89 auto 2.9 tranny shifting hard???

[5.0gray90']

i just picked up a 86 ranger, and drove it back to my house( 45 miles). runs great, but when you put the tranny in drive or overdrive, it seems to kick in real hard. once you drive down the road though, it shifts perfect. only happens when first putting it into gear. any thoughts???

 

[doorgunner]

My '89 2.9l A4ld just started doing the same thing--just about spins the tires when putting it in drive or reverse (engine tries to stall out also). Somebody on the forum says the torque converter is staying in the lock-up mode causing the xmsn to grab hard when it's put in gear, which causes the engine to stall or shudder. Now to find out what's causing the prob.--

 

[5.0gray90']

no luck yet?

 

[doorgunner]

'89 a/xmsn jerks into drive or reverse

I'm going to disconnect the VSS (tech library says the VSS signals the computer that controls the lock-out torque converter and shifting) and do the ohm-meter check on it and also a pulse test to see if it's working right tomorrow and clean electric terminals(speedometer needle has been waving 2-3 m.p.h. I'll pull it out of the xmsn and spin it by hand to see if it's worn, binding, bad gear, etc/same thing with the speedo-cable. Might as well pull the rear end sending unit and check it too while I'm under there...

 

[Zachalanche]

My tranny in my 89 2.9 used to do the same. I found hard shifting was always worse when fluid was low. but it also became a little more prevalent with age. I also found hard shifts into reverse to be caused by a loose pinion gear.

 

[doorgunner]

Thanks for the tips, but fluid is fresh and full and rear end is good. I tested the VSS (xmsn sensor) and found xmsn oil in the elect. connection--cleaned it out and found high reading on ohms and low reading on pulse.

Cleaned the connections good---truck shifting into gear good now--next time it acts up, if theres fluid in the VSS connector--I'm going to replace it

 

[nismotunedgtr]

Hows your rear U joints?