Blazer Eagle
Newbie
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2015
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 8
or both?
So let's start out with my truck
its a 1995 ECLB 4x4 with a 4" lift, non-factory installed 4.56 gears and 35" tires. It is an 8600 gvw with the 454 and 4l80e drivetrain. Right now the odometer says 420K miles, the true mileage is just under 400K when corrected for the drivetrain changes. Supposedly this truck has the original transmission - the motor is original but has been rebuilt to some extent after it failed emissions testing around 300k from burning excessive oil.
So first things first......yes - this truck is definitely due for a tune up. I've owned the truck since 370K miles and haven't changed the plugs, wires or distributor cap. Also, both exhaust manifolds are cracked - the drivers side is leaking a fair amount but the passenger side is not yet leaking.
I changed the Transmission fluid and filter roughly 30K miles ago - it is probably due for a change, though it isn't an off color or burnt smelling - though I'm not very experienced in transmission fluid diagnostics.
More history - in the summer of 2014 I downloaded a phone app that would record 0-60 and 1/4 mile times to compare my truck to my cousins new to him MR2. I found that under WOT, the truck would not shift correctly, it would hang onto the gear way too long. If I stayed on the throttle I would run about a 22 second 1/4 mile. I found that if I let off the gas when I wanted to shift, I could drop that time to 18 seconds. I attributed this to worn out shift solenoids and an incorrect speedometer (ie transmission getting an incorrect speed signal)
Recently, I have been having power issues - and I'm not sure if the source is the transmission or the engine. Basically, it almost feels like the reverse of slipping - it feels like the transmission is putting load on the engine. Sometimes I wonder if I really am towing a ghost trailer.
One symptom is when accelerating, with the throttle at about 30% I'll have pretty decent acceleration. However, if I try and bump up to %40 percent throttle it feels like someone just dropped 5K pounds in the bed - the truck loses its pull just like someone hit a switch. Even if I floor it, the rpm's increase at a steady rate that is consistent with the increase in speed....but man is it slow! It sounds like the engine is working super hard but it's like something is holding the truck back.
Another symptom:
Tonight I held the throttle at about %75 leaving a stoplight. The truck revved up to just over 3K rpms just fine. It slowed down like it was about to shift, but then held it there for longer than it should (probably like 3 seconds)....then downshifted. When it downshifted it also "backfired" out the exhaust.
Is the transmission sticking a clutch? Is the torque converter not transmitting power? Is my fuel pump dying? All of the above? Where should I start with diagnosing issues?
So let's start out with my truck
its a 1995 ECLB 4x4 with a 4" lift, non-factory installed 4.56 gears and 35" tires. It is an 8600 gvw with the 454 and 4l80e drivetrain. Right now the odometer says 420K miles, the true mileage is just under 400K when corrected for the drivetrain changes. Supposedly this truck has the original transmission - the motor is original but has been rebuilt to some extent after it failed emissions testing around 300k from burning excessive oil.
So first things first......yes - this truck is definitely due for a tune up. I've owned the truck since 370K miles and haven't changed the plugs, wires or distributor cap. Also, both exhaust manifolds are cracked - the drivers side is leaking a fair amount but the passenger side is not yet leaking.
I changed the Transmission fluid and filter roughly 30K miles ago - it is probably due for a change, though it isn't an off color or burnt smelling - though I'm not very experienced in transmission fluid diagnostics.
More history - in the summer of 2014 I downloaded a phone app that would record 0-60 and 1/4 mile times to compare my truck to my cousins new to him MR2. I found that under WOT, the truck would not shift correctly, it would hang onto the gear way too long. If I stayed on the throttle I would run about a 22 second 1/4 mile. I found that if I let off the gas when I wanted to shift, I could drop that time to 18 seconds. I attributed this to worn out shift solenoids and an incorrect speedometer (ie transmission getting an incorrect speed signal)
Recently, I have been having power issues - and I'm not sure if the source is the transmission or the engine. Basically, it almost feels like the reverse of slipping - it feels like the transmission is putting load on the engine. Sometimes I wonder if I really am towing a ghost trailer.
One symptom is when accelerating, with the throttle at about 30% I'll have pretty decent acceleration. However, if I try and bump up to %40 percent throttle it feels like someone just dropped 5K pounds in the bed - the truck loses its pull just like someone hit a switch. Even if I floor it, the rpm's increase at a steady rate that is consistent with the increase in speed....but man is it slow! It sounds like the engine is working super hard but it's like something is holding the truck back.
Another symptom:
Tonight I held the throttle at about %75 leaving a stoplight. The truck revved up to just over 3K rpms just fine. It slowed down like it was about to shift, but then held it there for longer than it should (probably like 3 seconds)....then downshifted. When it downshifted it also "backfired" out the exhaust.
Is the transmission sticking a clutch? Is the torque converter not transmitting power? Is my fuel pump dying? All of the above? Where should I start with diagnosing issues?
