Auto transmission won't shift up from first

[kitchman]

Hello all,
My 83 2wd auto will not shift from 1-2. Some time in the past I recall having a few occasions when it would not shift from 2-3, but the problem was a short event. The FRM states that this problem could be caused by either a bad governor valve or the 1-2 shift valve being stuck. I discovered the problem this winter and haven't driven the car since. Was wondering if there are any external vacuum lines that may have become damaged that could cause this problem? If it is what the FSM suggests, curious if anyone has had there trans flushed with the machine that is used with successful results. Would appreciate some first hand direction on this problem.
Thank you in advance

[Petros]

I have had several cars with this problem, there is an easy fix and inexpensive fix. buy some transmission additive that says it is a valve body cleaner, it will clear out the sludge and glaze in the valve body and allow it to operate normally. do not get any adatives that is also a trans stop leak (unless you also have leaky seals), but cause they will swell and soften old stiff and brittle seals, but if your seals are good I would not risk it. sometimes they sell them with the stop leak and without.

On my daughter's 86' honda CRX, it had exactly this problem, it was worse in cold weather. I changed the ATF, and than added one can of valve body cleaner and the problem went away, trans worked perfectly for years after and sold it that way six years later. the trans has about 225k miles as I recall.

[irowiki]

A good way to change your atf is to take the outgoing line off the radiator, put it in a bucket, get a long funnel, put it in the dipstick hole. Have a helper start the car (in park, parking brake set) and as the car pumps out the ATF, pour new ATF in. Keep going until the ATF coming out is nice and bright red.

Then check your fluid levels and add the additive.

[dlb]

that sounds like a good idea at first paul, but i'm not sure. i started an auto with that hose disconnected and it came out FAST. the dipstick tube is quite small so i don't know if you could get new ATF in fast enough to replenish what is coming out the hose, and of course you don't want to risk running it dry.

[irowiki]

Well, I've heard of people here just running it until it is nearly out and then filling it, so I figured filling it as you went was a good compromise from other stuff I've read here.

I found this stuff by Seafoam called Trans Tune, works really well!

[Petros]

I actually had a transmission shop tell me that gravity filling while allowing it to pump out the old fluid is a good way to do without a machine. the problem I have with it is that you are filling the sump, and the pump is pumping out to the cooler where you are draining it, but it is not going back into the place where the trans needs the pressurized fluid to go into. IOW, filling the from the dipstick tube put is back in the sump, but not where it needs to go into the valve body and gear cluster.

I did this with a slight variation, I put a large jug on the input line from the trans cooler line (make sure you identify the input and out put lines), and put an extension hose on it, and hung it up high and filled it with ATF. with the out put line in an empty jug, I started it and than squeezed the full jug that was up high to get it to go in faster with at least a little bit of pressure. This way at least the intake part of the trans was getting fresh fluid, even if not at normal pressure. It did not take long to fill the out put jug, only about 30 to 40 seconds, best to have an assistant at the key ready to turn it off. It was more trouble, but seemed to work without issues. A gallon out and a gallon in. I check the level after of course, the fluid all looked like new on the dip stick. this was faster and simpler than removing the sump to drain the oil, and got all of the ATF out of the trans, flushing it.

to assist with this operation I used one of the oil filler tubes with the thread on end. They sell them at Wal-Mart for about $3.

[irowiki]

So essentially, you're letting the transmission suck in clean fluid through the intake while expelling the dirty fluid. Interesting!

[kitchman]

You guys are great!
Thanks for all the responses. Some of my wing men have been discussing what cans of worms that can be opened when transmission cleaning additives are added to an old trans, putting in suspension lots of accumulated sludge that can find its way to causing more problems. One product the name of which I can not recall(without sealing properties), I called there tech support and they said it would not be recommended for a old trans. From what I understand about the shop flushing machine, its the pressure and duration of the flushing agent being cycled that reduces the likelihood of newly suspended sludge from getting into trouble. Was wondering if just draining the system completely from the drain plug on the pan then adding all fresh ATF was worth trying before any thing else?
Thanks again

[dlb]

from my limited experience with cleaning additives, i would not worry about chunks of sludge floating around and causing problems because the way these cleaners work is that they liquify the sludge so it can be drained out with the rest of the oil.

i have had excellent experiences with seafoam's engine oil treatment so i would try their transmission stuff. here is a link to it.

http://seafoamsales.com/trans-tune/

[irowiki]

For my 84 Auto, the ATF was pretty dirty and shifting was occasionally rough. I drained it out, put half a pint of trans tune with new ATF, ran it a bit, drained it out, dropped the pan to replace it with another pan (long story but the old pan had rigging for a recirculation pump for towing), replaced the strainer, filled the transmission back up with the other half pint of trans tune and new atf.

Went through about 15 quarts of ATF by the time I was done.

The difference is amazing, smooth shifting all around!

Going to see how dirty the ATF is after another thousand miles or so.

[Petros]

you could add a whole can of ATF flush, run it util hot and well circulated, and than change the fluid. I would than add ATF performance additive, there are several brands out there (not the solvent/flush, or stop leak, but a performance additive). I have had good luck with doing that.

There I think is a misconception that changing fluid, or using the flush, could cause problems. But flushing out sludge is a good idea, and if it was so far gone that a fluid change and a clean out kills it, than there is nothing that would have saved it. cleaning it and putting in performance additive almost always makes it work better in my experience.

[Gottolovem]

There I think is a misconception that changing fluid, or using the flush, could cause problems. But flushing out slug is a good idea, and if it was so far gone that a fluid change kills it, than there is nothing that would have saved it. cleaning it and putting in performance additive almost always makes it work better in my experience.

I totally agree If the tranny is to the point that "chunks" can cause failure FLUSH IT OUT!
What do you have to loose your on borrowed time anyway.

[kitchman]

Not to beat this subject to death, which I am a pro at, but still a little unclear as to the best procedure to implement. Contacted Seafoam tech support yesterday and was sent this email:
Trans Tune is a petroleum based cleaning oil that will only dissolve petroleum based deposits and will not plug filters, affect seals or loosen up any metal or clutch material. Trans Tune will dissolve varnish that could be causing problems in the valve body or the governor. If I were going to try any cleaner in your transmission I would try Trans Tune over any chemical detergent based cleaner on the market. Add about 1/2 of the 16 ounce container to your fluid and drive the car. If that doesn't help your problem you know that you have a mechanical problem that can't be fixed with an additive.
They don't say anything about draining the ATF after putting in 8 oz. of the product, also they state to drive the car, ( the trans. will not shift beyond first gear), not quite sure what to do?
Thanks again

[dlb]

the can of trans tune should have instructions on it. i imagine it's similar to the engine oil additive: add it to the ATF, drive it for a while, change the ATF and filter, replace with fresh ATF. done. i know you say the car won't shift up from first so just drive it around slowly until the varnish/sludge has cleared up enough to let it shift up. i would keep driving it for a little while after that too, 30 mins or something i would guess but just look at the instructions and go with those.

[kitchman]

Thanks again,
The directions on the can pretty much pair with your recommendation. Looking through the FSM there doesn't appear to be direction on changing the ATM filter. Some direction here would be helpful, never did one before.
Thanks once again