trans slip?

[themadness]

i took off from a dead stop this morning and the rpm's went to close to 3k before the car shifted. i havent noticed any changes in city stop-n-go driving and i dont normally drive my car hard. i did notice i low sort of growl that was barely audible up until shift. normal people probably wouldnt even have heard it i checked the trans fluid and it was right at the "add fluid" line, which i'm going to do today or tomorrow.

questions

why would the fluid low?

is that a sign of problems to come?

is it time to flush and change the filter?

best fluid too use?

i'm considering taking in to have it serviced any way next week. i just need some input on what to expect

[Asylum]

Well top up the fluid immediately!
You must be leaking some somewhere although it could be small enough not to leave a puddle.

[camcore]

im assuming auto, but just to be sure, many or auto?
leak in trans pan most likely, couldof lost a seal somewhere.
it could be a problem if you ignore it, if you get it checked or check it yourself and catch something soon, you price invesed and ork inveted should stay low.
I have no preference on fluid just yet,
if it does it again take it in shortly there after. if not, wait a while see how things go. put a cheapo white t shirt from a dollar store under your trans pan, check it after a while and see if you see any spots on it. you could use cardboard, but id prefer something white so you can see if its trans fluid or not. (clean fluid is brighter red, dirty is dark red, and burnt is almost brown)
Good luck buddy.

[themadness]

its an auto.
i read through repair manual i have and i didnt follow the correct procedure to check the fluid. the car was running and warm but i didnt go through the gears like it says in the manual. i'm going to drive it today to warm it up then check it out. i bought some high mileage trans fluid from walmart yesterday to top it off just in case my hunch is correct.

its been cold as tits as here so i'm wondering if that effects shift points if the car hasnt warmed up? it was about 28-31 degrees yesterday morning.

[ifixalot]

An area to check is the trans cooler lines, they can rust through and it will leak mostly when running and under pressure so you won't notice.
Let the car sit while running and look for drips. Inspect the lines for heavily rusted areas.

[ErichZ26]

It was probably shifting harshly before it went. The vacuum line missing over time can lead to stress and premature wear of clutches. This is my opinion. I did the same thing to my 95.

[Pete_BMR_z26]

Madness, have you figured out the cause of all this yet? Mine was doing/does the same exact thing. I put about 3/4 of a 24 oz bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix, and it damn near stopped it completely, but I'm worried it could be something more major. Did you take it to get serviced yet?

[themadness]

havent gotten to it yet. i havent been driving much b/c every body in my house has been sick and i had to have a tooth surgically removed. i'm going to get it checked out in the near future. i fixed that small vac hose that broke and the best i can tell that helped. but i havent gone anywhere much so nothing solid can be determined.....

[Pete_BMR_z26]

Make sure to keep us (particularly, me ) updated! I'd like to know of a cure for this PITA