Automatic transmissionQuestion

[Need4Speed]

A friend of mine has a Mazda 929 (1989 model) Automatic Transmission, and recently he has been having problems with his transmission.
Problem:
When you take off car drives normally, but when it needs to change into second gear it does NOT do it smoothly. It feels as if it’s stuck.
You have to easy off the gas a little bit and then it will go into second.

I think the problem is from the actual gears, and that they might be worn in some way, but I’m not sure.

I’ve noticed the same sort of thing with other Automatic cars (also my dads car), but to a far lesser extent.

What would be the problem with the transmission?
How could you fix it (specifics)?

Thanks guys

[TheOne]

check the oil in it, mine goes nutz when its low on oil....(its got bad leakage, the eclipse), it doesn't feel right when it changes to 2nd gear. but when it changes to 3rd and 4rd(overdrive) it ffeels smooth. it is most likely because its low on oil.

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

my 98 accord feels wierd shifting up to second gear, seams almost like a manual sometimes cuz you feel a slight jolt. havn't noticed this in the corolla we got at home so i figure it aint normal. it's really slight though hardly noticable unless you go slow, neone else with the same problem?

[TheOne]

i have that problem on my eclipse but its whenever i hit 5-6k rpm and shifts to 2nd. always gets fixed when i add oil to the tranny.

[werty]

how many miles are on the car? and its what 15 years old , i am not surprised it's having problems...might need to get a new tranny, if you cant fix it

good luck

[Need4Speed]

how many miles are on the car? and its what 15 years old , i am not surprised it's having problems...might need to get a new tranny, if you cant fix it

good luck

Yea thats what i think he should.
But i just wanted to know for my own knowledge

[Lagonda]

my 98 accord feels wierd shifting up to second gear, seams almost like a manual sometimes cuz you feel a slight jolt.

A manual can be 100% smooth, you just need to know how to shift

As for the original poster, yeah it's quite normal on a 15 year old car.

[Matra et Alpine]

How is change in other gears, is it slightly jerky ?
Not knowing the gear rations, it's possible that 2-3 is a wider gap and puts more work on the torque convertor.

SO, if it's the case, I'd suspect the oil in the convertor.
Most mechanics change auto oil by emptying the sump and filling with new.
Unfortunately the torque converter assembly can keep up to a gallon of oil internally. That doesn't get changed with a simple empty and refill. So it's possible you've just got badly contaminated oil in the convertor.

To do the job properly and auto shoudl occasionally be flushed while runnning.
Mate does this on his Nissan 300 once a year - but he drags at the local strip !!

To flush a torque convertor you need to run the engine while the oil is draining ( and you're filling ). This is what he does ....
two 5gallon buckets, one with 2gallons of oil, the other empty; hoses to the trannie oil cooler are removed and extended into the empty bucket; the engine is started for 1 second and the hose ejecting oil is left in the empty bucket whilst the now identified oil-intake hose is moved to the bucket containing fresh oil; the engine is restarted and run until only clean oil exits.

[Need4Speed]

How is change in other gears, is it slightly jerky ?
Not knowing the gear rations, it's possible that 2-3 is a wider gap and puts more work on the torque convertor.[/I]

No the other gears are fine!!