1997 acura 3.0cl transmission
 

1997 acura 3.0cl auto about 197k and the tranny shifts out of first gear higher than normal by 500 - 1000 rpm or so.

Second gear to third is pretty clunky sometimes. It is like you are going 60 down the road then it shifts very fast into third and it jerks the car. This is very noticable and i am very concerned, however i am changing my transmission fluid very soon. The last tranny oil change was 2 years ago so i am due for one.

Anyone have any similar sort of problem with accords? or cl's??

These cars are notorious for transmission problems such as what you have mentioned. Try changing the fluids first (since you need to do that anyway). Other than that, you're pretty much SOL unless you go for a rebuild or something.

Fluid wont fix the problem. Its a fault with one or more of the actuator pistons in the tranny itself. A rebuild isn't cheap we just took care of one a few months back.

the tranny oil change wont fix it, i know but it may help out from it being so clunky.

I had a problem before where a sensor on my throttle body and i had to get a new one. but its not the same problem. I was hoping it might be a cheap sensor.

i want to avoid a rebuild tranny at all cost cause i like the car.

If you "like" the car, won't you want to fix it?

ya but a car like this, is it even worth what the tranny would cost. i dont know...

Well sometimes tranny fluid can smooth things out a bit. If not, why not try a low KM used tranny. We have sources for those..

I brought my car into a tranny shop, they were very honest.
i had my Linear pressure solenoid replaced because the one that was in my car had silicone sealing up where it was "fixed."
I dont know what they were doing but it was faulty and causing the very hard shifting because no fluid was flowing and there was very high pressure.

the car runs like it did before these problems.

I have another question, When u are at a complete stop and you then put the car into gear 2 (manual gear) for an automatic transmission 3L, does the car jerk a bit like its almost double activating a gear or something like it takes a slight second and then it roughs it into 2nd gear. This does not affect the car when its driving in D3 or D4.

Hope the solenoid replacement wasn't too expensive?

They probably had to change the fluid as well eh?

I suggest you going to many transmission shops and getting an opinion. I did just that and manage to find a honest transmission shop (I posted it in the reliable/reputable shops).

Yeah, if it does come down to replacing the transmission. It's up to you whether you see yourself driving this car for a while.

Options I see:

1 - Rebuilt Transmission - Most expensive route, I'll put the ballpark figure into $ 3,000?

2 - Used Transmission - It'll probably be around $1,200 or so but no guarantees on it, but with a low used one, you should be fine

3 - Use Lucas Transmission additive and pray it helps the longevity of the transmission by a couple of years. There are varying accounts of it working and not working so beware.

4 - Sell the car at a significant discount

when you manually shift into 2, the trans will shift into 2 and stay in 2. Regardless of how fast or slow or if you're at a complete stop. D3 will drive normally with the exeption of not allowing into 4th gear. D4 will drive normally also but will allow the car to shift into 4th when needded

i know it stays in 2nd gear when u manully put it in 2nd gear but initially when shifting into second does it clunk into it, or atleast harder than normal.

The guy at the transmission place. Mister transmission told me to change the fluid because the lucas stuff softens the gaskets and will turn the gasket into mush over time if the lucas is in the tranny for too long
he told me to change it completely, to brand new tranny fluid.

Does anyone know what brand of torque wrench to buy to get the intake manifold and throttle body bolts to 12- 18 foot pounds of torque??

Hope you didn't just go to one transmission shop. In this situation, you go to around 4 and up and get their opinions. Mister Transmission is a franchise isn't it? Enough said.

i went to multiple shops. Mister transmission was willing to computer test and and put it on the lift with out a cost. Just to look at the car they didnt charge anything.

Stans transmission hooked up to a computer and drove it and told me its internal, i went to a few more forgot the names, I was gonna go to ATLAS in surrey but its kinda far to drive too with very hard shifting, but mister transmission hooked it up to a computer and put it on a lift and did some test for free and the owner sayd he identified the problem.
In one hour like he said he'd have it working and viala it worked.
The owner and the actual tranny mechanic said he was pretty sure this was the problem and a rebuild is out of the picture and explained things.
One problem is fixed the other is not cause tranny is slipping, he said if it gets worse go back.
The linear pressure solenoid that was failing on my car looked like someone makeshift'd it by cutting a solenoid open and repairing it then siliconing it shut..

The mechanic identified that my front motor mount was broken and should be replaced, the owner was calling around for a part and he got me the lowest price he could get and he said right there "thats still a little expensive"


They offered the most and for the same price..
And a rebuild would be the same price as the cheapest price i found by another shop..
The mechanic there was very descriptive and very honest, at least i got that vibe.
he produced a solution for my car for a cheaper price than the rest.

when you get the trans removed to get repaired or replaced, change the worn mounts too because that give's the feeling of hard shifts. These cars are bed for worn engine and trans mounts

The guy at mister transmission told me my front motor mount is broke, this will soften the hard shifting, but since the hard shifting is gone, he said the car will run smoother if i replace that front motor mount (looks like a cylinder hydrolic pump with a vacuum attachment for the hose to attach on the mount to.

he said this is for the tranny as well but is the tranny mount seperate or the same mount?
I found a mount in the states for so cheap, oreillys, anchor brand, same one they sell at lordco but way cheaper

there's 5 engine/trans mounts. 1 by the t-belt, 1 by the radiator (the one typically known as the front mount), 1 closest to the firewall and 2 small mounts under the trans.
The 1 closest the the firewall carries much of the load while the car is in "D"

i think its the one at front of the car its the big one that looks like a cylinder shaped 2 ton hydrolic pump jack.