transmission woes

[sjr8ut]

Hello,
I have a '94 with a 3-spd automatic. The differential went out on a long trip because there was no fluid in it and I had the whole trans. replaced with a used one. At first, the used trans. was sluggish in 1st gear. After a week, I pushed the gas harder to get it to go from a stop and something kicked in and 1st gear is not sluggish anymore. However, now shifting is erratic from 1st to 2nd gear--it is sometimes delayed and a little harsh. Does anyone know what could cause these symptoms? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

PS- I would take it back to the guy who put in the salvaged tranny but he is hundreds of miles away.
PPS-For anyone who has a separate front differential, I would recommend they check the fluid. I had a guy check it at an oil change place who assured me it was fine--but it turned out he did not check it and it was dry. It can only be checked at the filler plug--no dipstick.

[jtmroczk]

get the fluid changed

[Phreddo]

welcome to my world.
i had the exact same thing happen last year. moving from Oklahoma to Wisconsin, my differential blew up outside of Wichita. that set me back $1900.

now my tranny is making a suspicious noise, and I suspect a dry differential.

I've heard that this tranny has a weakness in a seal between the differential and the transmission. it can fail and the diff runs dry.

supposedly there is a fix, but the mechanic has to know his stuff.

Off to Aamco with me....

[sjr8ut]

Hey Phreddo,
Sorry to hear about your pricy Wichita disaster. The mechanic told me that this problem is not uncommon. If I buy a corolla again, I will be sure to get a manual trans or the 4sp auto so that I don't have to deal with the separate differential. It seems like poor design to not have a dipstick or some easier way of checking the fluid.

[Phreddo]

well, i got the diff replaced for $400, and in the process got a new transfer shaft and CVs (all covered under warranties). now I've got that erratic shifting thing as described in the first post. as soon as I get paid, i'm going to do a filter/flush.

also, if you spring $15 for a Haynes or Chilton manual, you can learn a lot. There is a throttle shift control cable that you can adjust to improve shifting a bit. it attaches to the throttle body, and it's pretty easy to adjust.