Delayed Gear Engagement August 04, 2022, 11:14:02 am Sometimes there is a 1-2 second hesitation when I engage 1st gear. This happens mostly when I drive first thing in the day. Twice this week when I engaged 1st on a slope, I heard and even felt a loud 'crack' when the gear did engage. I got under the vehicle and did a visual check of the entire drive shaft but saw no evidence of anything cracked or broken. (A mistake I was making was to try and force engagement by revs).Should I be considering the shift and clutch solenoids, or am I completely on the wrong track? Transmission fluid is fine. I do need to change the gasket at the pan tho.1989 Chevy 5.7l gas G30 (Small Block)
Re: Delayed Gear Engagement Reply #1 – August 12, 2022, 11:08:38 am Hi George; Well, I once had a similar problem on a 1978 Dodge, and It turned out to be old and cold transmission fluid. I did change as much fluid as I could. No way to get the fluid out of the torque converter, but changed the pan filter and put in a new gasket, followed by new fluid. Quite a few quarts but I don't remember how many now. That seemed to solve that problem of delayed, slow shifting. As far as the 'crack' sound; well as they say "That didn't sound very good!" Likely that sound emanated from inside the transmission and there could be internal damage that will reveal itself the hard way. RonB 1 Likes
Re: Delayed Gear Engagement Reply #2 – August 12, 2022, 12:01:23 pm While the shift and clutch solenoids may be the problem, it sounds like the internal seals are worn and leaking causing the slow engagement. Racing the engine will not help and may damage the transmission when it does engage.Is it worse when cold and gets better once the transmission warms up? If so, it might be time to start looking for a replacement or rebuilding.Larry 1 Likes
Re: Delayed Gear Engagement Reply #3 – August 12, 2022, 12:22:07 pm I had an 89 GMC pickup with a turbo 400 transmission, it would do the same thing. It was a very high mileage transmission with a lot of slack. Was your clank possibly a U joint?Jon