Camry Transmission troubles

My 1998 Camry automatic transmission seems to be shifting hard on both
acceleration and deceleration. Actually one of the reasons I prefer a Toyota
to a Honda was because the transmission shifts were so smooth one hardly
knew they were happening. Is this a problem and/or a simple fix?

RD

PS What's happened to this group and alt.autos.toyota? Nobody really using them? Has everyone gone to a different group?

"RD" <dosvader2061@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ecn0mi$p3e$1@tribune.usask.ca...
My 1998 Camry automatic transmission seems to be shifting hard on both
acceleration and deceleration. Actually one of the reasons I prefer a Toyota
to a Honda was because the transmission shifts were so smooth one hardly
knew they were happening. Is this a problem and/or a simple fix?

RD

PS What's happened to this group and alt.autos.toyota? Nobody really using
them? Has everyone gone to a different group?

**********************

Check the condition of the automatic transmission fluid (ATF). It should be
red and translucent, not brown or black or have a burnt smell. If the ATF
has not been changed in the past 30,000 to 45,000 miles, I recommend getting
it changed.

Another thing that causes harsh shifting is a worn or leaky accumulator.
The accumulator acts as a shock absorber/pressure relief to reduce shift
shock. Fortunately, replacing the accumulator should not be a mega job.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

"Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote in message
news:c5a$44ef2e19$44a4a10d$21232@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=blue]
>
> "RD" <dosvader2061@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:ecn0mi$p3e$1@tribune.usask.ca...
> My 1998 Camry automatic transmission seems to be shifting hard on both
> acceleration and deceleration. Actually one of the reasons I prefer a
> Toyota
> to a Honda was because the transmission shifts were so smooth one hardly
> knew they were happening. Is this a problem and/or a simple fix?
>
> RD
>
> PS What's happened to this group and alt.autos.toyota? Nobody really using
> them? Has everyone gone to a different group?
>
> **********************
>
> Check the condition of the automatic transmission fluid (ATF). It should
> be red and translucent, not brown or black or have a burnt smell. If the
> ATF has not been changed in the past 30,000 to 45,000 miles, I recommend
> getting it changed.
>
> Another thing that causes harsh shifting is a worn or leaky accumulator.
> The accumulator acts as a shock absorber/pressure relief to reduce shift
> shock. Fortunately, replacing the accumulator should not be a mega job.
> --
>
> Ray O[/color]

Ray, I know nothing about transmissions (automatic or manual) but recall
that I once had a problem with an '86 Mercury Cougar which kept burning up
ATF thru the engine. I finally got it looked at and found that the
"modulator" was leaking, pulling out fluid and sending it to the engine
where it was burned like motor oil. Fortunately the part was cheap and on
the exterior of the transmission, and replacing it cured the problem.

Is the 'accumulator' similarly placed outside the body of the transmission?

"mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
news:12euh87negn5l8a@corp.supernews.com...[color=blue]
>
> "Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote in message
> news:c5a$44ef2e19$44a4a10d$21232@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=green]
>>
>> "RD" <dosvader2061@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:ecn0mi$p3e$1@tribune.usask.ca...
>> My 1998 Camry automatic transmission seems to be shifting hard on both
>> acceleration and deceleration. Actually one of the reasons I prefer a
>> Toyota
>> to a Honda was because the transmission shifts were so smooth one hardly
>> knew they were happening. Is this a problem and/or a simple fix?
>>
>> RD
>>
>> PS What's happened to this group and alt.autos.toyota? Nobody really
>> using them? Has everyone gone to a different group?
>>
>> **********************
>>
>> Check the condition of the automatic transmission fluid (ATF). It should
>> be red and translucent, not brown or black or have a burnt smell. If the
>> ATF has not been changed in the past 30,000 to 45,000 miles, I recommend
>> getting it changed.
>>
>> Another thing that causes harsh shifting is a worn or leaky accumulator.
>> The accumulator acts as a shock absorber/pressure relief to reduce shift
>> shock. Fortunately, replacing the accumulator should not be a mega job.
>> --
>>
>> Ray O[/color]
>
> Ray, I know nothing about transmissions (automatic or manual) but recall
> that I once had a problem with an '86 Mercury Cougar which kept burning up
> ATF thru the engine. I finally got it looked at and found that the
> "modulator" was leaking, pulling out fluid and sending it to the engine
> where it was burned like motor oil. Fortunately the part was cheap and on
> the exterior of the transmission, and replacing it cured the problem.
>[/color]

The purpose of the old vacuum modulator, or modulator, was to tell the
transmission when to shift. Modern automatic transmissions are controlled
by a computer and use signals from an engine speed sensor and a road speed
sensor to determine when to shift.
[color=blue]
> Is the 'accumulator' similarly placed outside the body of the
> transmission?[/color]

The accumulator is usually inside the valve body of the transmission, which
is covered by the transmission oil pan. Access to the accumulators is
usually gained by removing the transmission oil pan. It is not as simple as
replacing a vacuum modulator but it should not require removal of the
transmission from the vehicle or disassembly of the transmission.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

[color=blue]
>
> The purpose of the old vacuum modulator, or modulator, was to tell the
> transmission when to shift. Modern automatic transmissions are
> controlled by a computer and use signals from an engine speed sensor and a
> road speed sensor to determine when to shift.
>[color=green]
>> Is the 'accumulator' similarly placed outside the body of the
>> transmission?[/color]
>
> The accumulator is usually inside the valve body of the transmission,
> which is covered by the transmission oil pan. Access to the accumulators
> is usually gained by removing the transmission oil pan. It is not as
> simple as replacing a vacuum modulator but it should not require removal
> of the transmission from the vehicle or disassembly of the transmission.
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you Ray! You're a never ending font of knowledge....hope you don't
get too tired of answering dumb questions from 'civilians'.

"mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
news:12euuc2r3h7n926@corp.supernews.com...[color=blue]
>[color=green]
>>
>> The purpose of the old vacuum modulator, or modulator, was to tell the
>> transmission when to shift. Modern automatic transmissions are
>> controlled by a computer and use signals from an engine speed sensor and
>> a road speed sensor to determine when to shift.
>>[color=darkred]
>>> Is the 'accumulator' similarly placed outside the body of the
>>> transmission?[/color]
>>
>> The accumulator is usually inside the valve body of the transmission,
>> which is covered by the transmission oil pan. Access to the accumulators
>> is usually gained by removing the transmission oil pan. It is not as
>> simple as replacing a vacuum modulator but it should not require removal
>> of the transmission from the vehicle or disassembly of the transmission.
>> --
>>
>> Ray O
>> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Thank you Ray! You're a never ending font of knowledge....hope you don't
> get too tired of answering dumb questions from 'civilians'.[/color]

You're welcome! BTW, I don't consider a question about how something works
"dumb."

I forgot to mention that some shift shock is not necessarily bad for the
transmission and can actually prolong the life of the friction surfaces in
the transmission. The analogy with a manual transmission would be slipping
the clutch a lot to get a smooth start while wearing out the clutch.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)