That's pretty much how my luck goes. During the last couple of days the Park Ave has been acting up. When cruising about 90kmh and slightly accellerating on a grade the tach starts to bounce and the car shutters. If I press harder on the throttle (to get it out of lock up) it stops. I did some web searching and it seems the 4T65E is knowns to have this problem and the "best case scenario" is replacing the valve body. You don't want to know the other scenario.. Earl suggested flushing the trans and putting in synthetic fluid with a conditioner. I talked to my GM friends and they say to expect at least 4 hours to swap the valve body with no real guarantee this will fix it. They said to also replace the pressure control solenoid. I'm sure it's in the trans and not a misfire as it's not as "rapid" as a misfire and the check engine light hasn't come on. Wish me luck that I find a buyer for my S10 so I can pay for whatever it turns out to be! If I could swing it I'd buy a SRTA from GM to get the good warranty. Needless to say you can imagine the ribbing I'm getting at work..
used cars, too bad its a front wheel drive-I'm sure it work out better as a rear wheel drive, whatever it is if you have to pull it might as well overhaul to save the cost of pulling again, never know what can go wrong with a ten year old car.
you just bought it ? no warranty ? not even the 30 day lubrico ? it was private ? maybe the seller would feel bad-never hurts to ask, Although it only happened once to me in a sale I did help the buyer with the cost-lotsa fair people out there.
My 99 STS did the same thing. As I said we flushed & changed the fluid,a 50-50 mix of Dexron III & synthetic with some additive and it cured it. That was best case scenario. Todd, the mileage on the Buick is relativly low for the year, so it's likely never had a fluid change. What is the recommended interval on the maintainence schedule?
That is because it has been babied. It's hanging up between shifts so don't let it do that. I say use Earl's formula and give it a few good boots! It has to learn how to shift the way you drive.
The car has 104k on it and I bought it as is from a local lot. The lot owner allowed me to take it to work for a DOT inspection before I bought it. The trans was shifting fine at that point. The service interval for the trans is 160k. I'll do a service first and see what happens. If you CLICK HERE and scroll down you'll see a list of common problems with the 4T65E and one of them is "Tach bounces up and down a few hundred RPM in lockup". It says this problem is more pronounced with added engine power and can happen when the valve body has excessive wear in the TCC valve area. It only happens on a slight grade. I wonder if I'm getting fluid starvation? I'll recheck the fluid level today.
If you CLICK HERE and scroll down you'll see a list of common problems with the 4T65E and one of them is "Tach bounces up and down a few hundred RPM in lockup". It says this problem is more pronounced with added engine power
...but your shudder smooths out with added power Todd.
Sounds like you're operating the car at the exact point where the lock up can't decide to be in or out?. If you lightly step on the brake while operating at this exact point, does the lockup stay unengaged and all else Ok?. Stop operating in this exact speed range and go w/ the trans service first...and don't let anyone talk you into ripping it out or apart!.
Best of luck Todd!.
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You guys could be right. The symptoms described in the link above makes me believe this is a problem if you are cruising at a steady speed and the tac starts bouncing. Mine bounces if I come up to a grade and I (or the cruise control) try to slowly accelerate. Anyone running synthetic trans fluid? I've heard Mobile 1 is pretty good. What about additives like Lucas. I've heard good things about an additive called "Muscle" (and I remember using it in my 58 Plymouth for a harsh shift) but I haven't seen it in stores for quite some time. I remember it was about 30 bucks for a bottle.
I talked to our guy, and he suggested putting on a scan tool and going for a ride. He said that when it starts to do that to look at the signal from the vehicle speed sensor and see it that is consistent.
No ses light, right?
Have you checked yet if it has any codes?
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Ok. I'm trying to source some Mobile 1 synthetic ATF. I've read good things about this stuff. I'll service it with that and the Muscle and see how it is. Thanks Todd
Personally I'm always hesitant to do anything without first trying all possible to identify where the problem lies first?.
I'm out of the loop on these now but on many cars, slightly touching the brakes enough that the brake light switch clicks on keeps the lock-up from engaging.. Same as when it has engaged, touching the brake disengages it.. Being it's a simple test and free, just try it first before adding any of the snake oils..
Then go to your GM house buds, check for codes and scan while driving seeing if you can watch the lock-up engaging and if this is the exact moment the concern appears..
Even if the concern continues, again don't rip the trans apart.. A simple service and some miles on it may make it all Ok again?. And who knows if the past owners driving habits have contributed to the problem?. They could've been a two footed driver riding the brakes and the lock-up only ever engaged when they sneezed or scratched their nuts?.
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Yesterday I had the trans serviced. Zero debris in the pan. That's good news. I used Royal Purple synthetic and Lucas additive. I'll give it a few kms to determine if all is well. I also had the front rotors turned to address a brake pulsation and have replaced the original (yes original) Goodyears with a set of Michelin Harmony's. They are great tires. The car drives like a dream. My commute is much more comfy than with that S10! I've really come to appreciate features like the auto dimming rear view mirror, the heated outside mirrors and those heated seats have been nice in the morning. The 9 speaker "Concert Sound III" system really sounds great with my MP3 player.
Well, on the way home from work the Buick acted up once. I was cruising at 80kmh behind a bunch of traffic. I got on a slight grade, gave the car some gas and the tac started bouncing again. I was still in lockup. With my left foot I tapped the brake and she instantly came out of lockup and all was well again. The car settled back into lockup again and didn't fluctuate. It's gotta be a valve body problem. Since I didn't find any debris in the pan, I'll likely leave it for now unless it gets worse. One instance in a 38k drive I can live with.
It sounds like either a solenoid problem or TC issue. You have to realize these trans have about 10 solenoids in them to do different funtions(all controlled by the computer). A really good tech with a good scanner (gm or genesis) should be able to diagnose using the capture mode. When it comes time to lock up the converter, the scanner should show a "demand", it other words it(computer) will apply voltage to engage the TCC. If it is steady, it is the solenoid or TCC. If it is not steady it is something else that triggers that "state". EG: coolant temp, MAP, TPS, brake pedal switch or the computer itself.
If you want something to do on the cheap I would look closely at all connections that go onto the trans for corrosion. I know everyone says that they are "weather tight" but I have seen some corroded in the past.
most buicks of that type : ie the gueen mary designation, were never meant to ever be pushed must past 78km/h , the median age of the buick gueen mary drivers is somewhere around 98-99 years young . and they all hold to their hearts that the rumour of "speed kills" is true !! so going 80 even in an 80 zone if to fast . so the engineers designed a slower car for their target market ....... should have bought the lexus i guess
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So the lockup kicked out as it should have when you tapped the brake, the rev increase made the concern disappear and the tranny seems to be fine aside from the lockup being in question...right?. But since the concern only happens under load and you noticed the tach bounces, my question now is...how many Km's are on those plugs?. Are they the originals?.
-- Edited by Ghost Post at 00:09, 2008-10-31
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most buicks of that type : ie the gueen mary designation, were never meant to ever be pushed must past 78km/h , the median age of the buick gueen mary drivers is somewhere around 98-99 years young . and they all hold to their hearts that the rumour of "speed kills" is true !! so going 80 even in an 80 zone if to fast . so the engineers designed a slower car for their target market ....... should have bought the lexus i guess
It's supercharged, we are nice to newbies but let me say it again, it's supercharged. 80 km/h...NOT.
That smart ass newbie works with me so he is forgiven. The plugs are likely original (104k). Supposed to be good for 160 but I do know how long they tend to last in reality. I really need to snag a Tech II for about 20 minutes so I can scan for misfire data or a tcc problem.
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