tranny troubles 90 Legacy LS Wagon

[powerfulalien]

i have a 90 Legacy LS Wagon that has 186 k miles on the clock and my question is does any one happen to know what would cause my tranny to sound like a volkswagen tranny at high speed ? as well as i am having trouble with it going frrom first then the engine surges then it finally shifts into second any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

thank you everyone in advance for your help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Legacy777]

Read some of the other threads in this forum. Some people have reported similar problems for the shifting.

Your tranny probably needs to be rebuilt.

I have no idea what a volkswagon tranny sounds like at high speed? enlighten us.....

[powerfulalien]

and one other quick question did i pay to mush for the car ???? 1800 from what i have found out from some wrecking yards ( called or e-mailed wrecking yards from seattle area to sacramento ) i have been qouted anywhere from 450-900 for a used tranny and around 1500 for mine to be rebuilt . next question are the manuals any better for reliability if so then i may just get a stick instead ( i would prefer a stick anyway) thanks in advance

[Legacy777]

1000-1500 is the normal goin price to have tranny rebuilt.

manuals usually last longer......but 180,000 something miles on an auto tranny is pretty good......

[ciper]

Search around for adjusting the band. If the RPM raise when shifting from 1-2 then the band is slipping.

[Legacy777]

Actually, the 1-2 shift is not by band. I'm pretty sure its clutches/solenoids. If you get a shift kit, they plug a port in the metal plate which essentually gives you a very firm 1-2 shift.

My 1-2 shift is fine....it's the others that suck

[ciper]

No, 1-2 IS a band! It actually works like this

First and third are true gears, clutch based. The second gear is a modifed first while the 4th gear is a modified 3.

When in first if you tighten the modifier band it increaes the speed of the output. When shifting to third, the band must be released the 1st gear engagements release and the third gear enabled.

If the band is too slow you will go from 2 to 4 then back to 3. If the band is too fast you will go from 2 back to 1 then 3

That is why the 2-3 shift is always funky, it has to be perfectly timed yet allow for wear in the tranny.

1-2 is the real power shift. If the RPMS raise during this shift it means the band is slipping. If the 1-2 shift is REALLY FIRM it also means the band is loose. Crazy?

When the band is really loose it will start to tighten and speed up, since its very loose the band doesnt contact the "drum" until its moving very fast so second gear is slammed.

It sucks, if the band is too tight then not only will you get wear all the time but you could loose reverse and have the transmission in a place that it doesnt want to move forward or backwards,,, I speak from experience

[Legacy777]

these trannies are just funky......I'll take a 5spd any day of the week...

[powerfulalien]

cipher thats exactly what it's doing high rpm's before the shift into second

[powerfulalien]

would this cure the tranny or just prolong the inevitable ????

[whitemr2]

Well, based on my experience with a Suby auto, it'd be prolonging the inevitable, but that's a good thing in this case! Replacing or rebuilding an auto is very expensive. My Suby had its first tranny replaced under warranty somewhere around 50k miles, and is now ready for yet another one at 140k.

[HomeSlice]

go with a 5spd. i got a 4eat boneyard at my job, so that dont say much. even the trans from the junk yards you got to watch i had to swap 3 trans before i found one that actaully worked. by the way dont trust peeps at salvage yards. the all make ish up. wish the best of luck with your probs. used trans in ny go from 350 to 600. rebuilts 1g to 15hund........jim