Transmission problems

[LittleBeast]

Feb 2007 - Isuzu place did transmission fluid flush, dropped the pan replaced the filter and filled with Royal Purple, same was done with all diff fluid etc.

March and April 2007 - VX starts having issues shifting from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to third sometimes staying in neutral for a while and not shifting, simply letting of the gas and waiting seems to help.

April 16 2007 - After reading a thread on here and seeing the same problem with someone whose mechanic forgot to run the trans through the gears when filling up I took the VX back to dealership to check Trans fluid level, they confirmed that there were no leaks however the trans fluid level was one quart low, so they went and got some royal purple and filled it back up.

Now - it is still having problems shifting every once and a while seeming to just get stuck in between gears normally between 1st and 2nd feeling like it is in neutral.

Questions - Does Royal Purple actually make an auto trans fluid that would be perfect for the VX? Could this be the problem? Could the trans being one quart low for almost two months have caused a permanent problem in which I will now have to get the trans rebuilt? Any other ideas? I have never ever ever had any issue with the trans before this I was just trying to make sure to keep the fluids in tip top shape and it cost me over $2k for all the work done in Feb (trans flush, gear fluid, brakes, etc) and now I am having problems with the things I was trying to extend the life of.

[etlsport]

try disconnecting your battery for about a half hour if you havent, the transmission may just not be used to having the fluid full... i reset my computer that way the other day and without even realizing it i hit almost 5500.. my transmission before i reset the computer wouldnt let me go past about 4500 rpm before it shifted

[nfpgasmask]

The VX trans is weird. After I did my service (drop pan, refill, change filter, etc) I was slamming gears for a two days after from 2nd to 3rd. So I crawled under there again and pumped some more fluid (in my case, Mobile-1 Synthetic trans fluid) and after I got the level (seemingly) correct, the shifting is smooth and tidy.

In your case, if you are putting the VX in gear and it is not shifting from P to D or slipping into neutral, I can't imagine this is a good sign, but don't take my word for it.

I would have a trasmission shop check it out. Have you gone under your VX and checked the level yourself yet? Its messy and hot and a little scary to do it the way the manual tells you to, but....

Bart

[VXD959]

Ryan,

Check the transmission's fluid level again. I had the same problem once. perhaps the guys at Isuzu don't know how to do it properly. Other than that, please follow gasmask's advice.

By the way, I use RP for the engine, but M1 for transmission...

Prior posts:
Trans1 (http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=10332&highlight=transmission+fluid)
Trans2 (http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=8864&highlight=transmission+fluid)

Good luck!

[WILLY]

Well if you ran it for 2 month's at 1 qt. low you probably damaged the trans. possibly. :(

[djkymar]

i got a lit bit different problem my tranny was slipping from 1st to second and then i reilize my tranny fluid was leaking so i brought my VX to shop and change oil pan gasket and refill fluid after week was leaking again came back to shop they order different gasket aftermarket one, a couple days later leaking again came back again they order factory gasket then and it seems fine for now, they replaced on monday and i hope it will be fine. Now i got defferent problem i start losing oil in my engine, lost i quart in 1500 miles does it seems to be right or no?

[VehiX]

Hi Littlebeast -

I'm not sure if this is related to your problem or not but read up on this thread:

http://vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=1043&highlight=shifter+lever

This was for a tranny shifting problem I had a while back and what the fix was for it. Compare this problem to yours and see if the mechs can check this for you as well. It's a short descriptive post with problem and resolution included.

Hope this helps :)

[VX crazy]

I have used royal purple since new, and have changed the fluid 3-4 times, at about 90k, still no problems. I dont think royal purple is the problem.

[VehiGAZ]

DJ, a quart every 1500 miles is not right for a newer engine, but fairly typical for an older engine (70k miles or more). If the oil loss started very suddenly, though, that's not right.

[djkymar]

VehiGAZ,
i put a quater yesterday and fill up on my level till full now im going to check it every 100 miles and see how it goes. Any thoughts about what it can be? i dont wanna do flush the engine its the last thing i wanna do =(

[VehiGAZ]

If it's not dripping, then it's burning.

If it's burning, it's usually by getting around the piston rings (gaskets around the pistons which form a seal between the piston and the cylinder wall). The rings get worn or dry out with age, and oil (which is squirted through the piston behind the ring - meaning on the non-combustion side of the ring) gets past the ring into the combustion chamber and burns up with your fuel. There are some other ways oil can get pulled out of where it is supposed to stay and end up in the cylinder, but I don't know much about that. Maybe someone else can chime in.

Unfortunately, the piston rings are at the very heart of the engine and take hours and hours of disassembly work to replace - it's far cheaper to just add oil. Some motor oil manufacturers offer types of oil that are supposed to soften old rings and help them form a better seal, reducing oil loss, but I don't know if those products work as well as their labels claim.

Although most people think Jiffy Lube should be avoided like the gates of hell, I've had pretty good experiences with getting my oil changed at Valvoline and Firestone, and I know Valvoline offers free top-offs, so if you pass one regularly, it can be fairly easy to drive through once or twice between changes and have them top you off. I did that in my old Prelude, which was burning about quart every 1000 miles after it got over 125k miles. Stopping there for a top-off was super-convenient - I didn't even get out of my car or sign a receipt! Just pull in, pop the hood, get a top off, and go.

[djkymar]

yeah its not dripping and its def burning. I was pretty sure that it mught be my pistons rings and now im more sure about it. I dont trust those Jiffy lubes at all they are all cause of even more damage of engine. Well im going to see now how much oil im burning and see what it show me if its too much them im probly going to get ready to spend a lot of money to replace those damn rings. Im just wondering how it happend and why? My VX has only 46000 and it burns oil already =(

[psychos2]

i got a lit bit different problem my tranny was slipping from 1st to second and then i reilize my tranny fluid was leaking so i brought my VX to shop and change oil pan gasket and refill fluid after week was leaking again came back to shop they order different gasket aftermarket one, a couple days later leaking again came back again they order factory gasket then and it seems fine for now, they replaced on monday and i hope it will be fine. Now i got defferent problem i start losing oil in my engine, lost i quart in 1500 miles does it seems to be right or no?

Try changing your pcv valve.If it is sticking open it will suck oil from the valve cover. shawn

[VehiGAZ]

If rings start leaking early it's probably because the engine was not broken in gently or it's been revved to very high rpms regularly.

Psychos may be right about the PCV, and others here commonly suggest cleaning out the EGR valve and the throttle body to reduced oil consumption.

Good luck!!

[djkymar]

okay im going to try clean pcv and see what happends because now im at the point that i need to add 1 quart at about every 800 miles. And again my tranny start leaking so my VX will be back in a shop in a couple days it would be my 5th time there with the same problem =(

[LittleBeast]

Thanks for all the input. The problems have gotten progressivly worse and just last night the transmission was not shifting out of 1st gear and then it was slamming into the gears when it finally would after staying around redline for 5-6 secs. Then my check trans light started flashing on and off. Tried stopping engine and restarting nothing helped. Took it into dealer today and they said the fluid level was fine but it was throwing the auto transmission shifter lever code that VehiX mentioned, so they said $375 later and a new shifter lever I should be fine. We will see later today when I pick it up, I have my fingers crossed. Thanks again for all the input.

[VehiX]

That shifter lever is adjustable according to what I was told when they fixed this problem for me.

I'm curious as to why it needs to be replaced and YOU have to pay for it rather then having them adjust it for what appears to be a problem THEY caused when you brought it in for service! :_wtf:

[LittleBeast]

Yeah, so the next day after they supposedly installed the trans shifter lever for $400 it did the same thing, hard shifting into third after reving far too high and then check trans light starts flashing. So I took it back in yesterday and I am not going to pay them a dime more, they better fix it for free.

[Chopper]

yeah its not dripping and its def burning. I was pretty sure that it mught be my pistons rings and now im more sure about it. I dont trust those Jiffy lubes at all they are all cause of even more damage of engine. Well im going to see now how much oil im burning and see what it show me if its too much them im probly going to get ready to spend a lot of money to replace those damn rings. Im just wondering how it happend and why? My VX has only 46000 and it burns oil already =(
Just get(or do) a compression test, see what is going on in your cylinders.

[LittleBeast]

They are claiming that since it is not something that happens all the time, only after driving for a day or so, that it has to be electrical, so they are trying to reset everything and see if that works. We will see.