HELP!!! my stupid trans is stuck in 2nd

[paternoster2012]

I have a 91 laser with a 2.0 non turbo a/t

The transmission seems to be stuck in 2nd gear

It wont down shift when iu slow down, it doesnt upshift when i speed up either
Started from a dead stop the car feels like its towing something
When i move the gear selecter through all the gears nothing happens like it used to
The car used to lurch going from low to 2nd now nothing

I have no idea what is wrong with it

Any suggestions?

[noreaga0221]

try changing the fluid.

so i guess reverse or neutral dont work anymore either? if not then how do you start your car?

[Lasersharp65]

I am almost positive it is an end clutch or a computer problem. I get this every now and then and to be honest, it did it to me today on my way home from work. When i stop at a light and its in drive, it will stay in 3rd from a complete stop. It will NOT go into 1st unless u put it in park and turn the car off and back on. The only 2 gears that actually work are 2nd and 3rd, when it is in this sort of "limp mode". I wish I knew what it was cause its a pain in the ass, when I had a broken motor mount it caused this problem 24/7, now i get it once a month or so.

[paternoster2012]

Park reverse and nuetral all work

Its justw hen i shift into to drive it goes straight to 2nd gear
When I select low gear it goes to 2nd gear
When im driving and it should shift to 3rd it stays in 2nd gear
the overdrive doesnt work either

Iv tried changing the fluid too....It wasnt burn or dark or anything

I think it is electrical...

[Blackboost]

Try checking the TCU caps (Trans Control Unit) for signs of leakeage. If not, maybe the "hift solenoids" on the tranny valve body are damaged...

[paternoster2012]

Is there anyplace online that I can get somewhat detailed instructions about this?

If i brought it into a transmission shop how much would it costs to fix?

The car isnt worth enough to bother swapping in a new transmission or anything

[Lasersharp65]

Since I have the same problem, I have taken it upon myself to look into this further. I have a small amount of leakage coming from the front of the tranny. There is a white wire of some sort that come out of a circular part on the front also.(thats where its leaking) I am assuming its electrical, but not sure. Last night it stalled on me at a redlight, and on the highway it bucked REAL hard, i thought it was just gonna hit the pavement. anmd yes overdrive does not work, i am thinking about taking it to a guy to tear apart but its not gonna be worth the money. My advice, just run it till it dies.

[paternoster2012]

Originally posted by Lasersharp65
Since I have the same problem, I have taken it upon myself to look into this further. I have a small amount of leakage coming from the front of the tranny. There is a white wire of some sort that come out of a circular part on the front also.(thats where its leaking) I am assuming its electrical, but not sure. Last night it stalled on me at a redlight, and on the highway it bucked REAL hard, i thought it was just gonna hit the pavement. anmd yes overdrive does not work, i am thinking about taking it to a guy to tear apart but its not gonna be worth the money. My advice, just run it till it dies.

Mine did the highway thing all the time untill it finally just stayed in 2nd

I did some research also and that wire you are refering to goes to the kickdown servo switch, mine is grimey as hell too

I was gonna replace it this past weekend but I wanted to egt a 2nd opinion on here first

I suspect it is that but i really have no concrete eveidence to back it up

And yes this thing will be driven to the ground

[Lasersharp65]

adda boy! lol, anyway, when and i say when cause its not all the time, but i get the 3rd only, unless i put it in low, in 2nd and drive, it stays in 3rd but low is 2nd, and no overdrive, so that means its in limp mode. The cause is deffinately computer or electrical cause my tranny was just rebuilt a year ago. I will check into this wire on wednesday (tomorrow) when i have time and will check into what this wire is doing wrong.

[eclipze111]

mine got stuck in second gear also, when it went from reverse to drive it shifted hard as hell. Sometimes it woul go into first then second, but after it went into second it stayed there. It would not manually shift either. My tach also went out seconds before this happened. It turned out to be a speed sensor in the transmission. Try checking that.

[paternoster2012]

Well Ill look into the speed sensor too, but my tach works just fine so that may not e the culprit

however your symptoms are very similar to mine...

[mikeydsm]

check the tranny ocmp. i just had to replace mine. same symptoms u have. pull it out and smell where the connectors are if it smells like burning anything its bad

[paternoster2012]

Originally posted by mikeydsm
check the tranny ocmp. i just had to replace mine. same symptoms u have. pull it out and smell where the connectors are if it smells like burning anything its bad

and just where is this magical comp located?

I know nothing about the electrical systems on my car
Im used to carbs so this is all confusing

[mikeydsm]

Its located bedhind the ECU. its behind two carpeted little panels all the way up by the firewall on the floor.

[paternoster2012]

Ok I pulled out what I think is the transmission computer

Its part # E8T0707 0622

It doesnt smell burnt or anything

Is this the right part or what?
It was behind the ECM

Hey lazersharp anyword on what that wire did?

[mikeydsm]

the tranny comp number varies between turbo/nt/awd/fwd models so i dont know if thats the number. Try bringing it to a GOOD transmission shop ad have them look at the computer they might be able to tell if thats the problem. Wehn i took mine out it smelled like burning eletronics (almost like solder).

[FWDLaser]

hi i was just wondering if you ever got your transmission fixed because im having the same problem and i was hoping maybe you found the solution so i could see if that would work with mine too thanks.

[LaserCool]

It definitely sonds like the "limp mode'. My suggestion is pull the TCU (transmission control unit) codes and see what it says. You can find said codes, PLUS where and how to pull them at:

http://www.plymouthlaser.com/tcucodes.htm

While you're at it, you might want to pull your ECU codes (wanna guess what that stands for?). The terminal is right next to the TCU pos terminal. The Haynes manual for the 1G has the whole procedeure and even pictures. Worth an investment of a few bucks.