slow to go when starting cold

[Kirbieb]

my auto vn commodore is having gear problems( i think ) off the start when cold i have to rev it a bit to reverse out of my drive way and rev it a bit to get it going forward from there but after it warms up its fine just wondering if anyone has any ideas as to what it could be.

by a bit of a rev i mean i could wake the neigbours up when i go to work at 5 in the morning

[Whiteford88]

Hey mate, my Commodore VN does the same. With age, the rubber seals and such in the transmission harden and restrict the flow of Hydraulic Fluids to the gears and other components. This happens when 1) The car is often in cold weather and isn't ran for very long and then switched off or 2) has been sitting for a long time 3) Just general wear on the box over 150xxxkms.

I timed mine when I first bought mine and to get into reverse during winter it took 1 minute 40 to get into gear, (meaning the seals had warmed up and allowed somewhat proper flow to the components in need.
But now that I use it everyday and on long trips, that time has gone down to about 10 seconds and if you do some testing some of the seals may be fine in your car, I find that doesn't matter how long the car has been sitting or how cold it is the D (Not the blue D/Overdrive) will always go into gear instantly. Try this with all your gears! The best thing to do is not rev it, because technically you are trying to increase the flow to these components when they don't have fluids, and in some cases this can be very strenuous on the parts. You can rev it, just don't go over 1,500. It is enough to get the fluid pressure enough to squeeze through the smaller hole in the grommets and still have enough rpm to decrease the amount of time it takes to warm the box up. Once the box is warmed up, the rubber goes soft and therefore fluid goes through the lines and galleys as normal, that's why when you have been driving for a long time it will always click into gear as normal (: It took me a million threads to find this out, just don't worry, the old box will still be good for another 300xxxkms, it's just a pain sometimes (: It won't affect the drivability or durability as long as you don't flog it!

[vps231]

Good second hand trans or rebuild will fix it.

[Kirbieb]

I know Im a bit late to reply but thanks for the replys.the problem been has slowly disappearing starts running quicker

[VGDAVE]

trans srevice oil is think when its cold so if the filter isnt great it will b very restricting hench slipping and reving without moving and when its walm oil thins out n it runs well there $15 from supercheap just an idea

[Munz]

My old 5litre had gearbox issues on cold start -

after work I would always reverse into my driveway so in the morning I would fire it up and throw it all the way down to 1st it would take 3-5 seconds and then BAM she would kick in!