New C4 owner; shifting problem

[Tanreall]

I just picked up a 1989 automatic C4 and I noticed a transmission (I think?) problem the first time I tried a wide open throttle run. The car shifts quick and firm for around town driving (generally under 3k rpms) but under full throttle acceleration it feels like the transmission is slipping, or something like that. The engine never revs past 3000 and it starts to stink like hell accompanied by smoke coming out of the cat area of the Y-pipe. Any idea as to what the problem(s) could be? Thanks in advance.

 

[drags1998]

Need much more info. Is there any trans. oil leaking? Smoke from where? Smells like? Trans over full? ???????????????:confused

 

[MBDiagMan]

The good news for you is that this is a very common transmission. Find an automatic transmission shop that you can trust and have them put on gauges and diagnose.

Good luck,

 

[FX GS]

I just picked up a 1989 automatic C4 and I noticed a transmission (I think?) problem the first time I tried.............

Not trying to be a smart ass, but did'nt you test drive the car before you purchased?

 

[garycr14]

The good news for you is that this is a very common transmission. Find an automatic transmission shop that you can trust and have them put on gauges and diagnose.

Good luck,

I agree, sounds like you're burning clutches in you tranny. You'll want to drop the tranny pan, and check the band for slop. There shouldn't be any. When mine went it did not show up on the scanner, had to drop the pan to figure out the problem. Good luck!

 

[RedRagTop]

Pull your tranny dip and smell for burnt fluid, check for dark colouring. These cars are known for impressive 1-2-3 shifts but mine lacks a bit in the top OD shift...

 

[Tanreall]

I put it in a shop yesterday they say the tranny is fine but that I have an engine problem. I was talking it over with some people I met in a corvette club and they say that it might be spark plugs, air filter, ignition wires, coil, and/or throttle body problems. I figure I can check and fix these things tomorrow and I will post back with how things are going.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Daryllawman]

HI........I had the transmision in mine rebuilt a couple of weeks ago. They did a great job.....car shifts fine now with no leaks at all. Very content with the job and price....$750.00 total price.....labor, parts, tax.....

 

[Da Hawaiian Punch]

This might not be the prob, but did you try adjusting the shifting cable by any chance? heres some pictures on what an how to adjust.............

 

[Tanreall]

I did plugs, air filter, ignition wires, coil, rotor, and distributer cap and my problem is gone I will post picks when I can figure out how.

 

[Da Hawaiian Punch]

I did plugs, air filter, ignition wires, coil, rotor, and distributer cap and my problem is gone I will post picks when I can figure out how.

Glad you found your problem, good job.

 

[Tanreall]

Things are screwed again so I will be posting a video in the days to follow of what it does so stay tune.

 

[Da Hawaiian Punch]

Things are screwed again so I will be posting a video in the days to follow of what it does so stay tune.

Ahh damn man, sorry to hear that, we'll fix that prob man no worry k.

 

[garycr14]

I put it in a shop yesterday they say the tranny is fine but that I have an engine problem. I was talking it over with some people I met in a corvette club and they say that it might be spark plugs, air filter, ignition wires, coil, and/or throttle body problems. I figure I can check and fix these things tomorrow and I will post back with how things are going.

Thanks for the advice.

When you had it in the shop did they actually pull the pan? When I first took mine in they only scanned, and road tested. Everything seemed fine, no codes, so they thought it was a pcm problem. I was actually able to get the car to run better for a couple of days by cleaning the air filter, and doing a couple of minor tune up items, but then it got worse. Worse to the point that a guy in a Ford Taurus busted my chops off the line! I took it down the next day, had them drop the pan, and the bands were loose, and clutches burnt. Needed a full rebuild. Sometimes you have to go with your own instincts, you know your car better than anyone.

 

[RedRagTop]

When you had it in the shop did they actually pull the pan? When I first took mine in they only scanned, and road tested. Everything seemed fine, no codes, so they thought it was a pcm problem. I was actually able to get the car to run better for a couple of days by cleaning the air filter, and doing a couple of minor tune up items, but then it got worse. Worse to the point that a guy in a Ford Taurus busted my chops off the line! I took it down the next day, had them drop the pan, and the bands were loose, and clutches burnt. Needed a full rebuild. Sometimes you have to go with your own instincts, you know your car better than anyone.

Ford Taurus? Ouch!
How many miles were on her at this point?
Was the tranny serviced regularly do you know? Mine has had fluid changed with filter every year since new as best I can determine from previous owners and my own inspections bear this out. I've done it once so far...

 

[Tanreall]

Its got 126,xxx miles on it right now and it seems to have been taken care of. Yesterday I went down to EZ lube and had them flush the tranny and put in new synthetic ATF along with synthetic gear box oil the fluids it came with weren't bad but I figure it might help work the problem out.

 

[garycr14]

Ford Taurus? Ouch!
How many miles were on her at this point?
Was the tranny serviced regularly do you know? Mine has had fluid changed with filter every year since new as best I can determine from previous owners and my own inspections bear this out. I've done it once so far...

Yes Taurus! That was the cold slap in the face I needed to get off of my a$$ and get the darn thing fixed once and for all. I was waiting for the racing season to start, but that did it then and there. It had 94xxx on it at the time. The car seemed to be well taken care of it before I got it.

 

[garycr14]

Its got 126,xxx miles on it right now and it seems to have been taken care of. Yesterday I went down to EZ lube and had them flush the tranny and put in new synthetic ATF along with synthetic gear box oil the fluids it came with weren't bad but I figure it might help work the problem out.

The problem with going to one of the lube places is that they don't know what to look for to find a problem. If it were me, and I suspected a tranny problem, I would either drop the pan and check the bands myself, or go to a good transmission mechanic and have it looked over. Sometimes you can nickel and dime parts, get lucky and find the problem, but usually you'll spend more $$ and find the problem was something else intirely. You need to start eliminating the most likely causes to your problem. If the tranny isn't shifting correctly, then I would suspect the tranny first, then the pcm, then start looking at other possible problems. JMHO.

 

[Tanreall]

I already put it in a tranny shop they said every thing was good.

 

[Da Hawaiian Punch]

Is all the vacume hose's all connected and solid? (no cracks in them)

are they in they're right place's?
did you try the shifting addjustment I wrote you a few day's ago by any chance?
How about the TPS? (throttle possition sensor) if thats not adjusted correctly your shifting is going to be way out of whack.
Timing also will make it run and shift stupidly.
I'm just naming off a few things that poped into my head here, you never know.
clogged cat's will also make it act funny as far as running incorrectly, your miles are high so there is a chance that it could be the culprit.
these things I mentioned will Not activate a code, but will cause your car to act stupid some times if they're miss addjusted or which ever.
Hope this will help you some to locate the problem the buddy.