Olds tranny problem- help!
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,988
Likes: 14
From: Travelers Rest SC
Olds tranny problem- help!
My wife has a '99 Olds 88, and the check engine light has been coming on from time to time. The shop got a P-1810 code- trans. pressure switch assembly. They said it could be dirt, or could need a tranny. The car has less than 20K miles on it, most by a little old lady, so I hope it doesn't need a tranny! Any input on this? How bad is it to replace tranny? Thanks, guys!
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,988
Likes: 14
From: Travelers Rest SC
We haven't noticed any particular conditions- it might be on all day one day, than not the next. When it's on, the car seems to hesitate on acceleration. We just took a long trip of highway driving- probably the first such trip the car has ever had. I wonder if we just stirred up some sediment? It didn't do this until after the trip.
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,388
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From: Saratoga, NY
looked up the switch about $75 for the part 4 hrs of labor, its behind the side cover, if it's just the part. I would go to a reputable dealer or tranny shop for this problem. My opinion is changing fluid won't fix it, I have yet to see that fix any tranny problem. I heard Lucas transmission fix was good stuff though, might be worth a try, and the cheapest way to go first.
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Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
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From: The Big, Oregon
If it's a low pressure problem, chances are the filter is clogged, the fluid is probably really nasty from sitting for so long, and so a filter change and flush just might fix it.
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Thread Starter
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,988
Likes: 14
From: Travelers Rest SC
The shop checked it out- mostly lots of sludge. The switch is good. They changed the fluid and filter, and said that it may throw an error code in a month or so as the rest of the crud works its way through. If it does, they'll do it again, no charge. He said the tranny works perfectly. Nice to find an honest mechanic once in a while! The old place we used to go to always scalped us, and a lot of their repairs didn't fix the problem.
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Saratoga, NY
Has anybody out there ever found sludge in a transmission? How do you know there was sludge in there, did you see it? maybe they found something simple and wanted to make a few more bucks and sold the filter and fluid, hell I would have, you wouldn't have known the difference.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
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From: The Big, Oregon
I have seen lots of interesting things in transmissions. I have rebuilt several, both GM and Ford, one of the GM trannys, a 700R4, had about a half an inch of sludge in the bottom, and a plugged filter.
Sludge is formed when the tranny doesn't always get up to operating temperatures, the car is run at low speeds, etc- In other words, the car grandma used to drive two blocks to church once a week is probably going to have maintenance-related issues sooner than a car that goes 45-50 miles on the highway daily.
Sludge is formed when the tranny doesn't always get up to operating temperatures, the car is run at low speeds, etc- In other words, the car grandma used to drive two blocks to church once a week is probably going to have maintenance-related issues sooner than a car that goes 45-50 miles on the highway daily.