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Speedometer and Shifting Issue

Ascheymed

Ascheymed

New member
I have an interesting situation which has proven extremely difficult to find any possible answers to. My car began by having an ABS/TCS light issue in which it would make the ABS noise but would not actually engage. It is important to note that I had this repaired by replacing the wheel sensor bearings on both wheels. Then the problem returned within about a month. Now I have a problem with my speedometer dropping to zero and then increasing rapidly. At first I did not notice any problems with the car shifting but tonight when I had it out to see how the car acted it began having shifting problems. The speedometer will drop under actual speed and then begin trying to shift from gear to gear. After a while of doing this the car actually just dropped into neutral and would not shift itself out. In response I shifted the car out of drive and into second gear and began shifting through the gears myself. When I did this, the car did not slip any longer but shifted extremely hard. I further noticed a whinning noise similar to that of a bad power steering pump which I have never heard before on the car. I do not think that this problem is actually tranny related (at least I hope not) and am hoping you guys could offer some insight. I feel like it could be the wheel bearing sensor but have also read a little about the transmission output sensor. Any help would be much appreciated as I am trying to get rid of this car.
 


The ABS/TC thing is likely a bad hub sensor. Totally unrelated to the transmission issue.

Transmission issue: The whining tells us that your pump is working excessively hard and is likely starving for fluid. The whacked out speedo hints to a sensor covered in metal or something of that nature. The harsh shifting is caused by the trans being unhappy about somethig.

Please have the codes read while you are at the parts store picking up a filter and fluid for a trans service. Post up the codes and their descriptions. Then we'll get you moving on a trans service to see what you find in the pan and on the VSS sensor.
 
I do not know how the tranny sensors could be covered in metal as I just checked the fluid and replaced the filter 5,000 miles ago and the thing was spotless. I suppose a lot could happen to it in that time but I really dont think that I've been hard enough on it to cause problems like that. I was planning on dropping the pan to check it out sometime within the next few days (FINALS WEEK). I have read that I can pull the output speed sensor on the tranny and see if it has metal on it but I am not familiar with where it is at. There is a sensor on the top side of the tranny on the drivers side almost directly below the end of the throttle body, is this my sensor and is what I read even accurate?
 
I should also note, the car prior to this issue had shown no signs of tranny problems. It shifted great ran smooth never slipped and never made any abnormal noise. This got me to thinking that it was unlikely that the tranny was actually going out and that it was more likely an electrical problem. After some looking I found something quite interesting on the computer wiring. About a month or so ago I installed a cone filter which required removing the air box and in removing the air box I also removed the cover for the computer as I'm sure all of you know. Well I got to looking, just out of curiosity, I found that the filter had rubbed through the electrical tape and through one wire's insulation exposing the copper. I am going to fix this tonight to see if it will resolve my problem.. Hopefully it does as I would think that an exposed wire could cause some problems similar to the one that I am having depending on which wire it is. I should also ask how I can reset the computer so that after I repair this wire I know I am back where I need to be. Thanks for any help
 
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Good News everyone! The tranny and the speedometer issues were electrical problems stemming from the install of the cone filter. Wrapped the wires, added a shield and had no problems. Now I just have to get the tcs fixed which should just be a hub. That brings me to another question, do/can hubs cause vibration?
 
Glad it was easy. A good mechanic always looks to the last things done on a car as potential causes of the issue. Great diagnostics..:th_thumbsup-wink:

Yes a hub can vibrate.
 


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