QuestionQUESTION: Re: 1990 Dodge Spirit, 2.5 Liter Turbo, Automatic
You were very helpful to me in tracing a vacuum leak a couple of weeks ago. I have since taken the car on a long trip. While it generally performed well, something peculiar happened a few times. When the outside temperature was very hot and the car was running a little hotter than usual, it had to strain to get moving from a standstill. It ran through all of the gears normally, and the engine ran smoothly. Once it got into third gear, it performed normally. The problem resolved entirely, when the outside temperature cooled or the car sat for awhile. Is there some kind of control on the engine or automatic transmission that might have reacted this way to the abnormally high temperature? Does it sound like a harbinger of serious trouble? If not, I'd rather live with it than throw a lot of money at it - as long as it doesn't become persistent. Thank you for your generous help.
ANSWER: Hi Herb,
I can't give any predictions for the future, of course. It would be helpful if you could rephrase the term "strain" to be either harsh or delayed engagement of low gear or slippage of the clutch for low gear (engine revs but wheels don't turn). There are several reasons for each of those behaviors which I can tell you, but I need to know better what is happening.
Have you checked the level of fluid in the transmission? Have you looked at the fluid as it appears on the dipstick when you are experiencing this problem? Let me know more and lets see if we can get some answers.
Roland
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: The "straining" resembled clutch slippage, like that which I have experienced with manual transmissions. Once it reached cruising speed, the car performed normally - even when I down shifted. I noticed it for the first time, after I had driven over some stiff brush that was growing in the middle of a dirt road. It only happened a few times, in very hot weather and for periods of an hour or so. It didn't happen at all during the 350-mile trip home, when temps were in the eighties. Nor has it happened in shorter drives in hot weather near home. I added about a cup of transmission fluid before embarking on the trip, and it hasn't lost much since then. The fluid looks fresh. The car has about 117,000 miles on it, and the transmission was flushed about 30,000 miles ago. Until this trip, I only drove it locally.
AnswerHi Herb,
It could be aerated fluid so look at that when you are experiencing the slippage. Or it could be too low hydaulic pressure when it gets hot due to faulty pump. Or oil filter clogged, or a valve body malfunction, of a linkage adjustment. Other possibilities involve mechanically worn internal parts that would ultimately require a rebuild. So check out the list of possibilities as practical for you.
You might want to check to make sure the air flow thru the radiator/transmission coolers' fins is not impeded by dried mud or leaves. If that were the case it would cause the fluid in the trans to be too hot for lack of cooling up front.
Roland
