Car Talk!

[nickslick74]

Apparently the penquins have finally stolen all of Biz's sanity.

[RobRich]

Seems so.

[SoloCamo]

UPDATE:

Well the majority of the leaking has definitely stopped and AFAIK I no longer have any dripping down onto the that radiator hose. It appears it seems I may have a leak somewhere near the cap of the reservoir, or possibly a damaged cap, but in the meantime I will drive it for a few days and check it's level.

Also crawling under the Jeep I've noticed quite a few soaked lines near the transmission, but I can't tell if those are just built up grudge or something to be cautious about.

Going to check my transmission fluid again today to determine. Last time I checked while it was hot on a smooth, even surface while in park it seemed like it was overfilled. However, I can never seem to get a decent reading off of that dipstick

The shifting seems fine, but it does this odd "fake shift" at around 20mphs.

Under normal acceleration first will take you to about 15mph, then at about 20-22mph it will act like it shifts again, then at about 35mph it will go into 3rd, then at 45mph it will go into OD.

The "fake shift" will also correspond with your throttle input, too. So the harder you are on the pedal, the longer it waits to "shift". It's extremely odd and very consistent but has me worrying.

It will do it whether in OD or set to 3rd gear as top gear.

It doesn't feel like a slip, nor does it sound like one either. It feels just like a shift. But unless I've made a pathetically bad math mistake I fail to see a shift is possible when it's a 4 speed auto.

1st 0-15ish mph

"fake shift" at 20mph

2nd 15ish to 35mph

3rd 35mph to 45mph

4th/OD 45-top speed

[RobRich]

Torque converter lockup issue, perhaps?

[RedFury]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobRich

Torque converter lockup issue, perhaps?

I'd be willing to bet it's a shift solonoid. My truck does that on occasion. I could replicate it if I had driven for a couple of miles from cold, took a left hand turn onto the onramp and floored it. I would get a "missed" shift almost every time.

I've since not had the problem after getting the O2 sensors replaced, but I doubt the two are related. It may have just been I moved an electrical line on the tranny and got a better contact electrically...who knows.

One way to check converter lock up is to drive to highway speed and lightly tap the brake pedal. It will tell the computer to take the transmission out of lock up and raise your RPM's a little as the tranny comes out of lock up and starts to slip slightly.

[SoloCamo]

Tranny fluid again is hard to read (looks ok though), but it shifts fine otherwise so I'm going to leave it as an electrical gremlin that I'll deal with.

Anyways, I finally used SeaFoam for the first time and all I can say is wow! For 9 bucks the stuff works miracles. I didn't use it in my oil for obvious reasons, but I slowly poured about 1/3rd can into my Throttle body as it was running then shut it off for about 5 minutes. Turned it on and a very tiny white smoke show followed.

Took it for a drive and the throttle response was spectacular. Now I'm sure some of it is in my head, but I know for a fact that the idle is much smoother and it cleaned up throttle hesitation under quick pedal punches. It also seems to accelerate smoother and the idle dropped a little bit (which is a good thing in my case, always had a slightly high idle).

The throttle response is what amazes me most though, it's like new. Think I'm going to wait another month or so and pour another 1/3rd down the throttle body then dump the rest in the gas tank.

I'm glad I took the plunge and just went for it though, Seafoam has definitely lived up to it's hype in my book

I've been using marvel mystery oil down the tank otherwise and it seemed to help a bit on cold starts.

[RobRich]

An Acura NSX zoomed by me in Daytona yesterday like I was sitting.... wait a sec, I was essentially sitting at a red light. Well, I suspect it was a NSX from the general shape as it screamed past me. Not like I was going to run it down.

Anyway, yeah, what is the big deal about a NSX? Nothing really these days, or even back in the day for that matter, but the one in question had a rather impressive exhaust note.

[SoloCamo]

I never understood the whole NSX thing myself. Torqueless motor and somewhat odd styling IMO. It lacked way too much performance for the price you paid. It handled well of course for it's day, but it's far from being a top-class supercar as it's price tag often seemed to imply.

_____

The Seafoam definitely did wonders to my idle and throttle response as it's been quite a while and I haven't had any of my rough idle or stumbling throttle. Smooth acceleration still as well.

Took it out in the rain to get the tires breaking loose (without straining the motor as much, or roasting the tires) and one thing I noticed was pretty severe understeer. With no weight out back, all the weight up front and no rear sway bar (but one up front) it kind of plows through the corners under heavier acceleration. Now If I go near full throttle I can powerslide it through (with quite a bit of hand magic to control the rear) but I have having to use that much throttle.

Afterall, I am making 235ftlbs of torque at 2400rpm, I shouldn't need to push it that far. Then again, my 235/70/15's Kelly Chargers are actually better in the rain that I previously remember. Maybe I'm just a better driver? Either way, I'm looking into picking up rear sway bar to neutralize the steering a bit. However, I'm afraid it may be a little tail happy with a thick rear sway

I'd love to find a Dana 44 rear w/ 3.73's or 4.10's and a LSD to throw out back as well.

[RobRich]

I get the NSX, but at a different price point with perhaps a different spec list.

It should have been designed, priced, and marketed as a sports car - not an exotic - even if that meant opting for a steel chassis, steel suspension, and something like a H22 instead of the V6. The look and high revs likely would have sold the car regardless of actual handling and performance.

[Gomer]

RE: your transmission problem.

I've got a 92 Lumina w/ 155K on it. Have/had transmission problems as well. When downshifting as I was coming to a stop, it would shift into and stay in neutral for a few seconds or until I manually pulled the shift lever down into 1st.

At 145K I was very leery of changing the fluid and filter. Unless you can find someone that will very thouroghly flush it, change the filter and flush it again etc. you run the risk of killing it completely. The new fluid I guess tends to have fresh detergents in it that really busts crud loose from inside the tranny and mucks things up. I've seen several old trannys go after fluid changes.

That said, I'm also not one to believe in snake oil fixes, but I had nothing to lose... So I sucked out a pint of really nasty looking fluid from the tranny and replaced it with 1 pint of Lucas Transmission Fix.
Amazon.com: Lucas Transmission Fix with ATF Conditioner 24 oz.: Automotive

Problem solved!