2000 5SFE transmission acting strange

[IrishFBall32]

Not sure if this is 'hesitating' or 'slipping' or neither...

Recently my transmission has been acting weird in very limited situations (an unfortunately in a hard-to-predict manner). What happens is that when I accelerate I get very little power and a 'stumble' for a second or so before it actually grabs and proceeds to run completely normally. I've noticed this behavior when stopped in a left turn lane and accelerating hard to 'shoot the gap', as well as when accelerating from a near stop when the person in front of me slows down to turn. Sometimes the problem happens once in a given trip and then not again, sometimes its more than once... sometimes its days/weeks between incidents...

Car is approaching 150k miles, Just changed out my ATF fluid the other day and the problem occurred again the next day - I dropped the pan and replaced the strainer, but did not do a full flush. Old fluid was somewhat brownish, but still primarily red. While the fluid was draining I saw what was either really tiny bubbles or small metal particles that caused the fluid to appear slightly 'sparkly' (this concerns me greatly)... Magnets were fairly clean though...

After I drive her home tonight I'm going to run the gears and check the fluid level again - I was misinformed and had been checking it warm but with engine off instead of idling. Any other suggestions? I suspect the problem is not as simple as fluid levels...

[1998cam]

Check your spark plugs, i had a very very similar thing occur to me and it turned out the wrong spark plugs were put in. The car had been running on the spark plugs for over 15k miles and just started acting up. My engine was actually sputtering instead of my tranny slipping but it was much the same symptom. You could simply just need new plugs or wires. If i think of any thing else i tried i will post back here. If you have any questions just ask

[JohnGD]

Sounds like your transmission may be slipping. Also, did you change out the fluid in the differential reservoir? I think the 2000 still has a separate reservoir for the differential.

So check the fluid level and the throttle linkage. If you have a ATF pressure gauge or a friend who does, might want to check main line pressure. Just want to make sure slipping is not from low ATF or low line pressure.

I'd be tempted to try a High Mileage ATF. You can find these at local Walmarts at reasonable prices. These should help a slipping transmission a bit.

[JohnGD]

So when were the spark plugs changed out last? I'd suggest NGK Iridium-IX or Laser Iridium.

www.ngksparkplugs.com

Originally Posted by IrishFBall32

Car is approaching 150k miles, Just changed out my ATF fluid the other day and the problem occurred again the next day - I dropped the pan and replaced the strainer, but did not do a full flush. Old fluid was somewhat brownish, but still primarily red. While the fluid was draining I saw what was either really tiny bubbles or small metal particles that caused the fluid to appear slightly 'sparkly' (this concerns me greatly)... Magnets were fairly clean though...

[Dave's]

Could be a solenoid sticking. With the new fluid it may clear but they can be checked/cleaned.

[IrishFBall32]

Fluid I used in the change was valvoline maxlife dex/merc >75k formula... I believe I got the differential also because the fill was done thru the differential dipstick tube. ATF levels are still sitting right in the middle of range while hot.

I think I'm going to persue the plugs/wires next... Would that be consistent with this behavior even when everything runs fine even at high RPM most of the time? I also had one of the ignition coils replaced recently due to a crack that was causing misfires during high humidity/splashing... Could it be that the other one needs to be replaced too?

[JohnGD]

I didn't realize A140E has a differential dipstick tube! Oh well, learn something new everyday. This slipping probably isn't going to be affected by the differential, but it's a good idea to change the fluid there too in general.

The other poster mentioned spark plugs so I suggested NGK Iridium. But sounds more like transmission slipping. Valvoline HM is a good fluid, but if it's line pressure or valve body sticking then it might not do it.

Originally Posted by IrishFBall32

Fluid I used in the change was valvoline maxlife dex/merc >75k formula... I believe I got the differential also because the fill was done thru the differential dipstick tube. ATF levels are still sitting right in the middle of range while hot.

I think I'm going to persue the plugs/wires next... Would that be consistent with this behavior even when everything runs fine even at high RPM most of the time? I also had one of the ignition coils replaced recently due to a crack that was causing misfires during high humidity/splashing... Could it be that the other one needs to be replaced too?

[IrishFBall32]

Yeah, at least I'm pretty sure that stick is labeled differential... I followed the procedure here from the DIY sticky...

Come to think of it... I seem to remember my grandfather (previous owner) mentioning something about having the throttle body seafoamed periodically... although everything I can find on throttle bodies/linkages is referring to airflow... is there some other term I should be looking for that deals with the tranny, or is the airflow suspect for power loss unrelated to the transmission?