help with a tranny problem please!

[hvymetalalchmst]

hi everybody, great site.

i have had quite a few problems with my tranny the last few years. its an 4sp automatic AUII. ive searched all over the net for hours in the last week to try and find out how to fix these problems

Lately, theres been some problems arising: after first disengages, it seems to be disengaged for 2 seconds before kicking into second (ie: it feels like it goes 1st->neutral+rev->2nd. happens regardless of the throttle or how you drive it.

Another problem is when i shift from park to drive, the power suddenly kicks in as if you were revving at 1000 to put it into drive (tho its idling fine at ~7-800). There is no problem when i shift from park to reverse - changes almost seamlessly.

This problem isnt helped when i recently noticed when you change from drive to either park or neutral, the engine feels like as if the tranny just passed on a huge load to the engine and the engine struggles, revs down to about 4-600rpm before the ecu revs it up to 1000, loads down to about 700, up to 900, and slowly oscillates back towards idle.

this happens both when its cold and warm. more obvious when cold.

so, ive come to a possibility...but im not entirely sure, that this could be the fault of solenoid(s) within the tranny... ive read that the S5 is a common problem, so ill keep my eye out for that. the fluid type and levels are correct, clean oil, no metal shavings around the magnets, etc.

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my ultimate question here is "can anybody please give me a walk-through to get to the solenoids?" just descriptions like 'loosen the pan by loosening the four bolts in each of the corners of the pan', 'carefully pour out the oil', 'remove the pan', 'remove the filter....', etc, etc.

im a very handy and DIY person, and i pretty much do the all servicing of all my cars, so dont worry about if its going to be too difficult. i also understand the costs associated with new solenoid(s).

If anyone out here is able to guide me through the process of getting to the solenoids, i would really, really, really appreciate it.

thankyou,
rex

[au11futura]

mate it could also be the torque converter.

[au11futura]

it also be cheaper to get a recond trans as i have heard to replace solenoids is abit pricey and the fact that those trannies have a few more than the e-series.

[JC]

Originally Posted by hvymetalalchmst

hi everybody, great site.

i have had quite a few problems with my tranny the last few years. its an 4sp automatic AUII. ive searched all over the net for hours in the last week to try and find out how to fix these problems

Lately, theres been some problems arising: after first disengages, it seems to be disengaged for 2 seconds before kicking into second (ie: it feels like it goes 1st->neutral+rev->2nd. happens regardless of the throttle or how you drive it.

Another problem is when i shift from park to drive, the power suddenly kicks in as if you were revving at 1000 to put it into drive (tho its idling fine at ~7-800). There is no problem when i shift from park to reverse - changes almost seamlessly.

This problem isnt helped when i recently noticed when you change from drive to either park or neutral, the engine feels like as if the tranny just passed on a huge load to the engine and the engine struggles, revs down to about 4-600rpm before the ecu revs it up to 1000, loads down to about 700, up to 900, and slowly oscillates back towards idle.

this happens both when its cold and warm. more obvious when cold.

so, ive come to a possibility...but im not entirely sure, that this could be the fault of solenoid(s) within the tranny... ive read that the S5 is a common problem, so ill keep my eye out for that. the fluid type and levels are correct, clean oil, no metal shavings around the magnets, etc.

---

my ultimate question here is "can anybody please give me a walk-through to get to the solenoids?" just descriptions like 'loosen the pan by loosening the four bolts in each of the corners of the pan', 'carefully pour out the oil', 'remove the pan', 'remove the filter....', etc, etc.

im a very handy and DIY person, and i pretty much do the all servicing of all my cars, so dont worry about if its going to be too difficult. i also understand the costs associated with new solenoid(s).

If anyone out here is able to guide me through the process of getting to the solenoids, i would really, really, really appreciate it.

thankyou,
rex

Welcome - can't help you get to the solenoids, but I can help you rule out other things first (cheaper, easier options).

When I had a shifting issue with my old AU XR6, it turned out to be low fluid level. A top up instantly fixed the lag when moving from P to R (in my case).

Also, in my AU XR8, I had an issue where the speedo would read 10 km/h, and the gear changes were a bit sloppy; turns out this was the inhibitor switch (it's job is to determine what gear you are in etc). This is the plug thing on the side of the transmission (underneath the car) - the fix for this was to unplug both connections to it, spray WD40/RP7 on the plugs and sockets and plug it back in. Car never did it again while I had it.

Try both of these things first. If you still need help with getting to the solenoids, PM me your email address and I'll scan the appropriate sections from a workshop manual and email them to you.

[GK]

Here's a visual.

Inspecting and Cleaning Auto Transmission Connectors
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showpos...0&postcount=86

All the best with it.

GK

[hvymetalalchmst]

thankyou so much everyone!

ill try out all the suggestions listed here first within the next few days, then ill let you guys know what i find.

you guys are all great

[hvymetalalchmst]

i just cleaned up the inhibitor switch, thanks to JC and GK.

unfortunately i didnt think of it before... but now that i have cleaned it, everything is working much better. most of the symptoms have disappeared, but however it still is showing the same problems, only to a lesser degree.

ill shoot a pm to you JC with my email. i have heard that the S5 solenoid actually has a filter too, so i might take the opportunity to give the whole tranny a nice throrough clean