Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) '98 transmission lazy shifts on hard left turns

[John - K5AWO]

I've been putting this off for years, but it is now annoying me enough to make it right.

My signature shows what is in the transmission.

Full stop, hard right sweeping turn in a six lane intersection results in good normal solid up-shifts without any skipping or gear hunting.

Using a normal 1/3rd throttle, 1500-1800ish RPM take off and just hold the throttle steady.

Same pedal action, but make a left hand turn in any large intersection results in the transmission skipping between shifts. It is either loosing oil pressure, or it is hunting back and forth for up-shift points.

Fluid level is exactly on the top of the hash marks, about 3/8ths inch below the double S curves in the stick.

My method of stopping this aggravation is to turn OD off, put transmission in 2nd gear. It makes the 1-2 shift before I can move 15 feet, then it just stays in 2nd gear until I manually up-shift it.

I've been shifting it that way for more years than I can remember. I would like to fix it once and for all.

Any of you automatic transmission gurus know what is wrong?

John

 

[JLandry]

John,



When did it start doing this? Was it all of a sudden or did it gradually come on and get worse?



By chance do you have a double-deep transmission pan?



John L.

 

[John - K5AWO]

I can't recall any more, but "it seems" to me, that it occurred after my son replaced the clutches, installed the SunCoast TQ and their valve body. He experienced a lot of problems with old clutch dust stopping up the new valve body, so I had him install an inline oil filter for the transmission fluid. The filter stopped all valve body problems instantly.

I changed that external transmission fluid filter last fall, which was maybe a couple of thousand miles back.

It still has the stock pan on it. I have been wanting to install a deep pan, but never did it. I have been wondering if a deeper pan would resolve the issue, but that would only work if it is skipping oil.

 

[JLandry]

It still has the stock pan on it. I have been wanting to install a deep pan, but never did it. I have been wondering if a deeper pan would resolve the issue, but that would only work if it is skipping oil.

John,



I asked about the deep pan, because if one had been installed without a spacer under the filter to move it down to the bottom of the pan, I though maybe you could be sucking air. The fact that you still have a stock pan pretty much rules that out.



Are you comfortable that the INTERNAL filter is still in place and secure? If it was omitted or loose on the valve body, then it's conceivable the fluid intake port could get exposed to air in a turn.



John L.

 

[John - K5AWO]

Good point on the internal fluid filter.
I have not seen that one personally, but my son did. I will ask him when he gets home from New Jersey this weekend and hopefully he can remember. That was back in '07 and both of us have slept once since then.

The external filter is much easier to verify, it is frame mounted just below the radiator mount. For all the world to see... .