Hello, fellow Imperial lovers --
My '91 Imperial's transmission ALWAYS shifts from 2nd to 3rd at
40mph. Uphill, downhill, WOT or coasting, shift lever in drive or
overdrive, does
not matter.
For example, yesterday morning I floored it at the foot of the freeway
onramp. 1st to 2nd at about 30mph and in the power band for further
acceleration. Then, at 40mph, bleahh! down to 3rd at low rpm and no torque
to speak of. Once I continue accelerating, I have a smooth shift into OD
between 60 and 75, depending on RPMs. I can kick down to 3rd between 60
and 65, accelerate uphill and shift into OD no problem. I drive this car
about 300-500 miles per week, and this is my only complaint about the
transmission (knock on wood).
I bought the car used. It has 150K+ miles on it and was
recently fully flushed including cooler lines and got a fresh filter
and a new pan, refilled with 7176 fluid, of course. The previous
owner had been using ATF3. My trustworthy mechanic and his
assistant, who worked for Chrysler for 30 years, said it looked good
inside.
Since this only happens between 2nd and 3rd I am ruling out problems
involving ignition, blocked exhaust or improper A/F supply.
Manual shift using the gear shift lever is not an option on this
transmission. You get 1st only, 1st/2nd/3rd or 1st/2nd/3rd/OD in the
three forward positions.
I think something in the transmission control module software is stuck on
this shift point no matter what the conditions. Could a TCM upgrade help
me? Or is the computer trying to tell me it's the beginning of the end?
-- David
'91 K-Imperial
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network