I have a problem. My transmision is not shifting. Here is what happened. I was driving back from Iowa(270 miles of nothingness) and when I stopped for a stop sign the van would barely get into first gear. I had to go really really light on the gas and it finally got into gear, made a lot of noise and some shuddering too. Not good, I managed to not come to a complete stop for the rest of the trip and made it home. Parked it in the driveway, that slopes down if it matters, let it sit for a while and it drove into the garage fine. Next day I take it out and I get down the driveway and a block away and then I realize I have no gears at all. Nothing! I can shift the lever but nothing happens. Got the car back into the garage, dropped the tranny pan, fliud was pretty brown but no metal flakes at all, infact the fluid was totally clean. Changed the filter and put new fluid in but it didnt seem to help, still cant get it to engage. What could the problem be? I assume it can't be that bad or else I would have found some debris from something breaking in the pan. Any idea's?

 

Ok, I give up. I have not been able to figure out what is wrong and nobody else seems to know, I think it may be time to get a new car and take this one to the junk yard. Unless anyone has some ideas?

 

Try the vacuum modulator.
there might be a problem there.
did you look at the the transmission fluid level to see
weather it was low or not? Our A-Star has the same problem
right now, but since my dad now knows that it's the vacuum
modulator, he isn't too worried about the situation.
(i dunno if he should be worried?).

Our problem only occurs when the van is cold. once it's warm
it goes away. (according to him). We think the modulator is
letting the fluid enter the engine where it's being burned.
so he just keeps topping it up.

you can search for "aerostar vacuum modulator" under www.deja.com.

[link:www.groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&threadm=8radpc%24r33%241%40nnrp1.deja .com&rnum=6&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26scoring%3Dd%26q%3Daerostar%2Bva cuum%2Bmodulator|deja_search]

hope it helps.

 

torque converter gone will need a new or reman conv. flush lines have valve body cleaned or replaced reseal overhaul as nec.

Proford

 

Same problem here. But mine went from fully driving (sort of, read below) and then just revved up and never moved under its own power again. I changed the filter and the oil, but the pan had a sludge on the bottom with some sparkly glitter flakes in it, not good? I put in the filter, flushed the tranny and cleaned out the pan till it was spotless and still no moving at all. But here is the kicker, when I start it and then shut it off (without the access panel in place) I can hear what seems to be the torque converter wind down. Comes from like idle to a stop in about 3 seconds. I suspected the torque converter from the start as park and drive and such still keep the van from rolling but the engine just spins and will not drive her. Is this a torque converter problem? How can I be sure without pulling the tranny, changing the converter and putting it back together? I am looking to only pull the tranny once, so I want to be sure thats the problem, any suggestions?

By running good it would run fine when warmed up, crisp shifts, great kickdown, all gears worked, but when it was cold, it would only shift into first and not up until like 4000 revs. Weird, or has anyone else seen this?

 

mine did the same thing veh shuttered a little then lost the gears R&R trans put in reman converter cleaned out the valve body installed shift kit and overhaul kit as long as i was there runs great now

 

Center splines were trashed on the torque converter. Flushed it all and working on the lines.

 

Update: I found the vacuum modulator and pulled the hose off, no fluid in it. I also checked and it is getting vacuum. Here is a rehash of the symptoms, I forgot one before: The transmission will not engage into any gears. Originally when it stopped working i checked the fluid level and it was past the full line, although I had not added any fluid to it ever, not sure where the extra fluid came from, any ideas? When I move the shifter nothing happens at all, the linkage is moving with the lever so I figure that is not the problem. There is no clunk like their used to be when dropping into gear. Any idea what the problem is or what the logical next step to try is? Is there a sensor or a check valve that keeps the fluid in the torque converter? That is the only place I an think of that the extra fluid could come from.

 

>....
>Originally when it stopped working i checked the fluid level
>and it was past the full line, although I had not added any
>fluid to it ever, not sure where the extra fluid came from,
>any ideas? .................................................. ..... I don't think you have got any extra fluid. I suspect the fluid is not being pumped around the AT. In a properly functioning AT, the fluid level, as shown on the dipstick, is MUCH higher than normal if checked when the engine is off, because there is a certain amount of draindown. As soon as the engine starts, fluid is picked up by the AT pump and the level falls to normal. Is the AT fluid level the same whether or not the engine is running? Jan Richter.

 

Where is the transmission fluid pump and how do I check to see if it works? I have not been able to get a hold of a manual for the Transmission. The Haynes manual is worthless in this respect.

 

Sounds like either a torque converter or forward planetary problem. Either way, trans is contaminated and would need to be disassembled and cleaned for a proper repair

 

I checked the level of the Transmission fluid and it does not change at all when the car is on or off. What could cause the pump to not work, besides the pumb being shot? Is there a fuse for it or any switch that turns it on or off that could go bad? I looked at the manual for the tranny and it looks fairly hard to change the pump, plus I need a special tool to align it.

 

The pump is not electrically operated and is not switched on/off by anything. If the engine is turning the AT pump should be turning. You could do a further check of the pump by disconnecting the fluid line at the radiator and running the engine briefly. There are also some trouble codes that are set by the AT. Jan Richter

 

I pulled one of the lines going to the transmission radiator,there was a slow drip, but it did not change when I turned the car on. No squirting or any flow at all. Looks like the pump is bad. What causes this? I am not exactly sure how the pump works if it is not electrical, could it just be disconnected somehow internally? Looks like I am gonna have to pull the tranny to fix this. Is there any reference manuals for doing this anywhere?

Thanks for all you help,
Chris

 

Been there. Done that. Goto http://www.atsgmiami.com/ for the manuals that the pros use. Or JC whitney has some of them listed too.
There are 'flats' on the hub of the converter that locate against flats on the drive gear of the pump. Maybe the flats aren't flat any more, but either way, the pump seems to be not pumping. Could have a failed converter also. Or, unlikely, a plugged pickup.
You can use the converter hub to realign the pump assembly after you have the pump out of the trans. Put the hub into the backside of the pump to align the body, then tighten the bolts.
The fluid was just a lot warmer than you are used to getting it after a long drive on the freeway, so it is higher on the dipstick. FoMoCo sez to drive like 20 miles to get the fluid hot before checking the level.
I got a rebuild set from JCWhitney for the one I did. DONT. It was too generic, and short a clutch/steel in the clutch packs. Locally, get a kit thru a non-chain rebuilder. (Most AA__O shops will not be helpful, hate to say, as my dad's shop was an exception to that rule)
The shop guys will be able to make a few bucks w/o labor on the kit, you can get them to help change the clutch piston seals, and they can look at the parts, and tell you what you need to replace. If you are going to work on it.
tom