Trans will not shift?

Topic: Trans will not shift? (Read 3723 times) previous topic - next topic

Trans will not shift?

October 04, 2006, 07:48:48 PM

I just got the car running, but it will not shift into gear. My selector needle if you will is out of wack but it "feels" from a standstill that I only have 1st?. It has sucked in 3 quarts of tranny fluid so far. I was told when we swapped the motor that the tranny had spilled some of the fluid out. Any ideas on this one. Is the tranny dead, am I loosing my mind again. This is a horrable discription I know but I don't know how to put it to words...

Trans will not shift?

Reply #1 – October 04, 2006, 07:52:48 PM

Is the TV rod connected?

Trans will not shift?

Reply #2 – October 04, 2006, 08:02:36 PM

I belive so. I mean it shifts but if you say put it in R and let off the brake is will just idle. You put it in say 1? or the very bottom and it will lurtch. I was told no tranny fluid will make it do this. I have 3 quarts into it just to get it to lurtch.

Trans will not shift?

Reply #3 – October 04, 2006, 08:28:48 PM

Put the fluid to the correct level before you get all crazy jumping to conclusions.

Trans will not shift?

Reply #4 – October 04, 2006, 08:46:27 PM

Quote from: slowfoxbird;106888

Put the fluid to the correct level before you get all crazy jumping to conclusions.

Ditto.. Mike have you even looked at the dipstick? And no I'm not talking about when you were brushing your teeth this morning.

Trans will not shift?

Reply #5 – October 04, 2006, 09:28:56 PM

i had the same problem when i swapped in my 5.0. you have to keep adding fluid cause most likely it is very very low. then keep putting it in all teh gears. try drive press teh gas little by little then reverse and so on. This is how I did it for my transmission.

Trans will not shift?

Reply #6 – October 04, 2006, 09:30:24 PM

I did look. Before we had it running right it was full. Right now with 3 quarts it seems level. It's too late to run it now so i'll get on it tomorow. I was just wondering if no fluid will keep it from going into gear. And how much fluid will it take? I'll try more tomorrow. Thanks guys

Trans will not shift?

Reply #7 – October 04, 2006, 09:44:31 PM

First off it's fairly common for the gear selector to slip and tell you the tranny is in one gear when it's actually in another. The first time I tried to test drive my car off the lot I shifted into "Drive" and then kept revving and revving wondering why I wasn't moving. Make sure it isn't that. I can't really picture the tranny losing much fluid during the swap. When I rebuilt my engine I had the torque converter off and everything and didn't see a drop make it past the shaft seal. If you lost any sizeable amout that kinda makes me wonder about the state of the tranny to begin with. Hope you figure it out.

Trans will not shift?

Reply #8 – October 04, 2006, 09:44:47 PM

Are you checking it with the engine running?

Trans will not shift?

Reply #9 – October 04, 2006, 09:47:23 PM

The first time no but from then on I have. From what I've heard so far it sounds like it's either not in a gear or not enough fluid. The vic did the same thing when she was REALLY LOW on fluid when we got her.

Trans will not shift?

Reply #10 – October 04, 2006, 10:14:22 PM

stick it in gear and hit the gas it might just need engaged if you didnt get the torque converter on right.

my car if you put it in reverse... it just sits there.. you put a little gas pedal into it.. it goes in gear and we're on our way

Trans will not shift?

Reply #11 – October 04, 2006, 10:46:09 PM

If you've got a column shifter check to make sure that the indicator isn't broken. Mine broke and didn't line up. Here check this out:
http://www.coolcats.net/tech/troubleshooting/indicator.html

Trans will not shift?

Reply #12 – October 04, 2006, 11:27:41 PM

Don't get too worried, bud. If wose comes to worse I have 3 AOD's sitting around. Two of 'em I'm willing to part with.

Trans will not shift?

Reply #13 – October 05, 2006, 12:20:08 AM

Find me a good T-5 and I'll GIVE you an AOD.

How long did you let it run in gear? If the trans was empy it may take a few minutes for the fluid to get pumped through. Went through that with my '86 when the front seal went out. Got it fixed and had to pour a quart in and let it run, pour a quart in and let it run....

Trans will not shift?

Reply #14 – October 05, 2006, 07:51:23 AM

Check the linkage to the transmission. I've also had to pull the tranny pan off and fix the linkage inside where it had a rod that came loose and stuff. My suggestion is to just unbolt the linkage and manually run it through the gears while up on jack stands. That should tell you what's going on right away. Tranny, or linkage.