Hard shift - 2000 LC - Scared

[jhanley]

I'm concerned this morning. I'm contemplating selling my wife's 100 for a 200. Upon checking the carfax (for the first time), @ 98k miles, my trans was "overhauled" according to Aamco Transmission.

I noticed a hard shift from 2 - 3rd gear yesterday (happened twice). Not sure how often it happens since my wife drives the truck on the reg. I drove it work this morning and all is well....

Trans fluid looks good, smells fine, no shavings... Truck has 137k. I'm going crazy with varying opinions on flushing vs cycling etc. No strange noises.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. I have an interested buyer (mud member). I will not sell without a clean bill of health.

 

[Kigiin]

What is Aamco's definition of "overhaul".

I have a 2000 with over 180K and mine has never shifted hard. The only thing I ever do is to drain/change 3-4 quarts of trans oil at every or every other oil change. Has your oil ever been drained from the pan. You might want to do that four or five time over a week, virtually replacing it, without doing the supposedly dreaded flush.

 

[jhanley]

I don't know the definition of "overhaul". I wasn't the owner at the time, just what carfax says...

 

[marshotel]

What exactly do you mean by a "hard shift"?

There's really only two things you can do with an automatic transmission: change the fluid or rebuild the transmission.

In your case, I would drain the 4 quarts of fluid from the pan, replace them with new fluid, and don't worry about it.

There's a 95% chance that everything is gonna be fine for at least 100k more miles, and about a 5% chance that your transmission will self-destruct during that time period. These odds are better than for almost all non-Toyota automatic transmissions of the same vintage.

There is a certain amount of risk associated with any purchase, and the interested buyer is fully aware that your's is a 13 year old vehicle -- that's why it costs less than a new one. If the transmission looks good smells fine runs good with no strange noises, then there is nothing worth worrying about.

 

[jhanley]

Took a second or two to switch gears making a "thud" in the process... Very intermitten.

 

[marshotel]

Took a second or two to switch gears making a "thud" in the process... Very intermitten.

I do not think occasional hard shift from 2nd to 3rd is a common indication of any particular A343 transmission problem.

Sometimes when you switch drivers it takes a little while for the ECU to adjust to your driving style and the shift points feel a little odd.

For the first few days I had my 1998 it would hold all the gears up to nearly 4000 rpm. I thought there was something wrong with it, but over time the ECU learned my driving style (steady-speed cruising) and now it shifts fine.

Maybe you use more skinny pedal than the ECU was expecting based on your wife's driving habits and this resulted in a few weird shifts when you switched drivers.

 

[jhanley]

Duly noted marshotel