Transmission ghosts???

[cutlassconvertible]

Hey whats up. im having some really mysterious problems with my transmission and i was wondering if anyone has any theories. ive got a 94 cutlass supreme 3100 with automatic 4t60-e tranny.
heres what it does. ill be driving along lets say at 60mph and all of a sudden the speedometer will drop to say 10mph or sometimes even 0 but also weird numbers like 17 or something. and then when i push on the gas the RPMS will shoot up to like 4000. ok then after a second or 2 it will go back to normal. but once i stop at a light, i realize my transmission starts out in 2nd or 3rd gear, i really have to floor it to get it to move at all. but if i turn off the ignition and restart, the problem is fixed, back to normal, until next time it does it again.
also let me mention that because of these problems and some tcc problems, i had my transmission taken out and swapped for another 4t60-e from a 97 lumina with much less miles than mine. well that fixed all the other problems but it still does this one. so then i found a spare computer from the same car/engine/tranny and i swapped that. but im still haivng the problem, so what else can it be???????? im guessing wiring but i dont even know where to start with that. any ideas or theories please

[Doubt_Incarnate]

did you keep the old vss? maybe its flaky and the computer is getting bad signals from it, also isnt the actual shift controlled electronicly? check you shifter if it is to see that everything is ok there, other than just going over all the wiring and connectors, i have no idea. automatics are like the women of the car world, i don't understant them.

[imported_germ]

so you went from a 94 PCM to a 97 PCM?

how did you manage to do that? i would think it would be easier to fix the problem than to change your PCM?



you do know that the 94 and 97 4t60e's are not the same? the torque coverter lockup is a little different.

what engine do you have? and what engine did the lumina that you got the new tranny from have?

[cutlassconvertible]

pcm

Mine is a 3100 and the lumina is the same 3100. i was not aware that the transmission were different. i changed my 94 PCM for another PCM from a 94 3100. i didnt upgrade to the 97 pcm.

[imported_germ]

Re: Transmission ghosts???

also let me mention that because of these problems and some tcc problems, i had my transmission taken out and swapped for another 4t60-e from a 97 lumina with much less miles than mine. well that fixed all the other problems but it still does this one. so then i found a spare computer from the same car/engine/tranny and i swapped that.

well, i GUESS i read that wrong then???


but yea, the why the tranny is controlled is different. im not 100% sure on this, but i do know that a 94-95 tranny will not work in my car, 96 monte due to the way the TC lockup is contolled along with having an extra sensor inside the tranny (PWM Solonoid i think)



as for the PCM, you did get one that is for YOUR car, and not just some other 94 PCM that had the 3100 in it right? you might have a PCM incompatibility issue due to having a different PCM model Isame year and engine, but controlled slightly different due to minor changes between models)

[cutlassconvertible]

hey man, thanx for the replies and info. i hope i didnt confuse you too much. let me try to explain very simply. i have a 94 olds cutlass with 3100sfi and 4t60-E. and everything was fine. then when i started having problems i swapped it for a 4t60-E from a 97 lumina also 3100, and i still had the same problems. so i figured it may be tyhe pcm and found the same 94 pcm with 3100 for my car and switched and everything worked the same and i still had the same problem all along.
the problem did not start since i changed stuff. the problem was there and i tried changing some things and nothing has yet helped. this is what im up to and i want to know what the next step would be? is there anything else that need to be replaced etc..? thanx alot for the help!!!!

[imported_germ]

when you changed out your tranny did you keep your stock torque converter? or did you use the one that came with the lumina tranny (if it came with one)?


i MIGHT be likely that you got a tranny with the same problem as your stock tranny.

the TCC and torque converter issues are common in the 60e.

did you change the fluid in the newer tranny?


you say your MPH drops 10mph then 0 and then random #'s...... you have a digital dash???? one thing that MIGHT cause the issues your having is a bad ground or bad wiring somewhere. keep in mind, your car is almost 12 years old. in that amount of time, wiring can come loose or just plain go bad.


also, double check your sensors. have a "skewed" signal from something like the coolant sensor or MAP sensor can cause drivability issues.


im leaning more towards other issues than tranny (as long as you changed the converter, if you didnt, then i would look into that one)

[Quinky]

Have you had the computer scanned for codes yet???