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Hi, fellas. New user but long time reader. Really appreciate both the W-body and 60degreeV6 forums. Extremely informative and helpful members. Have posted my problem both places, just trying to get as much help as I can.
I've got a 1994 Olds Cutlass Supreme Convertible that I bought with 98kmi (paid $5800 nearly 3yrs ago), basically as a commuter to run around in. It's got the 3100 engine with *I think* 4T60E tranny. It's got 133kmi now and I'm concerned about the tranny.
No problems, but decided a year ago @ 120kmi to change the fluid & filter. No clue if it had ever been done before, so thought the time was right. I hadn't read either of these forums yet, so bought a Wix filter and Halvoline-equiv fluid. (The stick says to use Dex-IIE if I'm not mistaken, but used Dex-III as the replacement...know I read that somewhere.)
Anyway, just recently I've noticed a whine that varies with engine RPM. If I was to describe it, think of the old style AM radio interference the ignition used to make on your 72 Nova. It's not very loud but noticable, and difficult to tell exactly where it's coming from. Fluid levels ok, even checked the power steering. I suppose it might be the water pump. My uncle says it's probably a worn pump in the tranny, but I don't know enough to say.
I just drove the car to Seattle and there's a couple of big hills. Coming down one of the hills, with my foot off the accelerator, tranny in Drive, the car sped up to like 85mph. It seemed unusual as most times it might accelerate to 75mph or so, and this caught my attention. At the bottom of the hill, engine revs were 3500 or more and the car didn't kick into Drive or Overdrive. I slowed and cycled through the gears manually to 2nd, 3rd and Drive without any change, revs still @ 3500.
I pulled into the 1st service station and shut the car off. Restarted and checked the fluid level and was about 1/2 way in the hatching on the stick. Fluid didn't look brown or smell burnt, but did smell kinda 'mechanical' if you know what I mean. Put in about 8oz of fluid, cycled through the gears once or twice and drove it between the two exits to evaluate whether I really wanted to continue my journey. What I found was it did shift into Drive/OD, but that the revs in that final OD shift dropped slowly, like it might be slipping. The revs seemed right where they should be (2250rpm @ 70mph), so I decided to continue to Seattle watching my rpms closely.
On my trip back home, I didn't see problems but I would say the final OD shift wasn't very firm and the rpm drop was slow, but once in OD didn't seem to vary on level ground @ 70mph. It doesn't seem to be slipping, or not very noticably, but I'm still concerned.
My uncle is adamant that I should sell the car or trade it for something else. I really hate to 'cause it's a nice rig and the engine runs like a champ. I've read these sites about swapping trannys and it does look like a pain for me. (You guys make it sound easier than it is
So, short of getting rid of the car, I thought I would again replace filter & fluid and see what happens.
Beyond that though, can you make any suggestions for tests I can do? Is there a computer for the tranny, and how can I scan it for codes? Can I attach a pressure gauge and learn something? I've read to look for gunk when I drop the pan which would indicate wear damage, are there other indicators? I read something about retraining the tranny shift points, is that possible on my Cutlass? Is it true you can access the valve body without pulling the tranny? I just don't see what affect 8oz of fluid could have had on this problem.
Again, I appreciate any/all help diagnosing this problem. Sincerely,
Eric in Tri-Cities Washington
I've got a 1994 Olds Cutlass Supreme Convertible that I bought with 98kmi (paid $5800 nearly 3yrs ago), basically as a commuter to run around in. It's got the 3100 engine with *I think* 4T60E tranny. It's got 133kmi now and I'm concerned about the tranny.
No problems, but decided a year ago @ 120kmi to change the fluid & filter. No clue if it had ever been done before, so thought the time was right. I hadn't read either of these forums yet, so bought a Wix filter and Halvoline-equiv fluid. (The stick says to use Dex-IIE if I'm not mistaken, but used Dex-III as the replacement...know I read that somewhere.)
Anyway, just recently I've noticed a whine that varies with engine RPM. If I was to describe it, think of the old style AM radio interference the ignition used to make on your 72 Nova. It's not very loud but noticable, and difficult to tell exactly where it's coming from. Fluid levels ok, even checked the power steering. I suppose it might be the water pump. My uncle says it's probably a worn pump in the tranny, but I don't know enough to say.
I just drove the car to Seattle and there's a couple of big hills. Coming down one of the hills, with my foot off the accelerator, tranny in Drive, the car sped up to like 85mph. It seemed unusual as most times it might accelerate to 75mph or so, and this caught my attention. At the bottom of the hill, engine revs were 3500 or more and the car didn't kick into Drive or Overdrive. I slowed and cycled through the gears manually to 2nd, 3rd and Drive without any change, revs still @ 3500.
I pulled into the 1st service station and shut the car off. Restarted and checked the fluid level and was about 1/2 way in the hatching on the stick. Fluid didn't look brown or smell burnt, but did smell kinda 'mechanical' if you know what I mean. Put in about 8oz of fluid, cycled through the gears once or twice and drove it between the two exits to evaluate whether I really wanted to continue my journey. What I found was it did shift into Drive/OD, but that the revs in that final OD shift dropped slowly, like it might be slipping. The revs seemed right where they should be (2250rpm @ 70mph), so I decided to continue to Seattle watching my rpms closely.
On my trip back home, I didn't see problems but I would say the final OD shift wasn't very firm and the rpm drop was slow, but once in OD didn't seem to vary on level ground @ 70mph. It doesn't seem to be slipping, or not very noticably, but I'm still concerned.
My uncle is adamant that I should sell the car or trade it for something else. I really hate to 'cause it's a nice rig and the engine runs like a champ. I've read these sites about swapping trannys and it does look like a pain for me. (You guys make it sound easier than it is
So, short of getting rid of the car, I thought I would again replace filter & fluid and see what happens.Beyond that though, can you make any suggestions for tests I can do? Is there a computer for the tranny, and how can I scan it for codes? Can I attach a pressure gauge and learn something? I've read to look for gunk when I drop the pan which would indicate wear damage, are there other indicators? I read something about retraining the tranny shift points, is that possible on my Cutlass? Is it true you can access the valve body without pulling the tranny? I just don't see what affect 8oz of fluid could have had on this problem.
Again, I appreciate any/all help diagnosing this problem. Sincerely,
Eric in Tri-Cities Washington
Tranny cooler wouldn't hurt, I need to do that.
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