autoTranny Shifts into last gear hard and sometimes shakes!

[84eaglelmz]

My 84 wagon, shifts into the last gear hard, and sometimes it shakes violently while in that gear. The first 2 gears, it is a 3 speed right? lol  shift good, just that last gear is horrible. But it doe not do it all the time. Sometimes i can't feel it and other times, it gives me whiplash and its like riding a bull.


Anyone know where i can get rebuilt trannys? or like a rebuild kit, which i won't be able to do my self lol

any help will be great!

[maddog]

any reputible transmission shop should be able to get the parts for it and rebuild it for you. it will be cheaper if you pull it and take it to them.

[eaglebeek]

Eagles are equipped with Chrysler TorqueFlite automatic transmissions. As Shanebo said...any reputable transmission shop can do them.

Before you condemn your transmission...Do a couple of things:
1. Check the fluid. You should do so while it's warm and the transmission in Neutral...not Park. While the stick is out look at the fluid. It should be reddish in color. Smell the stick...there should be an oily smell but not a burnt smell. If the fluid is brown or smells burnt you should change the fluid and filter. Any quickie lube shop can do it, or it's a simple affair to do it yourself. If you recently purchased the car, it's hard telling how long the fluid has been in there, and therefore not too hard to justify changing the fluid on general principles alone.
2. Check the kickdown linkage adjustment. There's a how-to in the Eaglepedia section of this forum. If you can't find it, post again and someone will "walk" you through it.

Best wishes. Please keep us up to date on what's going on. And don't hesitate to ask questions...somebody here knows the answer.

[84eaglelmz]

Fluid is fine, was changed like 2000 miles ago. isn't the kick down just so it shifts down when you gun it? it sure does that fine. It just doesn't like going in the last gear. Especially after driving slow for a while. And on cold start ups it revs high before it shifts. I will check that just in case, but i think its something else. Thanks

[eaglefreek]

Fluid is fine, was changed like 2000 miles ago. isn't the kick down just so it shifts down when you gun it? it sure does that fine. It just doesn't like going in the last gear. Especially after driving slow for a while. And on cold start ups it revs high before it shifts. I will check that just in case, but i think its something else. Thanks

No, technically it is called the Throttle Valve Rod and it controls hydraulic pressure of the transmission. Since it shifts fine in the other 2 gears I would suspect something else, but would still check it. Do a search for adjusting the rod. Did this start happening right after the fluid change or just recently?

[bigdog56e]

  If the '84 was still using the lock up torque convertor, it may going bad, it only engages at around 35 to 40 mph in 3rd gear
                                                                                            Eddie

[84eaglelmz]

I just bought the eagle last year and it was doing it. So i gave it a fluid change, and did notice more metal shavings in the pan then a machine shop has. Sometimes its smooth as butter. So its odd.

[bigdog56e]

  The clutch in the lockup convertor could be going out, the hubs break on theconvertors also.

[84eaglelmz]

so what should i do? take it to a transmission shop?

[eaglebeek]

so what should i do? take it to a transmission shop?

That's a hard question to answer without knowing of your mechanical abilities. What I would say before you proceed is to have a reputable shop do some troubleshooting for you. If you decide to let that shop repair it...the shop may waive the charge for troubleshooting it.

There's nothing in an Eagle automatic transmission...except machine work on the case if required... that can't be repaired by someone with a good set of tools, decent mechanical knowledge and a service manual. And there's plenty of knowledge on this forum to help you over a tough spot.

It would be easy for me to say "go for it yourself", but I'm also a mechanic by vocation. But, Eagles are not rocket science. As maddog said you can save yourself some $$$s by pulling the transmission out yourself and having an "expert" rebuild it. Aside from tools you need a means of raising and blocking up the car and a transmission jack. You can rent the transmission jack.

I think bigdog56e is on to something. And if it proves to be the torque converter it would have to be replaced. Most automotive torque converters are welded together and can't be repaired. I would, by whatever means you choose, attend to the problem soon before it leaves you stranded.

[84eaglelmz]

My mechanical ablities are limited lol. I'm only 22, i can do most work, but really never got into trannys and motors, except on a small engine. Is there a way to diagnose whats causing this without tearing it apart. If i do have to get the tranny rebuilt, I'm going to pull the tranny and have a shop do that. I can pull it, i just don't think i have the ability yet to go inside it. Ill start on a car i don't love first 

[BenM]

I've felt that ATF+3 or ATF+4 provides smoother torque converter lockup than the universal or Dextron III fluids do. I believe that was one of Chrysler's reasons for creating it's own fluid.

Double and triple check the linkages, clean the crud out where they attach to the transmission, make sure the return spring is attached, and get some white lithium on the linkage by the throttle. Make sure it doesn't rub anything. That spring is important and you can get random shift quality without it or if it is weak; I forgot it one time.

If it's the shift and not the lockup doing it, I would try the "Kickdown Band Adjustment", that's the front band that controls second gear. It can be done without dropping the pan.  It's on the driver's side just above the linkage levers.

This is from a '76 TSM for a 904 I have at work, but it should be applicable. Someone with a newer TSM can check the torque figures.
1) Loosen the adjusting screw locknut and back off five turns.
2) Be sure the adjusting screw truns freely in the case.
3) Tighten adjusting screw to 72 inch-pounds with a 5/16 square socket. (The manual has a special adapter tool J-24063 that changes it to 36 in-lb but you probably won't ever find one.)
4) Back off adjusting screw two (2) turns.
5) Hold adjusting screw in position and tighten locknut to 35 foot-pounds.

And one last thing, check the transmission mount. If it's really bad the whole thing will shift and mess with your gear selector alignment.

[eaglebeek]

Ben, according to my TSM 72 inch/pounds...without the adapter tool...is correct.

[84eaglelmz]

Ok thanks for the ideas, i will try them next week. It seemed fine at shifting up today, but when i got to the stop sign and started to take off. It still was in 3rd gear. But it only did that once.

[84eaglelmz]

My service manual says to adjust the throttle linkage adjustment, but then fails to tell me what that means. but the way it described the problems i have it seems perfect to whats happening. What do they mean by this? and how do i do it?