Slipping Automatic Transmission
96 GMC K1500 4WD
A slipping automatic transmission is the first sign of serious internal troubles heading your way. More often then not this condition will lead to a complete transmission overhaul. Here is an email question about this common condition as well as a good example of the likely symptoms.
A visitor writes, Thank you for your website. You have pushed me to further educate myself about the mechanical side of cars. Here is some information about my trucks problem before I take it to a transmission shop or general car repair place.
I have a 96 GMC K1500 4WD. I am having slipping automatic transmission problems. If I drive like grandma and ease up to Highway speeds I can feel all gears engage and pull, 1, 2, 3, and 4. If I take off fast From a stop or if I’m driving 6Omph and stomp it for passing gear I can see the Rpm gauge surge to 3500-4000 and hear the engine running great but no power at The wheels.
I have to let off the gas for the transmission to begin to pull again as it falls back to the higher gear. My auto scan tool from Actron says I have no codes set in the computer. I have purchased the all data online auto repair manuals for my trucks. I have gone through the related info to become familiar as possible with this problem. After a physical inspection, my fluid level is correct and no burnt odor. I have no leaks, the wiring harnesses and connectors look fine. Read more
Online Auto Repair Manuals
Repair diagram
Thanks for the response about online auto repair manuals. I understand what you mean about All-Data and Mitchells in reference to their auto repair information quality. I had looked at the two, and tried the “demo” on All-Data which actually let me view (as you know) actual info like I would get in a subscription to a particular vehicle.
The one downside I [thought] was when I looked up DTC’s and test procedures for them it always referred to the Manufacturer or Dealer type scan tool. Even though it listed, in one place, a choice of tools (manufacturer/dealer, other, etc) to view this info for, it said that info was not available for any except the Manufacturer style [dedicated] diagnostic tool?
I got to this by clicking on the online auto repair manuals “Honda demo” since my daughter has a Honda (older than the demo, but I was looking to see what all it included). I then clicked on Powertrain Management and then Computers and Control Systems all these along the left column.
Then I clicked on Reading and Clearing Diagnostic Trouble Codes under “Testing and Inspection” in the right column. This brought me to a page which had links to With Manufacturers Scan Tool, With Generic Scan Tool, Without Scan Tool and “Clearing Diagnostic Trouble Codes”.
If I click on Using Generic Scan Tool, I get the page saying the Manufacturer doesn’t provide auto repair information for this. While it may be painfully obvious to most, I wasn’t sure the info would all work with a tool like the Actron CP9180 or the AutoXray AX6000 or such.
You raised another topic related to online auto repair manuals. You said Read more
Auto Repair Information
Auto Mechanic
This was an auto repair information blog when I started it two years ago. Things stayed on topic, but changed a little when gas prices started to climb in early 2008. This is also when I purchased the water 4 gas systems and decided to share the details of my project with visitors. In today’s post I wanted to return to the original reason I started this blog. And that was to supply auto repair information for people that like to fix their own cars.
After fielding many questions over the last couple years on my car repair help page I have noticed one very common piece of advice that I continue to dispense. It also happens to be the first step in almost all of my automotive diagnosis procedures that I personally use. And this is the visual inspection. It is very common that I will uncover the cause of the car problem by simply performing a thorough visual inspection.
Auto repair visual inspections
I’m going to provide some examples of what to look for, and some of the most common things that I have found. It would seem that a visual inspection during these winter months are more important then in the summer. But regardless, I perform this procedure as a quick first step in automotive diagnosis no matter what the weather is like.
My first example actually happened yesterday and got me thinking about how I should share this with website visitors. I was working on a 2006 Read more
