i've got a 1996 2.4l z24 with the 4 speed auto transmission. the transmission will not shift out of 1st. it goes all the way to redline in 1st. 1st and reverse are fine and are fully functional but it wont' shift out of 1st. anyone have any help for me? things i should check first? ideas on what could be wrong? thanks.
Add some transmission fluid. Good place to start
well I very much doubt this would apply to you or any other JBO member, but since I got the same problem asked to me by a friend who was a new driver, are you sure you're putting the car into D and not 1?
now having gone past that ridiculous theory, have you checked your transmission fluid lately? also see if it will change gears when physically putting it into 1, 2, or 3 on the shifter. Let us know how it goes. Good luck man
it will not shift manually and yes i am putting it into D.
haha. i'll attempt to check the trans fluid today. do i just put the car on jackstands and take out the 11mm bolt on the pass side of the trans while its running. if any spews out its ok and if it doesn't add some?
where do i add it?
There's a fill plug on the top of the trans case, around where the brake master cylinder is. Red cap.
ok... do i absolutely need gm synchormesh or can i survive with something else to see if the trans starts shifting when i put some in?
if/when it starts shifting properly... i'll take it in to the dealership and have them change the filter/fluid. but in the meantime can i get away with just putting whatever in to see if it starts shifting?
alright... i threw in some trans fluid, did nothing. added more. still nothing... added more. nothing again. nothing is spilling out... should i just keep adding until it does something? lol. car sat for a while and i have no idea how much is in it right now.
I would say to fill up the fluid to the max, it won't hurt it.
For kicks, I might try disconnecting the battery for a bit since the 4spd tranny is electronically controlled... maybe it'll reset whatever the problem is :p
If that doesn't work, try this:
From the car in park with some adequate space ahead of you, rev a little bit and while holding that small rev (I stress SMALL as in a few hundred RPM), throw it DIRECTLY into 2 (make sure NOT to stop at D and then go to 2). You should feel the car tug a drop. After a little rolling, throw it into D and see if that does anything.
its really hard to check your trany fluid without a hoist. our cars sit to low to get under to take out the check plug. find a buddy with some jack stands or a hoist so you can get it up high enough to get under it. make sure its on a level surface or level. don't just dump in a crap load of tranny fluid and hope you guessed right. the car has to be running and in park to check fluid. by the way the 4T40-E will shift through all the gears if you leave it in manual first. i know cause thats what i do when i drag race and its a really cheap shift kit. it boosts line pressure in manual first and second. anyways. if your fluid level fine then i would suggest disconecting the negetive battery cable for a few minutes. maybe the pcm is goofed up. if that doesn't work then take it in to someone who has a tech 2. you can shift the tranny manualy using the scan tool. if it don't shift then, i'd be taking it in. good luck.
Maybe try to disconnect the electronic plug at the top driver's of the transmission. Then, plug it back in. It might not be in all the way.
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Yea, ummmm. I used to have a J-body...
i put a ton of trans fluid in... i'll do the plug thing tomorrow and possibly try and check the fluid correctly. also tomorrow i'll disconnect the battery and see if that'll do anything. this is just more annoying than anything else... after this tranny stuff gets figured out i have to do the water pump... haha. if the trans is ok in the end... i'll replace the waterpump with it in the car but if its not ok then i'll pull the whole thing and do it with it out of the car.
I was thinking that if the plug wasn't on for a while because the car was in the shop, that it might have gotten dirt in it. So just clean it to make sure the connection is good.
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Yea, ummmm. I used to have a J-body...
So did anyone read the codes yet on this?
I would suspect things like input speed sensor,and the vss output sensor, or the connections there of. Also make sure battery connections are good, make sure the fuses are good.
