The last 2 mornings for the first 10 minutes or so my Z has been stuck in first and refuses to change up. Also revs very high before starting to pull away. Makes no difference what gear you select or whether in hold or power mode.

I look like a complete tit driving the first couple of miles in first at 5000rpm!

All is OK after the car has warmed up a bit.

Any ideas?

 

What colour is the ATF? and does it smell 'burnt'?

 

Tim

I'll check it out at the weekend.

The way i've been driving the last few months at 16psi I'm amazed I haven't left a trail of oil and gears down the road.

Could it just need a top up?

I presume the transmission shouldn't lose fluid anyway though...?

Does ATF degrade over time and need changing?

Is it the same spec Dexron II that the power steering uses - got loads of that cos of a HICAS hose leak.

How many more questions can I ask at once?

LOL

 

Yes it could just need a top up - in fact if it's slipping that bad there might be feck all ATF in there (*if* that is the problem) - then again, if it was that low, I'd have expected you to have waved bye bye to the torque convertor or planetaries by now (along with a large wad of cash).

 

The transmission shouldn't lose fluid, no - but there are a number of places it can leak. Seals, casing gaskets, the cooler hoses, even the cooler could leak into the rad (although I've not heard of that happening..). It's under quite a bit of pressure, just like engine oil.

 

Yes, ATF does degrade - it's getting the crap beaten out of it on a regular basis (in fact, thats exactly how the torque convertor works..), gets very hot (especially if you dont have an additional oil cooler), and generally breaks down. IMHO it should be part of a regular maintenance routine, every 30,000 miles or so.

Oh and it's a PITA to change if you have an early 'box, because there is no drain plug on the sump. Apart from that, you ideally need it flushing - hooked up to a specialist machine (any auto transmission shop should be able to do this).

 

From memory, Dexron II or higher - should be in the online manual. Personally I'd try to use a top quality synthetic ATF (expensive when the box takes 10ltr for a complete flush though! But, you dont skimp on your engine oil, do you? so why your ATF... )

 

Aaron.

Thanks Aaron,

The auto box is one thing I know sod all about - just that they are complex as hell.

How much will it cost to get it flushed?

'91 Import.