Hold light does NOT flash, but the car shifts hard. HELP!!!

Chiggles · Post by **Chiggles** » May 27th, 2006, 12:55 pm

So I'm currently on a bit of a road trip between a work related event for myself, and a conference for the wife right after the weekend. Coming down from Edmonton to Calgary (about a 2 - 2.5 hour drive) was ok, but when I left Calgary to make my towards Lake Louise (about another hour or hour and a half), I noticed that the car feels a lot rougher when it shifts from 1st to 2nd. It's usually a smooth soft shift, and I can obviously hear when the gears change by the RPMs, right? But now I can FEEL it shifting too, and it's hard enough that it's kind of an obvious jolt. I feel it a bit still when it goes to 3rd and 4th, but not quite as hard as when it goes to 2nd. And yet, I get NO CEL codes nor does the HOLD light flash.

Things I've done recently to the car just for information to help diagnose my situation:

- replaced both CV shafts earlier this week before I took it out on the highway (really obvious and frequent clicking when I turn right, and a little bit on the left, so I replaced both)
- oil change w/ filter
- coolant temperature sensor (was getting a CEL code for it back in the winter, so I switched that out too this week)
- tranny cooler already installed
- drained ATF fluid last summer (NOT POWER FLUSH - I had read too many horror stories about power flushing these ATX's from this board, so what I did was just drain what I could, left whatever fluid there was in the torque converter, topped it back up, and I intend to get another draining this summer again to get out whatever passed through the TC); ATF filter also changed last summer
- checked the fluid levels, it's ok.
- ATF color is off-red.... kind of a brownish red, but that makes sense since I have newer fluid mixed in with the old fluid from before. But it's not a dark brown or a black color at all.
- no burnt smell to the ATF that I can tell, but then again, what does burnt ATF smell like? It's not a smoky smell to me, just metallic like it's been used (obviously) compared to the new in the bottle plastic smell.

Again, no CEL codes or HOLD light flashes come up. So why am I getting the hard shifting now???? I've left the car parked since I arrived to Lake Louise yesterday, and don't intend to move it again until we have to leave for Jasper tomorrow. Crossing my fingers and hoping the tranny was just too hot, so I'm giving it a rest for as long as possible. I'm too afraid to move the car without consultation first, AND I still have another 5 hours of approximate highway driving time to in order to get back to Edmonton by Wednesday. Am I gonna make it?!?!?!

Why am I getting the hard shifting and how do I fix it??!!?

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » May 27th, 2006, 3:07 pm

Is the TPS alignment ok?
It could also be the tranny/engine mounts - if its shot the tranny will vibrate more (feel like rough running) and possibly erratic shifts.
Another thing to check will be the ground points on the tranny - if the ground wire has come loose or corroded - the controller would get wrong voltage info.

If everything is fine -you can adjust the hardness of shifts by adjusting the throttle cable - there are two bolts where the throttle cable comes out of the sleeve and goes to the throttle body - loosen them and move the cable for adjustment. (But i think this adjustment is good for 1-2 shift only)

Chiggles · Post by **Chiggles** » May 29th, 2006, 2:32 pm

Well, as an update, the good news is that I made it to Jasper ok yesterday, and without any odd shakes or jolts either. So it would seem that the rest I gave the car while in Louise did it some good. So the bad news is then as it would seem: why am I getting shifting jolts only AFTER a longer harder drive that's, say more than 2 hours of straigt highway driving??

It may have helped to know that I didn't drive from Louise to Jasper continuously. We stopped twice: once at the Crossing stop to grab a bite to eat for about a half hour, and at the Columbia Icefields for about 2 hours. So.... as long as I don't drive it straight for more than 2 hours, I seem to be ok. This is not to say though that I don't have a problem.

Would it make sense though to rule out the possibility that it's the tranny or engine mounts that's causing the jolts in shifting? Cuz I didn't get any jolts coming to Jasper, and I would assume that had it been a mount problem, then I would experience jolting regardless of if I had been driving for 2 minutes or 2 hours, correct? I will try to look at the TPS alignment and the throttle cable once I get back home.

Another person thought that it could be that the clutch pack in the tranny has gone, but if that were the case, would I not yet also experience erratic shifting again consistently rather than AFTER 2 hours of non-stop highway driving??? :S Any new thoughts?

Matt · Post by **Matt** » June 2nd, 2006, 12:43 am

just take it to a shop lol. get them to look over it. or even a mazda dealer.

Matt · Post by **Matt** » June 2nd, 2006, 12:43 am

double post

Andrew_Pakula · Post by **Andrew_Pakula** » June 27th, 2006, 4:28 pm

It may because the Transmission is getting very hot after the long drives which is causing it to shift harder. I sort of had the same thing happen to me, drove all the way from Detriot to Toronto in one night and it was shifting fine on the hiway most of the way but nearing Toronto it seemed to be shifting a little harder then when I got off the hiway and went back to normal speed it was shifting hard and terrible, in my case the tranny had become really screwed up and needed a rebuilt.

As for the burnt smell, you would know right away if you smelled it, the smell is pretty unique.