Transmission jolting

[Patrio7]

Hello all I'll be a little formal on this issue,

Problem -

At ~80km/h when you accelerate lightly to go to say 100km/h, the transmission will normal kick down to third, normal.

However on my '96 S1 VS Exec, it use to make a noise I could only describe as rubbing or ginding, considering my car has done 230,000+km's I figured it was just wear and tear showing it's age. [ My car was originally a marked police car and then it belonged to some farmers ]

But today as I drove and went to speed up a little the car seemed to jolt about two or three times before the gears changed down, this only happened at around 80km/h and it didnt have any issues cruising or when idling so I ruled out engine troubles.

I figure the 4->3 ....ummm... changer... [ Solenoid? ] may be within an inch of its life but I was wondering if anyone knew any sure fire ways to comfirm this. I am yet to do a computer diag check and being between jobs I'm hesitant to take it to a transmission place.

The fluid level wass fine and I serviced the transmission last month or so [ filter sump gasket and fluid ]

So to recap, I think its the downshift solenoid but I was wondering if anyone has other idea's?

Thankyou in advance for your time.

 

[andrewmac]

My car also has this problem and it only has 180000ks on it.
Im not sure if this is a related problem but when i go round a corner without coming to a complete stop or slowing right down the tranny doesnt go back to second then when i go round the corner it has to droop back and the kickdown is really unpleasant. Have you had this problem aswell or just the
80Km/h groaning sound ?

 

[Patrio7]

just the groaning initially, as stated its not groaning but jolting

Haven't had any turning issues [ apart from some nasty understeer latley but i think thats relating to the fact I've got crap tires and really loose suspension.

 

[andrewmac]

Its not really the turning that does it it is more the slowing down then speeding up again.
But the groaning thing is common from what i have seen and does get a bit annoying im thinking of jus getting a new or reconditioned transmission if i cant get it fixed but i might go to a tras place tommorow and see what they say bout it.

 

[VSIIBerlinaL67]

torque convertor maybe

 

[Patrio7]

hmm I suppose I can't rule that out, though it feels more from the back [ diff area ] but I figured thats just feedback from the transmission. Tricky.

 

[VSIIBerlinaL67]

yer it could, cause it locks up around that speed, its probley not unlocking fully or its having trouble, check error codes if you havnt already

 

[gregaust]

Any updates???? I was in a friends VS today,similar thing. 100km/h and light load / acceleration at that speed,jolting/thumping sounds like from rear. Gearbox oil is full and looks good,not burnt.

 

[bucketeer]

me too

I'm experiencing a similar problem, it's worst at around 80ks, hot, going up an incline, with the cruise control on.
Sometimes it happen s on the flat at around 100ks not as severe, it feels like the engine cuts out , but I'm fairly sure it's the transmission.
I've got a weird fault code up that's been there since I bought the car 2 years ago it's 110 which shouldn't exist (i've posted else where on this forum with no clues):bang:

 

[hako]

Maybe its the electronic lockup disengaging at 8okph that causes the thumping. The way I figure it (and I'm probably wrong), when cruising at above 80kph, the torque converter is locked solid so there is no slip at all. Touch the pedal slightly to accelerate and the torque converter unlocks but you still stay in 4th gear until you press the pedal more and it slips back to 3rd. According to the manual, the torque converter lockup can/will engage at any speed above 85kph when in 3rd or overdrive (4th).
So I'd figure most of these problems have something to do with the device that electronically locks the torque converter solid and the actual thump/grind is from this device engaging/dis-engaging.

Another interesting thing is that depending on how you look at it, the 4L60E has 6 gear ratios = 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd overdrive 4th 4th overdrive.