Transmission Question

[bmconway76110]

Hi All

Got a question for about my QX4.

Background: This is my winter beater. I live in Reno and I needed a dog hauler with 4WD to get me up the mountains, maybe do some off roading in summer. I have an Acura that is my "keep it showroom new" work and back car. I paid 2800 for the QX, 132K of it. Guessing based on the filth the last owner didn't care about the thing.

Everything is running fine except for this. If you have driven it for a while, the shifts from 1st to 2nd get wonky. Under light throttle, it will act like it is not sure if it should shift, under moderate to heavy, the shift is a bit harsh. The 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to OD are silky smooth, and the convert locks up fine. When it is cold, everything works as expected.

i pulled the dip stick and the trans fluid is brown, not pinkish brown, brown.

I really have no desire to dump any money into this. It may get 3000K on it a year, and if it last two years, I am happy.

I was thinking as first try to correct this issue, I would just drain the trans fluid and replace what is in the pan with new. My thought is even though a lot will be left in the convertor, cleaner has to be better. If the problem improves, I will do it again, if not, I will just live with the issue.

Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks in advance.

[cr4west]

This topic was debated in an earlier post, topic604649.html
Good luck!

[bmconway76110]

That certainly is an interesting read. But I find it hard to believe that the transmission could have that much wear at 132K miles. I am thinking next weekend I will drain and fill and just see what happens. I can't imagine that the transmission would be worse off having some cleaner fluid in it.

Still would welcome feedback from the group over the week.

[Buzzman]

I'd try the drain and fill first.
transmission flushes have not been good for me, as I wrote in the other thread.

[cr4west]

2X that as well. Change using only fresh trans fluid.

[bmconway76110]

I agree... still would love to hear from more of you. I get the trans could be toast and the only thing providing friction is the dirty fluid, but it really doesn't explain why it only happens in first to second when warmed up under light throttle. My guess is a sticking valve.

I am going to drain it and fill it next weekend. If that helps I may drop the pan in a few months and replace the filter. Would never consider a flush not knowing the history

[bmconway76110]

FYI, does anyone know how much fluid is in the pan?

[MisterH]

FYI, does anyone know how much fluid is in the pan?

By putting the car on an incline and managed to drain slightly more than 4 Qts out of it.

[bmconway76110]

i wish I could get the car on an incline. I live in a very controlled community (I don't think the HOA is to thrilled that this QX4 looks likes it has never been washed, but it is tagged and insured so they can't say anything). That leaves me with draining in garage, and I don't have ramps. But I appreciate the info. I am going to grab six quarts just to be safe. I figure six quarts of ATF, a sealable catch pan so I can leave it at Jiffy Lube for disposal and a crush washer, I am still under 75 buck and an hour of time to see if it helps.

[attofarad]

Since your fluid isn't "in the pink", I suggest doing the drain/fill, drive it for a couple of miles, and do it again. I use the Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle ATF. If that fixes it (or even if not), I would do a drain/fill every 30k miles.

The filter is rather coarse in what it will catch ("rock catcher"), so I wouldn't bother with dropping the pan. I did do a pan drop to fix a small leak.

The 2001 has a TSB regarding 1-2 and 2-3 shifting. What my wife's QX4 and my friend's Pathfinder would do would be to "slip" from 2-3 if the engine was a bit cool,
say ~50F when starting. Never ever a problem after fully warmed up, and never a problem when leaving Kirkwood at anything 40F down to 5F. My friend put 265k miles on his, with the occasional slip, and never any other transmission problems. The TSB fix was to replace the transmission controller with the later model (2002 or later, if I recall) and to replace the solenoid pack on the valve body. I replaced the TCM with one from a wreck -- it fixed the 1-2 shift, and maybe improved the 2-3. Actually, have not noticed the 2-3 in several years now. I told my wife I would replace the solenoid pack if she paid for it ($300+ if I recall), but she said let it be.

Do you have the towing package? If so, maybe your transmission has seen more abuse.

Your symptoms don't sound so bad; at 3k miles/year it could go a long long time.

[attofarad]

Total (dry) capacity is 9 quarts. So a double change (assuming 4.5 quarts drained) results in about 75% new fluid in the system.

[bmconway76110]

Yes. It has a towing package. I am going to do the drain fill in the next few days. Drive it for a week then do it again. The only down fault to the problem would be 4WD LO would be out unless I locked it in first as the rough shift would probably break the transfer case. But honsetly, how often do we need 4WD LO? I am not climbing the rubicon trail in this thing.

[barnaclebob]

Do you have the towing package? If so, maybe your transmission has seen more abuse.

How do you know if you have the towing package? I've got a trailer hitch on my 2001 but it was installed a couple years after my family bought it.

[McFalconPunch]

I had an old bronco that had similar issues to what you are having. Id just drain the fluid in the pan every oil change and fill with new. About the 2nd or 3rd oil change it was a lot better. On the 3rd one I did use a product made by the same people that make seafoam called trans tune. Dumped it in before the change, drove about 50 miles, and drained. Maybe that was what ultimately helped me however after 3 times the fluid was blood red.

My Pathfinder will have a funny 1-2 shift when cold, however its fixed when it warms up. I did dump a can of trans tune in it at 150k, now at 150,717 I have yet to drain it and it still shifts great. No real problems before, but the shifts seem to be "nicer" after dumping it in.

[bmconway76110]

Oddly my shifts are fine when cold, but the first to second get wonky when warm. The best way to explain it is that when everything is warmed up, if you give it light throttle, like when go through a parking lot, it will get to the point where it should shift to second but instead it starts bucking. 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th are smooth no matter what. It could be a stuck solenoid, could be a problem with the controller, could be almost anything, but I am going to start with the cheapest possible fix of transmission fluid.

I would like to thank everyone for the feedback.....

[bmconway76110]

UPDATE: First I would like to thank everyone on this site for their help.

I came home and drained the ATF (if you can call what came out of there ATF). Replaced with Valvoline MaxLife. All shifts are smooth. It still acts ike it can't decide between first and second gear under light throttle but the jerking is gone. Under full throttle you would swear it was a new transmission.

I have only driven a few miles but I am going to take it up on the freeway day after tomorrow to see how it does.

I drained about a gallon out. It took 5.5 quarts to refill, so I am guessing it was way low to start with.

The stuff that came out was so black I thought I had drained the engine oil at first... Why don't people do basic maintenance on cars anymore?

[attofarad]

All shifts are smooth. It still acts ike it can't decide between first and second gear under light throttle but the jerking is gone. Under full throttle you would swear it was a new transmission.

Yea!

It took 5.5 quarts to refill, so I am guessing it was way low to start with.

If so, you should have seen that when you measured the level. Being low can definitely cause bad shifting, as can being way too used.

The stuff that came out was so black I thought I had drained the engine oil at first... Why don't people do basic maintenance on cars anymore?

If you are driving under "normal" conditions, the service manual doesn't call for EVER changing the fluid. Every 30k (as I do) may be more than required if you are not towing, but I wouldn't let it go 60k. Towing heats up the fluid more, which means shorter life.