Auto tranny shifting hard when cold - 89 Turbo

[RM777]

Just as the title says. When the transmission is cold, it shifts very hard. Particularly when I put it in drive or especially into reverse, it feels like the tranny is going to fall out.

The fluid level is fine, and does not smell toasted. The weird part is that the transmission is fine after a few minutes of driving. This just seems to happen when I start it up after a few hours of sitting and in the first few minutes of driving .

I did search, but if I have missed anything in past threads, do not hesitate to point it out. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[tlo86]

Just as the title says. When the transmission is cold, it shifts very hard. Particularly when I put it in drive or especially into reverse, it feels like the tranny is going to fall out.

The fluid level is fine, and does not smell toasted. The weird part is that the transmission is fine after a few minutes of driving. This just seems to happen when I start it up after a few hours of sitting and in the first few minutes of driving .

I did search, but if I have missed anything in past threads, do not hesitate to point it out. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

yup thats a cold transmission what helped me, was i have an external cooler.. i ran the oil through my radiator and through the oil cooler.. will help the trans warm up and keep a lower temp

wouldnt hurt to change the fluid/filter real easy to do will cost about 30$~ i do that myself about every 30k miles

one piece driveshaft or two piece? one piece will sound harsher than a 2 piece

whens the last time the gear oil was changed in differential? not sure too meny people check that but you do have to change it eventually... and when i did i felt a noticable difference

 

[RM777]

I just checked the fluid level again at cold and it is at the hot level...WTF!?!?! the car has not been driven in the last 12 hours. Would an overfill cause my problem? I just got it changed at Toyota a few months ago.

Also, should I try a synthetic fluid as I am going to change the fluid and filter tomorrow. Any suggestions? Royal Purple?