Does your auto tranny do this?
 

I have an '87 NA, with an automatic transmission that does some weird stuff. But it may be normal, but since I've never driven another automatic, I'm clueless..

First of all, it shifts hard, especially in ect power. In normal ect it shifts much quieter. Shifting into reverse is always hard, and always with a thunk. Is this normal? Hubby thinks it might be the carrier bearing.

Twice it has gotten stuck in 3rd gear, and won't shift to 4th. First time, it went back to normal after slowing down and speeding back up. Today, I tried several times to slow down and speed up, but it wouldn't go past 3rd. Changing ect to normal didn't help. I had to stop, put it in neutral, and then back to drive. It was fine after that.

This car only has 125k on it, and I do have receipts from at least 2 transmission services by a dealer in its life.

Thoughts? Suggestions? New transmission?!

thanks!

tracy

I would go get the filter and oil changed first. See how that is. Then if it keeps screwing up, you'll probably need an overhaul. Talk to a trans shop about all of the work, and see if they'll discount the service attempt off the rebuild.

dose your tranny do this
 

ok i dont have a supra of my own or anything but have you checked the tranny fluid anytime soon? if not that may be a posabilaty, and with it getting stuck in gear you might wanna check the filter and flush it all out and every thing like the guy b4 me said but this is just from what i have learned in the 14 years of my life other than that i cant really think of anything that could happen inless the clutch is going out in the tranny or something has broke off and gets stuck in the gear when it hits 3rd and just locks the hole thing up but then it would prolly lock the hole tranny up then and every thing would prolly stop.. good luck with it and that is my advise on that..

It's normal for it to shift gears hard in the Power setting. Getting stuck in gear isn't normal...could be something quite simple such as the valve body or the governor...

BEWARE: there are TONS of shady tranny shops (been there done that, got a screwed up door and missing parts from the experience). Dealer is pretty good, more expensive than if you found a good tranny shop, but if you find a bad one...

The dealer in my area will cost, not only your first born, but will likely @#$% it up. Ask around, friends, work folks, trusted mechanics, shops that don't do transmissions. See where they say is a good, reasonable place to go.
Here there are about 10 trans shops, but most are very high priced, and only want to sell a complete overhaul. They figure, no matter what's wrong, an overhaul will cover it.

We (my smog shop) send them to Miguel's because he is good, honest, reasonable priced, and will 'fix it' if it don't need a overhaul.

Update
 

The transmission was serviced only 3000 miles ago (right before I bought it). The fluid is clean, almost clear with a red tint. Level is correct.

I actually lucked into a nice transmission shop here in town right after I bought it. It wouldn't shift into passing gear (can you say putt-putt?!). The mechanic really liked the supras, and after driving it, didn't believe it was the transmission. He correctly identified the problem to be the throttle position sensor, and then also identified the strange noise in the rear to be the limited slip in need of a fluid change. And he told me I would need a new carrier bearing sometime soon. He said the tran fluid looked good too. At the time he serviced the car, I had not had any problems getting past 3rd gear. It was a couple of weeks later that the first incident happened. Then it was another 500 miles before the second incident! It acts like the O/D button has been hit, so next time I may try to turn it off and back on again.

The mechanic at the transmission place said a rebuild will run around $1800 (he was estimating on the high side).

:(

Does the car seem like it's engine braking in some gears (a manual transmission term) the car seems to stay attached to the gear when the gas is released. My car has and had a lot of these problems. Come to find out that the clutch discs are slipping and the transmission needs a rebuild. Rather than pumping out the $2k or so to get the non-turbo automatic tranny rebuilt, I have put my Supra into storage and am saving up for a 1JZ/5spd swap. I honestly think what caused the problem is that I swap for a Koyo radiator which doesn't have an internal tranny cooler, so had to get an aftermarket cooler. I don't think this did as good a job as the radiator cooler in the stock radiator to dissipate the New Mexico heat that was generated. The result, Fried Tranny!!! Mmmm...tasty.

Car never acts like its engine-braking. I stopped at the tranny shop again, and the mechanic thinks its an electrical problem, possibly a cellinoid. He wants me to bring it by when the problem has become worse, and he can see it in action. That may be a while because since that incident a few weeks ago its been shifting flawlessly. He thinks that if it was the transmission, it would go downhill fast. But if it does come down to rebuilding the transmission, I think I will opt for replacing it with a low-miles tranny. Local guy has a small supra graveyard and has helped me out alot with parts.

What really sucks is the gas mileage. I can't get better than 20. Most miles are city/country.