where we were) and no one could take us so we called one in Sante Fe and they thought it was not a total failure because it wasn't slipping when shifting and recommended we take it to Hal Burns Truck, RV and Equipment Services 14 Camino Charro in Sante Fe. So we drove to Sante Fe with it shifting fine and had them look at it.

They tried to pull codes but couldn't. They checked the fluid, thought it smelled burnt and recommended a flush.

So we had it flushed. They said the transmission cooler line was clogged so they blew that out to get it flushed. They found they could not get the fluid to come out clean so they sort of only partially flushed. They also did not feel the synthetic transmission fluid they put in needed to be filled up to the hot line even when hot so only filled it to just above the cold line on the dipstick.

The flushing did not work as the problem persists.

It only evidences the problem when it is cold and been sitting over night. We stayed in Sante Fe a couple of nights so we could go home when it was warm to rewinterize the RV and have a transmission shop look at it. We learned that if we did alot of reversing and going forward that we could cure the problem. But the colder it was out the longer the hard shifts lasted.

Anyone have any ideas about what is sticking or going wrong?

I will post details on another thread about how the truck shop ripped us off and charged $1158.01 for the above work.

[keymastr]

Sounds like it is low on fluid. With the age of the transmission it may be time for a rebuild but I would take it to a good transmission shop first for an expert opinion. In the meantime try adding half a pint of tranny fluid and see if it shifts properly. Also you should make sure the proper transmission fluid was used as they are not all equal.

[Bob_C]

Is that a 4L80E trans?,,,,,,If it is, it has a converter drain back check valve in a cooler line, and all shifting is done by solenoids in trans and really aren't that expensive to replace

[micd]

Bob,

We looked it up via the VIN it is a 4L80E! So the guy who was trying to flush it was probably trying to reverse flush it. I wonder if he destroyed the check valve when he blew it out.

[Bob_C]

All parts stores have a pan shape Id book.....the outside shape of the tranny oil pan.....

[Bob_C]

I've only bench rebuilt those......the shop I had, I hired an installer.....no time to do it all...

[DENSHER]

It is similar symptoms as low oil, but fluid level is/was OK. Considering that the cooler was plugged and oil also passes through the filter, whatever plugged the cooler is also in the filter. A restricted filter will produce low oil level symptoms especially with cooler oil.

Time to pull the pan and at minimum replace filter & fluid.

[micd]

Thanks Densher,

We solved the problem with a $35 part from Advanced Auto (the guy behind the problem knew how to fix it) and a half hour of my husband's time to install it.

Whole saga on how we were ripped off is here.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f59/rippe...ml#post4128547

[micd]

Meant to say the guy behind the counter at Advanced Auto Parts knew how to solve the problem.

Kudos to them for hiring knowledgeable people.

[Bob_C]

Speed sensor?