tranny slipping when cold

[89LincolnTWNcar]

After I start driving in the morning ~30-40 degrees outside, the trans will slip for a second or two before engaging in 1st gear. Normal? Bad? Something to check?

[Mr. Land Yacht]

mine did that, too...
I'd check your tranny fluid to make sure it is filled.
I was low and slipping in the cold...then I put in a quart of trans fluid along with a bottle of Trans-X(to stop slipping, it was cheap) and it stopped.
I would reccommend a bottle of Lucas Trans Treatment..great stuff!

[MrMarquis]

Mine does that too...

I shift into drive, and then put my foot on the gas, and it hesitates a bit, and then goes about its way.

[gabegt90]

mine likes to slip when in overdrive then I have to let it drop to 30 to down shift into second before I put my foot on the throttle

[Mercmarquis]

Throw a bottle of trans x in to loosen up the valves in the tranny. I always warm my car up before I drive so I dont have that problem.

[Blaze86Vic]

Make sure the fluid level is good.

A fluid flush will also help. Maybe take it to a lube shop and have them flush it. Be sure to watch them though, too many horror stories from those places, but they are generally the only place to have real transmission flushing machines. Maybe a local tranny shop has one.

Or you could just change the fluid and filter. When is the last time you did that?

[89LincolnTWNcar]

had the fluid and filter changed at 58,000 miles when I got it back in february of 05'

[Blaze86Vic]

Go ahead and do that again. You can do it yourself it you want. Nothing special about it. Remove/Drain the pan, there is no drain plug so it's gonna be messy. Remove the filter and replace it. Drain the converter if it has a drain plug. Remove converter dust cover (if there is one, only 3 bolts on front of transmission). Just turn the engine over until you see it from the front of the transmission. Remove the drain plug and let it go. Seal it all back up, add 4 quarts, start the engine and put it in park. While it's running add 3-4 more quarts (if you drained the converter add 6 quarts) and then sit in the car and cycle between all the shifter position to get the fluid throughout the tranny. Check the level of the fluid while it is still running, add as necessary. Once it reads full go take it for a drive and get into all the gears (including reverse). When you get back home, keep it running and while in park check the fluid one last time and top it off. Done.

An empty AOD takes about 12 quarts. The converter holds a good bit of that so if you don't have a drain for that don't over fill it. If you drain everything it should take about 10-12 quarts to fill it back up.

[MarquisMalarky]

I just flushed the trans in my Marq, and I get a little slip in the cold. I'm not sure what to do. I may have overfilled the trans by a little tiny bit but not too much.

[85MercPark]

I just flushed the trans in my Marq, and I get a little slip in the cold. I'm not sure what to do. I may have overfilled the trans by a little tiny bit but not too much.

Not to be your mom or anything, but this could explain some of your problem..

[MarquisMalarky]

Thanks, mom!

Yeah, it could be. I don't do it a lot, and the trans was rebuilt 2 years ago.

[MrMarquis]

My trans is about 1.5 years old, fluid is topped off; and it slips...So, maybe some cars just suffer from it??? Maybe, possibly? Mine's only done this in cold weather.

[87mefull]

Check your TV pressure also, it will slip if the TV cable is not set properly or is low. Mine would slip alot in cold weather when upshifting into 3rd and then at one point it wouldn't upshift into 3rd, only 2nd gear. Some transmissions shops do not set the TV pressure after a rebuild, only simply reconnect the cable. You might like a higher TV setting like I do, shifts are firmer and the downshifts are faster also.

[gadget73]

When its really cold, the fluid gets thicker, especially if its old fluid with miles on it. Thicker fluid is harder to pump so the trans acts funny till it warms up a bit.

[OVERKILL]

When its really cold, the fluid gets thicker, especially if its old fluid with miles on it. Thicker fluid is harder to pump so the trans acts funny till it warms up a bit.

Adding something like Lucas would only aggrevate that symptom, as the stuff is like pumping molasses, I would never run it in anything I cared about. A buddy of mine put it in his Saturn tranny and it wouldn't go into reverse until the tranny got good and hot. Drained it, out put in normal ATF and it was fine. Its just TOO thick. It would kill a late-model Chrysler tranny VERY quickly, as even running Dexron III in them kills them; Its too thick! So I couldn't even imagine how bad Lucas would be.

If your climate is particularly cold (like it is up here in Canada) I would consider switcing to synthetic ATF. It pumps way better when cold and may completely "cure" the issue you are experiencing.