Chrysler Repair: 5th Avenue Tranny probs Take 2, proper diagnosis, torque converter

Question
Well, Roland led me in the right direction earlier by diagnosing my NO-START problem. it was the fuel pump. Now that I am running again, I need to re-address the tranny problem I wrote about in an earlier thread. Symptoms now are: if I start the engine early in the morning (when it's cooler outside) I can engage Drive and go forward, usually with a little hesitation at first. If I try to go forward in the afternoon when it warms up outside, the tranny will not go forward at all. Reverse works ok, but hesitantly. Fluid level is fine. Please see my earlier posts title "1991 5th Avenue Problems galore" for more info. Again...Roland...thanks for your help re: fuel pump!  

Answer
On the trans question, I found your earlier questions. It may be a problem with the trans internal fluid pressure being too low or too high, or a problem with the valve body, or the torque converter could be faulty. I would also suggest that another approach to diagnosis would be to measure the pressures of the various circuits. There are ports for doing these measurements and that might reveal the location of a problem in the valve body that could be repaired without removing the trans. The main point is to spend some effort on proper diagnosis to eliminate the possibility of the other explanations of the problem that involve dismantling the trans. Because that costs upward of $1500 it makes it worthwhile to do the readout and the diagnostic tests first. Is the engine idle speed normal (about 800 rpm) as too high an idle speed will also give you problems with getting the trans to take hold?
Roland


Hi Duke,
Unfortunately the archive doesn't have a search function, just a list of all the 1400 questions I have tried to answer and a chronological date for each.
I would believe that you have the electronic controlled transaxle, correct? The possibilities are so diverse based on those symptoms that I believe the only way to get a better idea of what is wrong would be to have the memory of the transmission controller readout for any stored fault codes. Because this is an early model there is a separate plug (with 6 pins) located under the dash near the fuse box which is used to access that trans controller (and it is different from the one that accesses the engine controller. I suspect that the average shop won't have the OBD I reader or the plug for the readout process to work, so you may need to see a Chrysler dealer. If you can get the fault code(s) stored in the trans, let me know what they are, what they say they mean, what would need to be done to effect a repair, and how much they would charge. I have a manual for the '92 electronic trans that we can use to compare notes.
You might also ask them whether they would credit the charge for the readout against a repair bill, should you decide to have them do the recommended repair.
I'm pleased to have been of help on the engine problem.
Roland