Let me start off by saying i'm new to the boards, and damn were they a great find.

I'm rockin a 98 3.0 (auto), I bought her about a year or 2 back and I absolutely love it.

(Please read this before you go, "ugh not another one of these")

I've been flippin out recently because I could just tell there was something wrong with my transmission. There seems to be a couple things, but mainly what I've noticed is the big problems in shifting between 1st and 2nd, and it kicks real hard when going from R to D but let off the brake before it shifts.

At first I didn't know what I would do if the tranny did just take a dump, but after reading everything i've read and talking to a lot of different people I've come to the conclusion that the car is going to last long for the investment of a new tranny to be worth it.

Now before people start pointing to the search button, know i've already done that. For about 4 hours before I posted I read all the threads I could about the transmission (I think i even read a couple from 05...) I'm not posting to complain, and I'm not posting to ask if my transmission is going to die. My problem is know what I've read, where do I go from here?

I would ask if there is a general diagnosis for the shifting from 1-2 and 2-1 problems, but from what I've read people don't seem to blame that on the transmission, but other things such as the comptuer and solenoids and what not. Really I have no idea what to do. I want to try and save this before it just completely goes the way of the wind but I'm not sure it possible. Should I just take it in for service and see if they can't find a problem?

If that's the solution then I want to go to a transmission shop around here and not my dealer. I've had NOTHING but problems with them whenenver I've had to deal with them, but in all reality they're going to know the car best right? So what should I do, just accept the tranny is a lost cause, wait for it to go and rebuild it. Or should I try to tackle it before it just stops. And if that's the case, where should I be taking it, the dealer or a tranny shop, and what do I tell them?

Sorry for the long post, but thanks for the help!

 

Welcome to AZ. There is not much you can do when it comes to the 3.0's tranny. I have a 97 3.0 and i'm waiting for it to go completely so i can start fresh again. The problems with the tranny is the bearings inside break off and cause the gears to not moving properly, it's mechanical so there's nothing you can do.

If the symptoms are recent, that is you just notice the harsh shift/gear slips recently, then you can prolong the life of the tranny a little bit by adding a Hayden Transmission Cooler. It's not gonna save your tranny but it will give you a bit more time to save some money.

If your tranny is really bad now and it will go out any second like my car, start looking for a reputable transmission shop to do the rebuild. Or you can do it yourselves with parts from Level Ten (levelten.com). Or you can send your transmission to Dr.Evil for performance reinforcement (i'm sure you know what i'm talking about if you've read threads about transmission...)

Those are the 3 routes that you can take. The easy way out, depends on how you look at it, would be selling the car and get another one; but sounds to me like you don't want to sell the car. Hope that helps.

 

my F22 Automatic (2.2CL Auto) kicks the same way from R-to-D4 and vice versa, all other changes of forward gears, like when im manually cycling the gears 1-2-D3-D4 its all fine because every time I do that im actually pushing it to 7000, it shifts fine and dandy......... but at the low RPM range it will kick in automatic mode, no matter what rev im at, whenever im manually going through it, its fine, basically I shift usually over the 3500 range at around 4000



long explaination, but hey.............. fact is its been like that for about 2 years, ive gotten used to it, and kinda like it, tranny is still fine, no major problems.......... on a side note it got a little better after taking it to Acura and getting the tranny flushed, after about 8 or 10k miles its all back again though

 

The R&D problem is pretty normal especially if you change gears on a hill a lot. The problem shifting between 1 and 2 would signify that your tranny is about to die. We've all been there trust me

 

LOL yea, at first when I started to notice it I thought I was just being paranoid, but after seeing everything I've read online I've kinda just learned to accept it.

I dont really want to fork out as much money as it's going to cost to rebuild the tranny, especially on a car with 106k miles. Have any input on whether it will really be cost effective or not?

 

The average quote price i got around Socal is ~$1200. The highest quote was $2289, the lowest was $900, inlcudes parts and labor. If I supply parts the the labor is $400 - $600. These quotes are for OEM parts.

This car is very reliable if you take good care of it. It's worth it to keep the car, especially if you're in college/school. A new car will cost you over ~$20,000, while putting in $3000 will get you a nice and reliable car.

 

hey welcome, im new too! lol! i have the exact same problem on my 98 3.0... however, when i shift my car into second gear manually from a stop and then proceed, it has a lag like its not "in gear." (btw, the car only has 50,xxx miles) =/ i like my CL so i guess its with me until it dies. =)

 

^^^ yeah, mine does that too, but a small lag isnt really a problem eith the tranny I dont think, id think it would be more on the Transmission Control Unit......... the computer that controls it

 

Shit...

Mine does the same thing from 1st gear it rev's kind of high, and then it kicks roughly into 2nd gear. It wont do it if I start off slow though... but when does that ever happen? pshhh. slow...

 

You can always get a new engine and swap a manual transmission in there.

no one said that option...

What I did was get an aftermarket warantee and it paid for my trans.

I might use the same warantee to get it fixed again, cuz its slippin' some.

 

^that might just be the best idea. How much did you pay for that warannty? and who'd you go through?

 

im guessing its gonna cost alot to swap a engine + manual trasmission. not sure if it'd be worth it for everyday driving.

 

how much is a motor swap? it only costs around 3K no? it actually might be better to get the new motor and manual tranny then get a new auto tranny.. but 3K is just a guess.. it always ends up costing more

 

haha 3k is about what it cost for a h22 swap on the 2.x models, 3.0 + manual swap =wayyy more work than a h22 swap on the 2.2.