Transmision wont go into Gear when Cold.

[IsaacHayes]

When the car is cold (winter/fall) it wont' go into gear. I put it in drive, and feel a slight lock up but nothing when you give it gas it just slips/revs. So I put it in neutral, rev the motor to get the coolant hot so it warms the trans fluid and then put it in gear and I'm good.

I want to fix this or either move south (summer it never gives me problems and no slippage, barks the tires even on downshifts).

It's really a pain when it takes forever to heat up the engine in winter. I'd like to not have to deal with this again this winter... That'd be nice for a change...



Is the problem stiff seals?

Is there an additive I can put in to soften them up so stuff will "move" like it should when it's cold?

Can I use some synthetic trans fluid to help out thats compatible?

EDIT: my sig says 94 3100 which means I have 4T60-E if anyone missed that.

[96BlackRoseZ26]

A few years ago, my 96 had the same problem you are describing. ÂÂÂ I was about to change the fluid and filter in it, when some wiser than I people on the board here advised against it. ÂÂÂ They were saying that due to the number of miles that I had on the trans, putting newer(thinner) fluid in the thing could make things much, much worse. ÂÂÂ Eventually, I was doing some other work to the car at my Dad's garage(pontiac dealership) and mentioned it to him. ÂÂÂ He went into the back, grabbed a small pint sized bottle of some sort of GM product and told me to put that in. ÂÂÂ I added it to the tranny fluid as it was and it happened one more time, right after I put the stuff in. ÂÂÂ After it had a chance to do it's thing and work it's magic, I haven't had a probelm since.  He said it was because the seals had hardened, and of course worn some, and was allowing tranny fluid to flow past them rather than seal it and engage the tranny, and this stuff would help to soften them back up and condition them. ÂÂÂ Like I said, that was like 3 years ago and the tranny has behaved beautifully since. ÂÂÂ I can ask for the exact name of the stuff and post that here for you and you should be able to get it at any GM dealership I would think.  I swear by the stuff. ÂÂÂ It did an awesome job

[IsaacHayes]

Yes please find out the name of that!! Sounds very promising! Thanks.

[96BlackRoseZ26]

Okay, the stuff is in a black bottle, and labeled by GM as "Automatic Transmission Seal Conditioner" and the GM part # is 12345837.  Hope that helps.  I know it worked for me.

[IsaacHayes]

Awesome! Thanks a lot!!!

Off to pick some up!

I'll post here once the results "kick in"

[96BlackRoseZ26]

Yeah, do that. ÂÂÂ I was very skeptical about using the stuff. ÂÂÂ I'm not a big fan of "pour in" fixer uppers, but figured it was either give that a shot, or I was going to be doing a transmission soon. ÂÂÂ What could it hurt? ÂÂÂ I have been pleasantly surprised with the results I have gotten from it. ÂÂÂ Of course, it only had done it maybe 4 times before I tried the conditioner, so I don't know if that had any bearing on the performance I got from it.  I'm sure I'll end up with the same problem later on down the road, because there is only so much the stuff can do and the seals will eventually wear out, but the stuff got me another 3+ years out of the transmission, and it's still going strong. ÂÂÂ That isn't bad at all! ÂÂÂ By the way, my tranny now has 180K miles on it, and I poured the seal conditioner in at right around 160K I think. ÂÂÂ I will say this, when the transmission does finally go south, ÂÂÂ I'll be putting a 5 speed in it

[IsaacHayes]

Well, it's not been 1000 miles for it to work like the bottle says, but so far it's gone right into gear when it's been sitting in the cold. I'll see once really cold temps come, but it's been cold enough that it should of been acting up.

I also noticed the 1-2 upshift is very fast and smooth. Sounds totaly different. Sounds like a person speed shifting a manual perfectly. The engine used to change tone as it was shifting and the front would surge upwards when it enganged. Now it shifts so fast that the tone of the engine barely changes. It's like continues power.  

If I could describe the sound before shifting at WOT:
Raaaaaa Reeeeee Rawwweraaaaa
And after the treatment at WOT:
Raaaaaa Roaahh. That fast.


It's always had sloppy shifts as long as I've owned it. But now it shifts better than my friends new 2001 Impala!!!

I give it 2 thumbs up!!

[96BlackRoseZ26]

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EIf I could describe the sound before shifting at WOT:
Raaaaaa Reeeeee Rawwweraaaaa
And after the treatment at WOT:
Raaaaaa Roaahh. That fast.


That's funny..lol  Glad the stuff is working as well for you as it did for me.  Like I said, I am really skeptical of "pour in" fixes, but this one left me pleasantly surprised.  Just got cold here again, and still shifting beautifully

[Guest]

Hello!

I'm in Pittsburgh and my 94 base (with 3100 V6) has been doing the same thing since the middle of last month (November 2005). It takes about 3 minutes for the car to warm up enough so that I can put it in gear and back it out of my garage, otherwise it just revs. Letting it run longer ensures that nothing else happens, like not engaging after stopping in traffic.

The only thing different in my case is that the car lurches when I start it up. The car is in "Park" of course and it doesn't move per se, but it does act like it's getting a little push. It also tends to slip and shift roughly if it hasn't been adequately warmed up.

The car is in fair shape with a few "up" gripes (air conditioning, minor body rust, frozen door locks) that have not interfered with the drivability of the car in the past. It has 80K miles on it and for its whole life it has only seen local driving (less than 10 miles a day) during peak commuting hours. We keep it in the garage every night and it gets parked in a parking garage every day so it is not exposed to harsh conditions at all.

The only change the car has seen has been this wacky weather we've been having. One week it was up in the 60s and 70s, the next it's in the 20s and 30s. Even though the car is in a garage, it's not a heated space so the temp inside is close to the temp oustide.

I was contemplating on flushing and replacing the fluid as it should have been done at 75K miles when I was advised against it by Midas (who have never jerked me around unlike other mechanics). So I took it to a national chain transmission shop (who seemed fair so I don't want to potentially slander them) and I was told that I would need to rebuild the transmission at some point ($1200-$1500). They even showed me the underside of the car where there was some trans fluid visibly dripping from the lines. I've been duped by mechanics before and would prefer not to be fooled again.

Obviously I would like to avoid that if it's not necessary, especially since new brakes and tires are due within the next year. Given the additional quirks that I outlined above, would you recommend trying this stuff out first or is it more serious in my case because of the slipping?

[Guest]

I'm going to pick some of this up today because mine is extending the 1-2 shift now that its cold out and slams into second really hard, partly because of my trans go shift kit but it shouldnt sound like its slipping.  so i'm gonna do that and see how it goes.

[IsaacHayes]

You'll like it. It works. I didn't belive a bottle would do anything, but it was the easiest fix I've ever done!

I'm not sure how good that shift kit is on your trans, It's one that just bleeds the vacuum off of the line pressure controler?

My vacuum line melted from a leaky batter once, and my trans shifted hard. Fixed it, and now that the trans conditioner is in, my trans shifts fast and firm, but doesn't slam like it did when the vacuum thing was messed up.

Anyways, report back. It takes around 1000 miles to work it says. I noticed in ~700 or less it working. Good luck

[IsaacHayes]

NK1969: Yes get this bottle of stuff. It's $7 so that's a lot cheaper than a rebuild. If it doesn't fix it, then your only out $7.

As far as the hoses leaking, mine did that a long time ago. Check your trans fluid to make sure it's not low (check it with car runing & warmed up, shift thourhg all gears while stoped, put back in park, then check the dipstick). For the hoses you'll have to go to GM or do like I did, and get some hydrualic pressure hose, and some good non-slip clamps. I took off the lines and plugged the holes so the fluid didn't keep leaking out. Then I took a metal pipe cutter (the kind that spins around) and cut off the fitting that is crimped to the hose. Then slid on the new hydrualic hose on that same fitting you cut the old hose off of, and put 2 clamps on each end. So thats 8 total clamps. Then I put the fittings back on. It's been holding up for years with no leaks. And it didn't cost much. But you gotta know what your doing..

But yeah, you need the conditioner. My car has more than double your miles, and I'm sure the trans has seen more abuse, and the conditioner stuff made mine work like new again.

As far as the trans flush, I did that once myself, but didn't help the problem. The conditioner is what ultimatly fixed it. The flush helped, but not a whole lot, and not for long. It did feel it shift/engage "harder" after the flush, so it maybe the old stuff was a bit too thick.....

[Guest]

I checked the trans fluid last week and it's fine: not low at all and still red in color. Warming it up seems to be doing the trick for now, but I may pick up a bottle of this stuff anyway.

[Guest]

(IsaacHayes @ Dec. 08 2005,12:25)Q
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ENK1969: Yes get this bottle of stuff. It's $7 so that's a lot cheaper than a rebuild. If it doesn't fix it, then your only out $7.

As far as the hoses leaking, mine did that a long time ago. Check your trans fluid to make sure it's not low (check it with car runing & warmed up, shift thourhg all gears while stoped, put back in park, then check the dipstick). For the hoses you'll have to go to GM or do like I did, and get some hydrualic pressure hose, and some good non-slip clamps. I took off the lines and plugged the holes so the fluid didn't keep leaking out. Then I took a metal pipe cutter (the kind that spins around) and cut off the fitting that is crimped to the hose. Then slid on the new hydrualic hose on that same fitting you cut the old hose off of, and put 2 clamps on each end. So thats 8 total clamps. Then I put the fittings back on. It's been holding up for years with no leaks. And it didn't cost much. But you gotta know what your doing..

But yeah, you need the conditioner. My car has more than double your miles, and I'm sure the trans has seen more abuse, and the conditioner stuff made mine work like new again.

As far as the trans flush, I did that once myself, but didn't help the problem. The conditioner is what ultimatly fixed it. The flush helped, but not a whole lot, and not for long. It did feel it shift/engage "harder" after the flush, so it maybe the old stuff was a bit too thick.....
FWIW - the fluid level is within normal range. If the tranny shop says there's a leak, wouldn't the level be low? One would think...  

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago I went looking for the stuff and found something similar by Gunk. The bottle said Automatic Transmission Deal Conditioner and claimed to prevent or stop leaks. At $3 the price was right so (glug glug glug) down the chute it went.

The first couple of weeks nothing happened. The wife was still bitching about how the car needs more than 5 minutes to warm up now and how she's been holding up traffic at green lights. She also said that she didn't like warming the car up inside the garage, even with the door open.

Fast forward to yesterday. The Beretta has been parked in the driveway which is on an incline and the weather has been in the 30s & 40s. I was stressing out about several things and decided to take it for a joyride. After a 10 minute warmup I drove the car beyond its normal paces of just beating around the immediate area of the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh. I actually took it on the highway,  the first time since I can remember and got it up to about 75mph with no problem. There has never been any hard shifting, just a problem getting started.

Anyway, I drove it something like 30 miles roundtrip. All the while the car responded just fine. I even stopped at a couple of stores and spent an hour having some fun. When I came back to the Beretta, it started up and seemed ready to go again so off I went back home 55-75mph almost the whole way.

Well today was a bit warmer (about 50 degrees, which is 15-20 degrees warmer than it was) and I had to back the Beretta out of the driveway to take down some Christmas lights and wash our other two cars. Without thinking I started it up and threw it into gear expecting nothing. Instead, I felt it shift into reverse so I backed it out and nothing slipped either. So I threw it into drive, and again it shifted into first no problemo. By this time I was curious and decided to take it for a spin around the neighborhood. Usually at stop signs the car will slip out of gear and lurch into first after a delay. Not so this time. At the 3 stop signs the car was ready to go, no hesitation from tranny or engine.

Now I'm feeling a little confused. Does the conditioner work  this quickly or was the warmer temperature responsible?

[IsaacHayes]

Warmer weather helps, but I doubt 50 was warm enough to help. Sometimes even in the summer nights mine would act up.

The conditioner I used took ~700miles before it was totally fixed. It said 1000 miles on the bottle before it kicks in. The stuff you used may be more aggressive or in a bigger bottle (more liquid) and thus act quicker. I went with the GM stuff because well, it's made for GM!

You should be fine from what it sounds! enjoy!