Auto Tranny Problems

A buddy's 96 Buick with 3.8 and auto tranny acted up this weekend and asked
if i knew what may be wrong. I don't of course so posting the qestions.

He was driving at about 60mph with cruise on and noticed the tach moving up
to 4000 rpm and car was slowing down. Tapped brake and drove without cruise
for awhile and the rpm drifted up to 4K again while mph was dropping again.
He got on open highway and drove 80mph without a problem. When he got home,
the fluid level was high (like 3 inches over full mark) but he checked it
before and it was at the full mark. The fluid condition looked fine (red,
not burnt and not milky). Another possible symptom is it is slow to shift
into reverse once you move the selector. Not sure if this is related
though.

Wondering if it maybe got hot for some reason (could TCC not locking cause
it to get that hot), fluid expanded and stirred to a foam and clutches not
liking all the air? He will most likely take it to a shop even though it is
working ok right now.

Thanks for any comments.
Bobby

Should be scanned on trans capable scanner to confirm solenoid operation and
slippage errors.
"bob" > wrote in message
...
>A buddy's 96 Buick with 3.8 and auto tranny acted up this weekend and asked
>if i knew what may be wrong. I don't of course so posting the qestions.
>
> He was driving at about 60mph with cruise on and noticed the tach moving
> up to 4000 rpm and car was slowing down. Tapped brake and drove without
> cruise for awhile and the rpm drifted up to 4K again while mph was
> dropping again. He got on open highway and drove 80mph without a problem.
> When he got home, the fluid level was high (like 3 inches over full mark)
> but he checked it before and it was at the full mark. The fluid condition
> looked fine (red, not burnt and not milky). Another possible symptom is
> it is slow to shift into reverse once you move the selector. Not sure if
> this is related though.
>
> Wondering if it maybe got hot for some reason (could TCC not locking cause
> it to get that hot), fluid expanded and stirred to a foam and clutches not
> liking all the air? He will most likely take it to a shop even though it
> is working ok right now.
>
> Thanks for any comments.
> Bobby
>



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

bob wrote:
> A buddy's 96 Buick with 3.8 and auto tranny acted up this weekend and asked
> if i knew what may be wrong. I don't of course so posting the qestions.
>
> He was driving at about 60mph with cruise on and noticed the tach moving up
> to 4000 rpm and car was slowing down. Tapped brake and drove without cruise
> for awhile and the rpm drifted up to 4K again while mph was dropping again.
> He got on open highway and drove 80mph without a problem. When he got home,
> the fluid level was high (like 3 inches over full mark) but he checked it
> before and it was at the full mark. The fluid condition looked fine (red,
> not burnt and not milky). Another possible symptom is it is slow to shift
> into reverse once you move the selector. Not sure if this is related
> though.
>
> Wondering if it maybe got hot for some reason (could TCC not locking cause
> it to get that hot), fluid expanded and stirred to a foam and clutches not
> liking all the air? He will most likely take it to a shop even though it is
> working ok right now.
>
> Thanks for any comments.
> Bobby

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I dont know how much help i can be on the subject but i will try to
give it a stab.

It seems as if the car/or tranny is slipping into neutral, or at least
something of that sort. I dont have much experience with transmissions,
but from how you refered to the fluid and the levels of the fluid
itself...it seems like your on the right track. To me it would seem
that if you had fluid in there that was "stirring" into something like
foam, then i dont think tranny fluid would be the main cause of this
problem. It would seems that something it causing the fluid to get that
hot, if indeed thats what is causing the issue in the first place. I
have never heard of this case, so im interested to know what happens...

"bob" > wrote in message
...
>A buddy's 96 Buick with 3.8 and auto tranny acted up this weekend and asked
>if i knew what may be wrong. I don't of course so posting the qestions.
>
> He was driving at about 60mph with cruise on and noticed the tach moving
> up to 4000 rpm and car was slowing down. Tapped brake and drove without
> cruise for awhile and the rpm drifted up to 4K again while mph was
> dropping again. He got on open highway and drove 80mph without a problem.
> When he got home, the fluid level was high (like 3 inches over full mark)
> but he checked it before and it was at the full mark. The fluid condition
> looked fine (red, not burnt and not milky). Another possible symptom is
> it is slow to shift into reverse once you move the selector. Not sure if
> this is related though.
>
> Wondering if it maybe got hot for some reason (could TCC not locking cause
> it to get that hot), fluid expanded and stirred to a foam and clutches not
> liking all the air? He will most likely take it to a shop even though it
> is working ok right now.
>
> Thanks for any comments.
> Bobby
>
Bobby, like 'the kid' said, you may be describing a distinct
possibility. With the torque convertor not locking as it should, the tranny
may indeed be overheating and causing exactly as you described. You can
tell if the tc is going into lockup by running along a level road at a
constant speed, try 55, & no acceleration (or deceleration) , use left foot,
& lightly depress brake pedal. If in lockup, you will feel it jump out,
almost like downshifting to a slightly lower gear; and you will notice the
rpm's increase approx. 2-300 rpm w/out the speedo changing at all. But, ALL
this tells you is that it was working at the conditions present when you did
the experiment--later on, or at other speeds & parameters, it might not
engage properly (or disengage improperly) w/out your realizing it & still
cause the problem. Like another poster said, nothing beats a diagnostic
scan to tell you 'what has been happening'. HTH, s