Vs commodore auto trans problems...

[Wagon_man]

Hey all,

I recently bought a vs series 2.
However I overlooked the condition of the trans fluid, the previous owner told me it had run low so he got a mechanic to top it up.
Once I had it for a few weeks I noticed it was brown and smelled burnt, I also noticed that when I checked the level while idling it was bubbly and overfilled. I did some digging on this forum and concluded that the overfilling had probably caused my fluid to burn.
I tried removing sOme oil til the level was correct, it drove horribly, poor acceleration and appeared to slip when going up hills in 4th.
I thought I'd try some new fluid to see if it would work properly when correctly filled. I sucked as much rancid burnt brown oil as I could out through the dipstick, then topped up with new oil.
Noticed huge improvement so decided I would do it again to get the oil clean as it was still brownish.
Now it is probably 80-90% clean oil with nulon trans treatment added too and runs much better. No bubbles and fluid is just a slightly dirty red.
Ok, that's the background info.
My question is:
I notice that in 4th at 80, the revs fluctuate a bit until I get to about 82 and back off the throttle, then it feels like the torque converter locks up. Above 90 I can tell the converter is locked and it cruises well. Is it a normal for the trans to do that or is it slipping? Or could it be that it won't lock until the revs are higher due to some wear and tear or electrical fault?
I've been keeping it in 3rd til 90 cos I'm worried it slipping..
Any thoughts??

Cheers

 

[yoshi87]

burnt oil could be a sign the gears inside the gearbox r slowly going, the locking of the torque converter might be coz of poor maitnace by the previous owner, have u thought of doing a trans service completely, see if that does anything the the slipping as the filter could be holding the burnt oil and other **** that might be have been an issue?

 

[James39]

Do a proper fluid change and replace the filter.

 

[Wagon_man]

burnt oil could be a sign the gears inside the gearbox r slowly going, the locking of the torque converter might be coz of poor maitnace by the previous owner, have u thought of doing a trans service completely, see if that does anything the the slipping as the filter could be holding the burnt oil and other **** that might be have been an issue?

Apparently overfilling can cause it to burn too, I guess time will tell if it burns again.
So you don't know if that sounds normal for the torque converter? Basically it won't lock below 1500 rpms. I have a 2001 magna auto and it feels like it locks much smoother and sooner. Thought maybe the older commodores were different. Or it could be just the gearbox is on its last legs.
I may consider changing the filter and properly flushing it but might see how this goes for a while.

 

[Wagon_man]

Do a proper fluid change and replace the filter.

Would that little bit of dirty oil make a big difference?

 

[James39]

Would that little bit of dirty oil make a big difference?

Yes and you could have a blocked filter and the pan will be dirty so it would be good to give it a proper service.

 

[Wagon_man]

Yes and you could have a blocked filter and the pan will be dirty so it would be good to give it a proper service.

Ah right. Now I wish I'd done that in the beginning but I thought I'd just try changing some oil to see if that helped and go from there. Does it sound to you like the trans is damaged or just needs a proper flush and filter change? Or is there no way of knowing?

 

[yoshi87]

does it seem to slip at speeds like wen u drive does it slip out of gear and over rev?

if so then the box might be screwed, but do the service then see again

 

[Pollushon]

My question is:
I notice that in 4th at 80, the revs fluctuate a bit until I get to about 82 and back off the throttle, then it feels like the torque converter locks up. Above 90 I can tell the converter is locked and it cruises well. Is it a normal for the trans to do that or is it slipping? Or could it be that it won't lock until the revs are higher due to some wear and tear or electrical fault?
I've been keeping it in 3rd til 90 cos I'm worried it slipping..
Any thoughts??

Cheers

The TC won't lock-up til you're settled (til the ECU deems you're settled) in 3rd or 4th. Sometimes if you're right on the shift point map it can feel undecided. Do you have a Power/Eco mode button? In Eco, 4th is set to 80, in Power, to 90. TC lock-ups are distinct in Power unlike Eco where it's just flappy and shithouse to be honest. IMO 80 is also too low for 4th on a stock VS, labours the crap out of it.

A decent chip (i.e. from MACE or TheOne) seems to sort the trans out nicely, and these days I never put it in Eco, especially given there's no actual fuel savings for me.

I agree that it (at face value) sounds like it just needs a professional flush and loving with a new filter and some decent fluid.

 

[Wagon_man]

does it seem to slip at speeds like wen u drive does it slip out of gear and over rev?

if so then the box might be screwed, but do the service then see again

No doesn't do that now.. It did that when i first took some burnt oil out to get the level right.