bstuby

iTrader: (36)

Hey everyone,

I have a 98 TA with an A4, bone stock as far as I know. Picked it up from the dealer a little over a week ago. My prob is the 1-2 shifts. It shifts very hard and firm into 2nd. When I get it up to about 3 to 4 grand it it chirps the tires. 5 grand and above it totally breaks them loose with the tcs turned off. Its not a delayed shift, its very quick and snappy even at low rpm it shifts kinda hard but not as firm as the high rpm does. 3-4 shifts are pretty smooth I cant really feel it shift into those gears. Other than this the car just drives awsome.


It kinda reminds me of my old 80 malibu when I had it. It had a 3 speed auto with 4.11 gears and shift kit. That car would damn near break your neck when shifting.

My question is.. does this sound like a shift kit or is the tranny just takin a dump on me. I know nothing about this car as far as whats been done to it but was told by the dealer its stock. I had a buddy of mine take a ride in it and he said that it is not normal but he said it feels like its a good shift because its not slipping and its not delayed. Then another buddy of mine told me that when the 4l60e starts going out it will do what my car is doing?

I dont really trust his what he says ever since he told me one night that the transmission goblins live in the bushes down the road, and I have never heard this rumor before. So I figured I would ask ppl on here since I know you guys know what your talking about. I pulled the dip stick out and the fluid doesnt smell or look burnt. I was going to drop the pan this week and change the fluid and filter in it.

Is there dead give aways of a shift kit when you have the pan off just by looking at it? Or is this just a prob with the tranny itself. Also the car has 99000 on it with no ses lights


Any and all help is very much appreciated and sorry if this question has been asked a billion times

soloman369

iTrader: (13)

Congrats on the car and welcome, as far as your question it sounds fine it might have a shift kit or a tune. But no you shouldnt be worried about it crapping out.

Ellsworth

probably a rebuilt transmission with a shift kit, sounds like a good shift kit.

you got problems when you car starts feeling like you have a large stall, when yours is stock lol

bstuby

iTrader: (36)

I also forgot to mention that it doesnt shift as hard when its not at operating temp but you can still feel it. When it finally warms up is when you really feel it full potential. Is that still normal for a shift kit?

KevinR

Almost sounds like the torque managment has been changed/deleted.

bstuby

iTrader: (36)

That has to do with the pcm right? Is there any way for me to figure out if any of that has been done to it? Sorry for the questions its just really buggin the crap out of me

KevinR

Find you a tuner and have them check it out. They can see all the changes that have been made, unless it's locked.

Crash7557

its not a shift kit, its a confused computer.
im experiencing the same thing tonight with my 1998 camaro Z28. drove it and it was fine. i took off the TB and ported it. when i reinstalled the TB and drove it, it did exactly what you describe.
Our model cars have a throttle cable linked to the gas pedal instead of an electric switch linked to a drive by wire system. this relies heavily on input from the Throttle position sensor (TPS). i'd say most likely the TPS is going or there may be a kink or some dirt in the throttle cable causing it to tell the computer to use stiffer shifts as if you were at half or better throttle. spray WD-40 where the cable goes into the black covering.
had a similar problem with a jeep i owned.

Crash7557

actually.....im retarded bc i just read the codes on my car and it said i had low voltage to the MAF and the IAT sensors. looked under the hood and realized that i didnt reconnect them when i attatched the intake lmao. fixed my problem hahaha. im stupid

Heads-Up-Outlaw

Nah you're not stupid, you're just learning. As I was reading this thread it occurred to me that the OP's PCM may be commanding high line pressure because of a fault with one of the sensors.

Also, it could be that in the past someone has gone in and turned the screw at the EPC on the valve body. Doing that will increase line pressure globally regardless of the PCM commands. (poor mans shift kit). The problem with one of these units shifting violently like that is it can be hard on the driveline. Meaning, the planets, the sprags, the u-joints, ring and pinion etc...

You might want to go ahead and have someone at a performance shop who has a good reputation and knows these cars take a look at it to see whats going on. That way you'll be able to work from a position of strength down the road. It'll cost you a little money, but it'll be well worth it down the road!

goose23

My formula does the same thing but it shifts hard and bangs then bangs when it down shifts it feels like slack but im not sure i had a super chips crap tune on it and took it off and set it back to stock setting im just not sure what it could be ive changed my motor trans and torque bushing and u joints and i still have the banging and hard shifting i also have the bbk tb