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Auto Trans Not Shifting!

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Bluefire16

15+ Year Contributor
1,500
20
Mar 30, 2007
Grand Rapids, Michigan
OK guys, so originally i had no Reverse or gears werent changing. Well i seem to have plugged in the wrong plug (i put the CC instead of the TRANS!) anyways...

I have Reverse now! But the gears still wont change, even with the road surge box.... what should i check now!?
 
Can you shift manually with the shifter? How's your fluid level and condition? Are there any TCU codes?
 
OK guys, so originally i had no Reverse or gears werent changing. Well i seem to have plugged in the wrong plug (i put the CC instead of the TRANS!) anyways...

I have Reverse now! But the gears still wont change, even with the road surge box.... what should i check now!?

does drive work at all. if TCM or TCU or whatever goes bad or has a major malfunction, it goes in to limp mode which will only allow you to use P, R, and 3rd gear of drive and shifts will be very very harsh.
 
Ok...here is the whole run down. 2 years ago, my tranny went. I had it rebuilt, shortly after my car went into limp mode.

Brought it to tranny shop, physically "hot wired" the trans, and determined that my TCU was bad. Ordered one...it to was bad. So i got the road surge shiftbox, which allows you to bypass the "limp mode" and continue to drive.

Been fine for 2 years now, my hg blew last week. Pulled the head, replaced it, car started fine. Go to back it up, NO reverse. The CAR DRIVES, however, it feels like its only in 3rd.

Well find out i put in the wrong plug to the trans connector. (CC is the exact same plug as the trans plug)

I change around the plugs, and now i have REVERSE! But drive still wont shift. And i am trying to do this with my roadsurge box.

I have checked all my wires and even reconnected some. Even put in another "bad" TCU thinking if the other one was just completely fried.

I have some code thrown but cant check it.
 
Have you gone through your fuses and relays to see if that's why you have "bad" TCUs?
 
My old trans shop bypassed all the relays, we "hot wired" the car like i said. We put wires directly from the TCU to the trans, and the TCU wasnt picking up the codes.

What relays? Only 2g NT autos have a automatic relay as far as im aware. Also all my fuses are fine.
 
Ok...here is the whole run down. 2 years ago, my tranny went. I had it rebuilt, shortly after my car went into limp mode.

Brought it to tranny shop, physically "hot wired" the trans, and determined that my TCU was bad. Ordered one...it to was bad. So i got the road surge shiftbox, which allows you to bypass the "limp mode" and continue to drive.

Been fine for 2 years now, my hg blew last week. Pulled the head, replaced it, car started fine. Go to back it up, NO reverse. The CAR DRIVES, however, it feels like its only in 3rd.

Well find out i put in the wrong plug to the trans connector. (CC is the exact same plug as the trans plug)

I change around the plugs, and now i have REVERSE! But drive still wont shift. And i am trying to do this with my roadsurge box.

I have checked all my wires and even reconnected some. Even put in another "bad" TCU thinking if the other one was just completely fried.

I have some code thrown but cant check it.

read why i highlighted Your TCU is bad.
 
Reverse is entirely mechanical but can be affected by the tcu such that it will hesitate to engage or not at all. This is an issue when the pressure control solenoid is activated so the easiest way to check if the issue is electrical is to look for the plug coming out of the front of the transmission just above the pan which is 4-pin. When you find it unplug it and see if the car has reverse and 3rd. If so then the issue is likely electrical at least to some degree.


I've had two cars refuse to shift out of first. The first was my 2g which was fixed when I cleaned the valve body, and the second is my current talon which I'm still working on fixing. I'm assuming that the same thing will fix it but I'm waiting on a shift kit as long as I'm going to be in the tranny anyway.
 
Where should i look electrically for the drive gears? I have checked all from my shift box to the TCU and they are all good.

Not sure where else to look electrically, I suspect the issue is physical being either a dirty valve body, or a bad clutch pack (rolled seal, bad valves). You can also test the solenoids and pulse generators. I know the info for doing that is out there but you'll have to search for it.
 
.... are you familiar with the road surge box?

IT BYPASSES the TCU and tells the TRANSMISSION to shift. So for 2 YEARS i have been using my roadsurge box WHILE my TCU was BAD.

Probably your issue right there.

That or try replacing the soleniods.


Honestly, for the time and money you probably spent on attempting to fix this and dealing with related auto transmission issues you probably would have been better off just swapping to a manual transmission.

it took me about 2 days to decide it wasn't worth the effort to fix my auto tranny on my car, picked up entire swap for 150$ including gear oil + Clutch.
 
Also many people prefer an automatic transmission, faster more consistent shifts make them awesome for the strip while manuals have their issues as well, not the least of which is that they are weak and if the OP ever pushes that 20g to the limits then he might well end up going through manual transmissions very quickly.
 
And after everything... i paid $125 for the box, and thats it so far.


...how in the world did you get a manual tranny and cluth for 150?

not just manual tranny n clutch

I got

OEM Turbo Clutch (Used plate w\ new disc)
7 Bolt flywheel
Starter
Clutch Pedal assembly
Clutch master Cylinder
Clutch Hydrualic line
Slave Cylinder (new)
Turbo (F5M33) Tranny
Shifter Housing
Shift Linkages w\ Brackets
Transmission Mount
and fluids.

Also got 2 Epic shift knobs! 1 which is axle nut deep socket, and the other is a intake cam off n\t 4g63 that I cut in half, threaded right onto my shifter housing :D

also got a bunch of other stuff but that's outside the 150$

Intercooler, IC plumbing, 450cc Injectors, 2G Turbo Manifold, Big Brake kit. Turbo Oil Pan, Turbo MAF, Turbo ECU, and Turbo Throttle body. wanna say I spent 200$ on that stuff listed.


It's all about knowing people and being a good hustler.

Also many people prefer an automatic transmission, faster more consistent shifts make them awesome for the strip while manuals have their issues as well, not the least of which is that they are weak and if the OP ever pushes that 20g to the limits then he might well end up going through manual transmissions very quickly.

only example of that that' I've seen is my friend Matt's 800hp AWD. he goes through quite alot of trannys and related components, but that's 800hp, actually twisted his crank, and made it crack almost all the way through one of the journals.

and auto sucks for me because I'm more about turns which auto sucks for.

Anyways go to your local pull yard and snag the valve body and or soleniods, and see if that fixes anything.
 
I have some friends with connections so im brining the car to a shop to get looked at... i just cant deal with this car at the moment.

I help run a cafe with my mother. We own it, and right now times are VERY tough, and im just to stressed out and cant handle it. So i think im just gona suck up the cost and bring it in, at least get the tranny drained and flushed.
 
Honestly, for the time and money you probably spent on attempting to fix this and dealing with related auto transmission issues you probably would have been better off just swapping to a manual transmission.

it took me about 2 days to decide it wasn't worth the effort to fix my auto tranny on my car, picked up entire swap for 150$ including gear oil + Clutch.

And a manual trans is trouble free? I wish. No offense but this is crappy "advice".
 
And a manual trans is trouble free? I wish. No offense but this is crappy "advice".

not necessarily but there's alot less to randomly stop working from doing a head gasket swap XD considering a a manual transmission is almost pure mechanics... other then what? the reverse switch?
 
Could your transmission solenoids gone bad I have heard that the 2gb auto trans have issues, like my buddies gst auto his overdrive doesnt work and sometimes shifts funny a guy that messed alot with 97-99 dsm's auto fwd and awd have had issues with the tranny's he told me the solenoids inside the trans burn up and you will lose some gearing or with will run like crap. If you have gone through everything it could be something inside the trans. "hope this helps"
 
2g auto transmissions are almost the same as 1g transmissions (plus TC lockup) and they are largely problem free except for end clutch issues which I would be almost certain is the problem that your friend is having with the no OD car.
 
Hey, This is Tim from RoadSurge.....I know this thread is a little old, but from what I have read, you still have not found a fix for your transmission. With having the forward gears only and no reverse, it does not appear to be a TCU problem at all. I have no TCU in my car at all and I still have reverse. You should be able to completely remove the TCU out of the vehicle just to ensure your TCU is not sending a signal to your pressure control solenoid when you put your shifter in reverse which would make it seem your reverse is gone.

If that does not fix the problem, then you may have something messed up inside the transmission. Since first gear and reverse share the same clutch pack, do you notice any delay before first gear kicks in from a dead stop? If so, you may be losing fluid pressure to your clutch pack usually caused by a bad O-ring or seal. Not sure how deep you have ever tore into a transmission, but the center plate inside the transmission that separates basically holds all the clutches in place has an O-ring sealed port through the middle of it to allow fluid to get to the first gear clutch pack which also controls reverse. If either of the 2 O-rings are bad, you will not have reverse.

You can also check your shifter for adjustment to ensure that when the shifter is in reverse the shifter link is still being depressed. In my 1g, There is a small 1/2" round metal button under the shifter which is only pressed when in P, R, and N. I am not sure what the exact position is for the reverse to be inline but that is one other thing to look at.
 
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