48winzr Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 My transmission "hangs" 2nd gear in the "automatic mode", and I have to let off the gas for it to shift up to higher gears. This happens intermittently usually when It has been sitting for a while. Fluid has been replaced as well as transmission oil. No differance. Any suggestions as to the cause ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Do you happen to notice this when you first run the car and it's still cold and idling higher than 450 to 500. If your engine is revving, because it's still on fast idle and is cold it sometimes needs to idle down before it will shift upwards and you hear the familiar clunk. Are your electrical connections at the solenoid and governor in good condition, or is there possibly a poor connection. You mention hangs in 2nd gear, do you mean you have it in low range, and it sicks in 2nd gear, or do you have it in high range and it sticks in 3rd gear before upshifting.Sorry I couldn't be of more help as I am just becoming more familiar with these trans and fluid drive set-up. Hopefully someone like Jon Robinson or Desoto Frank Mcmullen will chime in to help...............Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Two thoughts:1) Make sure ALL the throttle linkage and the fast-idle cam to the choke are free and do not bind anywhere; then make sure the engine idle speed is set no higher than 450 rpm.2) If the problem persists, make sure that the wiring between the tranny and the relay under the hood isn't grounded somewhere... If you don't already have a factory shop manual, it would be a really good investment. Reprints are available from a number of vendors ( Roberts MOtor PARts; Andy Bernbaum; Faxon Auto Literature) and run about $30. The shop book has excellent troublehsooting proceedure for the semi-auto.Good luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DougD Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 winzr,You mention that you have to "let off the gas" in order for the transmission to upshift. Note that this is normal for the semi-automatic Fluid Drive transmission. The semi-automatic uses sliding gears, not planetary gears like a full automatic, and it's necessary to release the accelerator to remove the torque load from the gears so it can upshift.My apologies if I'm explaining something you already know. I just wanted to be sure you weren't expecting something that isn't there. If the problem is delayed shifting after you've released the accelerator, the advice from Fred and Frank should help.Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 The transmissionis supposed to shift when you lift off the gas at over 14 MPH in hi range. The shift takes about 1 second or 1 1/2 second. One thing that can cause the trans not to shift is low oil or wrong oil in the transmission. The transmission is supposed to be filled with #10 motor oil.Its supply is separate from the fluid drive, you check it by a pipe plug on the right side like any manual trans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48winzr Posted October 26, 2006 Author Share Posted October 26, 2006 I assume from my manual that the wiring, solinoid & governor are located under the floor board inspection plate, passenger side. Haven't check it yet, but appears to be covered in grease & dirt.Car has manual choke.Delayed shift occurs in high range. It only shifts once in high range and doesn't shift at all in low range.Problem existed before and after changing transmission oil & fluid drive oil.Thanks for all the great info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RShepherd Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 In those transmission, one upshift is all that can happen as each range (low and high) has only two speeds so you have a problem in low range, but not in high range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 RShepherd is correct. You are supposed to so your driving in high range, low range is for slow going such as towing a trailer up Pike's Peak or driving thru heavy snow, sand or mud. You can start off in low range and shift manually to hi range but this is not necessary except in unusual cases.There is a special technique for driving a fluid drive. It's not hard but it is different from an automatic or a standard and has features of each. I have covered this recently in at least 3 different threads, if you look around the Dodge and Chrysler boards for threads on Fluid Drive I'm sure you will find some interesting reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Winzr,Doug and Rusty pointed out a critical feature about the Chrysler Semi-auto: it is not like the "modern, true automatic tranny" that have been available in most cars since 1955... the kind we're used to shift through a system of bands and clutches, and will upshift "under load": that is, the transmission automatically upshifts without any additional input from you, the driver.The tranny in your Windsor is NOT like the post-1955 automatic. As pointed out above, it is a "sliding-gear" transmission, essentially a four-speed manual transmission that has been modified so that it is split into two driving ranges ( Lo and Hi), with an "automatic" upshift in each range ( 2 speeds in each range), when the driver lifts his foot from the accelerator.It's actually like driving a stick shift, except you don't have to touch the clutch or the shift lever after you've intially placed the car in gear. The manipulation of the accelerator is the same as driving a stick-shift car, though, and there is some time-lag while you wait for the up-shift. Dave Duricy at the terrific De Sotoland website refers to this as "Wait for the klunk!".I had to learn about this the hard way, when I got my first Fluid Drive semi-auto car ( '48 New Yorker), in 1988, at the rip old age of 21; I didn't have an owner's manual, and I didn't have any "graybeards" around who could educate me on the finer points of the "Prestomatic"transmission. I started out trying to drive it like a "modern automatic", and eventually discovered the "proper" method of operation quite by accident.When I finally got a shop manual and also had to tear into the tranny to repair some chewed-up parts, I really began to understand that these trannys have so much more in common with the traditional manual tranny, and really have NOTHING in common with the "modern" automatic, other than the "fluid coupling"... Once I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with, it became a lot easier to drive and maintain...All of which is to say, don't expect it to behave like a post-1955 automatic (because it's not), and if you've got the idle speed down where it belongs, and you're using the appropriate driving techinque, and it still doesn't work right, then go through the trouble-shooting process outlined in the shop manual slowly and methodically...When these units are in good order, they're pretty reliable.Good luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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