92 Q45 transmission ran dry, now slow to downshift

[myf16]

I had a trans fluid leak I didn't notice and ran the trans dry enough that it would barely climb a hill. My bad, I know.

I refilled it with trans fluid. It now climbs hills fine but it is very slow to downshift. (I don't like to speed things up by flooring the accelerator pedal.) The gear selector works fine for downshifting, but that's a pain to bother with.

1. Is there anything I can do to fix this short of replacing the transmission?

2. If I replace the transmission, what do you recommend? A used transmission of unknown condition? A rebuilt unit? Who has the least expensive suitable units in California, preferably northern California?

3. How hard is it for a competent shade tree mechanic to change the transmission? I have changed clutches in 1960's RWD manual trans cars before, but I've never dealt with an automatic.

4. The car has 140k miles and the engine is running well and not using oil, but it almost certainly has the plastic timing chain guides (I've owned it since 60k miles or so). I don't need to re-smog the car for another 2 years. Should I just live with this downshifting problem and plan to junk the car when the engine or transmission quit?

[maxnix]

Well, you could do a mechanical fluid exchange, pand drop and filter replacement to better assess teh true extent of hte damage. You never mention ATF fuid condition (white papaer towel test) nor smell.

If you are not going to do the guides, then I'd sell it or only put gas in it.

Transmission replacement can be done if you have access to a lift and transmission jack, and a strong friend occasionally.

It can be done without a lift, but not easily.

Be sure to add a cooler, but do the guides first.

[myf16]

The fluid was and is fine, not burned. The car was not driven hard.

Thanks for the recommendation. I thought selling it or avoiding spending the big bucks was likely the better course of action. I was just hoping for some quick fix to a part accessible from the pan area or the side.

[maxnix]

I thought selling it or avoiding spending the big bucks was likely the better course of action.

That's a personal choice. Personally, mine are rust free and straight so I would rather pay to keep them up to snuff than pay the big bucks for a new car and watch the value evaporate.

[myf16]

What do you wizards think of using the quasi-detergent flushing method described at http://acura-legend.com/vbulle...=4818

Is that likely to do anything for sluggish downshifting?

[maxnix]

What do you wizards think of using the quasi-detergent flushing method described at http://acura-legend.com/vbulle...=4818

Is that likely to do anything for sluggish downshifting?

Mechanical fluid exchange, pan drop, filter replacement, wipe clean, if fluid is good.

http://www.bgfindashop.com SnapOn has a Sun machine also.

Lots of posts if you search on "flush" here.

[myf16]

I've done a flush on other cars before, but I was wondering whether it has a chance in h*ll of fixing my downshifting lag. As in, what causes a downshifting lag and does it have anythign to do with the kind of problem that detergent could remove? Thanks!