shifting hard? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

ndhole · 05-02-2008, 04:11 AM

I bought a 1998 Camry LE 4 cyl with a blown motor and had the engine pulled and replaced, it had 186,000 miles on the old one. It feels like it shifts a lot harder than it should. I had the transmission filter replaced when the engine was put in so it and the fluid are fresh and the old fluid was clean when it was drained. I drained out some fluid two weeks ago and put in a bottle of Lucas which smoothed it out some. I'm used to an automatic shifting very smooth and this feels more like a hard bump when it shifts. Do they normally shift a little hard or should I think about dropping another bottle of Lucas in it?

Chris Crash · 05-02-2008, 07:12 AM

At 186,000 miles, you probably need a new transmission if it's causing that much trouble and if the engine was so screwed up, the tranny probably is too.

Your best bet would be to install it yourself instead of shelling out upwards of a grand for someone else to do it.

Maim Menu · 05-02-2008, 07:24 AM

Both Camrys I've owned had jerky shifting from time to time.

It can be motor or tranny mounts, or shifting cable too tight. I've also read at a couple places that those trannies have a tendency to be jerky when they are overfilled.

bronzemaxell · 05-02-2008, 07:38 AM

my 97 camry 4cyl jerk and shift hard on every gear when the atf level was around hot mark, and i poured another 1/2 to 3/4 qt in, and now it shift very smooth, don't even feel the gear changed until watched the RPM, but the dipstick is about 1" above the hot mark.

ndhole · 05-02-2008, 11:34 AM

The old engine sounded like it had thrown a rod, I figured the oil pump had went out and she drove it until it dropped since what oil there was in it was like sludge. Anyway the transmission purrs right along when your going down the road. Not a bit of whining, grinding or any slipping I'd expect if it was going out it just does it when it shifts. I'm right at to slightly above the hot mark when I check the fluid level. If your gently speeding up it will shift smoother than if your rapidly speeding up when it shifts the hardest. I'll have to take a look at the shifter cable and see if could be the culprit. I got on it the other day to see how quick it would accellerate and had to back off of it when the rpms were maxxing out in order for it to shift out. Is there any place specifically to check on the shifter cable in order to tell if it was the problem?

Maim Menu · 05-02-2008, 02:16 PM

I'd have to venture into my Haynes Camry Manual but if you had to back out of WOT so the car shifts, it does look like the cable might not have been adjusted after the new tranny.

Gun5 · 05-02-2008, 02:22 PM

same thing here.. car sat for awhile tranny was like motor oil... 165k on it

have changed filter/fluid once, then another time got the fluid redish now going to change it again today and on the next time add some lucas tranny additive

the shifts get harsher with RPMS.... tranny doesnt hesitate though no slipping at all i can go L > 2 all day its instant same with turning OD on/off its instant shifting its just a jumping feeling.. I was reading in Alldata and they said some check valves in the transmission get old and go through the valvebody causing harsh shifting but right now im leaning towards sticking valves... anyone had the same experience?

Maim Menu · 05-02-2008, 06:12 PM

I'm sorry I didn't specify I was at work this afternoon.

I checked in the haynes manual and they refer to the shift cable as the gear stick basically so that's not really what I was looking for. They talk about the throttle cable, but don't elaborate on how it will affect your tranny.

That's it however : This thread explains how to obtain quicker shifts, but it's also a way to adjust your tranny shifting, and it might be out of spec since the engine swap. Lot's of details on what it will do.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...045#post485045

Gun5 · 05-04-2008, 02:37 PM

find out anything... also I was wondering I noticed there was 2 drain plugs on the transmission I imagine one is diff.. what does it take? DEX III aswell and how much? alldata doesnt show anything on it

Maim Menu · 05-04-2008, 02:53 PM

Yes, depending on your year and model, you have a drain plug for the differential.

It uses Dextron III, same as your tranny and power steering system.

Gun5 · 05-04-2008, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maim Menu

Yes, depending on your year and model, you have a drain plug for the differential.

It uses Dextron III, same as your tranny and power steering system.

figure i'd try changing it out too, not going to affect the tranny issue but still better to have good fluid.. I picked up a bottle of the lucas transmission additive to see if it will free up the stuck valves and such (if thats the prob?).. figure I'd try it before I looked at those check balls on the valve body which is probably the next step