'87 2.9l Hard Shift

[06wing]

Just bought an '87 ext. cab with 2.9l with appr. 165k. Got the truck running good but having one minor issue. When shifting from park to drive, there is about a 3 second hesitation and it slams into gear so hard that that it makes engine idle down almost to the point of stalling. Previous owner apparently had a seal replaced and the transmission serviced back in May according to the receipt I found. Checked fluid and it looked a little high, so figure this weekend, I will drop pan and refill to correct level and add a little Lucas treatment and see if that helps. Any help diagnosing is greatly appreciated...

 

[jhammel85]

I'm not sure exactly what causes this but usually, I've found, Its because of LOW levels of fluid. I hope that your trans isn't dying but it might be. Sorry...

If I were you, I would change it and get the level back to normal. Better yet, Maybe just drain some out to see how that works.