hello all,
I have a 2001 Montana that has been a great car for most of the last three years. Recently, I've been noticing a whine from the car during initial acceleration. It seems to be transmission related, but I won't count out anything else. It only happens when in gear, and only happens under acceleration. The amount of acceleration doesn't matter. It does not happen when in neutral with the engine running, even at (any) speed. At some times, the shifts are very hard, but other times, they are just fine. Most other shift points are fine. There are times when I can feel the torque converter clutch engage and disengage in quick succession, usually at low throttle when traveling around 38-48 MPH. There are no transmission codes. I have two codes, P1404 and P0446, which should be completely unrelated to the noise or hard shifting. Honestly, I don't even care about them. Also, I *had* a code for the TCC sticking open before the fluid change 10k ago, but that code went away, and stayed away, after that fluid/filter change. I has not come back, even recently.
I dropped a tube down the trans filling tube and pumped out a quart of fluid to check it out. I replaced that quart with seafoam. It was pretty dark; very brown, but not all the way black. I had just changed the fluid and filter 5000 miles ago, and did the same service 10k miles ago. I changed the transmission fluid because I think the transmission overheated during a road trip. I was in a 2-hour mostly standing idle traffic jam in 90-95 degree heat. After about an hour, I noticed that the trans was shifting VERY hard from first to second when traffic would move 10 feet and then stop again. It was whining pretty loudly then, too. I pulled over and let the van cool off for about an hour, and after that, it seemed fine. I changed the fluid after the road trip, and that fluid change was almost black.
So..... I have a few theories, but before I start throwing money at it, I'd like some advice. I think I should change the fluid and filter, again, and see if that does anything for the noise and hard shifting. If that doesn't do anything, move into replacing ALL the solenoids. If that doesn't do it, then I guess the trans is trashed and just waiting to die.
any thoughts?
thanks!!
I have a 2001 Montana that has been a great car for most of the last three years. Recently, I've been noticing a whine from the car during initial acceleration. It seems to be transmission related, but I won't count out anything else. It only happens when in gear, and only happens under acceleration. The amount of acceleration doesn't matter. It does not happen when in neutral with the engine running, even at (any) speed. At some times, the shifts are very hard, but other times, they are just fine. Most other shift points are fine. There are times when I can feel the torque converter clutch engage and disengage in quick succession, usually at low throttle when traveling around 38-48 MPH. There are no transmission codes. I have two codes, P1404 and P0446, which should be completely unrelated to the noise or hard shifting. Honestly, I don't even care about them. Also, I *had* a code for the TCC sticking open before the fluid change 10k ago, but that code went away, and stayed away, after that fluid/filter change. I has not come back, even recently.
I dropped a tube down the trans filling tube and pumped out a quart of fluid to check it out. I replaced that quart with seafoam. It was pretty dark; very brown, but not all the way black. I had just changed the fluid and filter 5000 miles ago, and did the same service 10k miles ago. I changed the transmission fluid because I think the transmission overheated during a road trip. I was in a 2-hour mostly standing idle traffic jam in 90-95 degree heat. After about an hour, I noticed that the trans was shifting VERY hard from first to second when traffic would move 10 feet and then stop again. It was whining pretty loudly then, too. I pulled over and let the van cool off for about an hour, and after that, it seemed fine. I changed the fluid after the road trip, and that fluid change was almost black.
So..... I have a few theories, but before I start throwing money at it, I'd like some advice. I think I should change the fluid and filter, again, and see if that does anything for the noise and hard shifting. If that doesn't do anything, move into replacing ALL the solenoids. If that doesn't do it, then I guess the trans is trashed and just waiting to die.
any thoughts?
thanks!!
