PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

For those of you who have encountered the hard shifting when tranny is hot problem (tranny PCS problem)
- How many of you have installed a shift kit (inside the bottom pan)?
- Which shift kit did you get? For example, the Transgo SK4T65E shift kit that reportedly addresses this problem and smooths and quickens the shifts.
- Did it fix the hard shift when tranny hot problem temporarily or permanently? And if it fixed the problem, how many miles have you driven since installing the shift kit?

I'm asking because the '02 Buick Park Ave Ultra I recently bought (89,000 miles) appears to have the hard shifting tranny when hot problem, and I'm considering my options.

Thanks.

A shift kit cant fix issues.
Only make them worse.

FWIW, the polls aren't working, and haven't been for a while.

I don't have a shift kit, but I agree, it won't fix the problem. It may be a band-aid, but there are deeper problems.

The TransGo shift kit has seemed to solve my transmission problems. I thought it was finally on its way out, but cleaning up a harness grounding point and fixing a coolant leak dumping coolant onto the ground seems to have made it shift a lot better in the 100 miles since that was addressed. My transmission got up to 180*F today quickly zipping through the hills with the A/C blasting, and the shifting was still smooth.

I have about 24k miles on my present shift kit, and 36k total miles running a shift kit of some sort. It seems to have worked for me...

Sadden wrote:A shift kit cant fix issues.
Only make them worse.

viper8907 wrote:I don't have a shift kit, but I agree, it won't fix the problem. It may be a band-aid, but there are deeper problems.

Is this based off real-world experience, or internet hearsay?

I'm not picking a fight, I've just always heard that the shift kit will help with the P1811 problem. I need to do this on one of my project cars, so I want real info.

I suggest reading this: http://tripleedgeperformance.com/Harsh_ ... P1811.html

TripleEdgePerformance wrote:One thing popular to try before diving into an expensive and labor enduring repair is to install a shift improver kit such as the Transgo SK4T65E shift kit that we offer. This kit includes a new set of accumulator springs and spacers to limit accumulator piston travel which greatly speeds up the time it takes to apply a clutch, which hand in hand will shorten the shift time. These kits are not made to create firm or harsh feeling shifts but to help speed up shift timing and keep what the pcm/tcm wants to see in check to prevent code P1811 from triggering.

Shift kit basically overrides what the pcs does. So yes it helps. But if you want to get technical, fixing the problem means replacing the pcs.

There's a difference in performance shift kits, and kits known as "correction" kits. Correction kits are generally bought and installed when the trans is out of the car and on the bench, and come with parts that a normal rebuild kit doesn't. Performance shift kits are usually just servo springs, servo seals, and a few gaskets. Combining different springs gives different shift speeds, and the seals usually correct for worn servo cylinders.

That's my experience anyways.

harofreak00 wrote:Is this based off real-world experience, or internet hearsay?

01bonneSC wrote:Shift kit basically overrides what the pcs does. So yes it helps. But if you want to get technical, fixing the problem means replacing the pcs.

I should have clarified my response. My '99 that I bought had the P1811 code, and it also had a shift kit in it, but it still had problems. Thats why I said the problem was deeper that may not be the case for all situations. Like 01bonneSC said, if you really want to fix it, replace the pcs. For a project car, a shift kit might be a good cheaper (maybe?) alternative.

viper8907 wrote:

harofreak00 wrote:Is this based off real-world experience, or internet hearsay?

01bonneSC wrote:Shift kit basically overrides what the pcs does. So yes it helps. But if you want to get technical, fixing the problem means replacing the pcs.

I should have clarified my response. My '99 that I bought had the P1811 code, and it also had a shift kit in it, but it still had problems. Thats why I said the problem was deeper that may not be the case for all situations. Like 01bonneSC said, if you really want to fix it, replace the pcs. For a project car, a shift kit might be a good cheaper (maybe?) alternative.

Do you know it had a kit or did the previous owner think it had a kit because of the pcs?

The previous owner put the kit in. He was a club member. I found the instructions amongst all the spare parts he gave me too, so it definitely had a kit. Like it said though, this trans may have (still have it) more issues than just the PCS, and thats why it didn't help. I just put a junkyard trans in it, because I was replacing the engine too.

Search my old posts. I've posted my experiences with a TransGo shift kit on here. For me, it worked, and continues to work. That kit plus a synthetic ATF with a better additive package than inexpensive dino ATF helped push the issue far down the list of concerns for me.

I put the Intense shift kit in my son's '99 Grand Prix over 3 years ago, and probably about 50k miles due to harsh shifts and P1811. It is working fine.

According to some ebay auctions, the TransGo shift kit needs to be installed through the side pan, not the lower pan. Is this true? If you have the side cover off, why not just replace the PCS instead? Are you guys only installing part of the kit?

THIS KIT CAN NOT BE INSTALLED FROM THE LOWER PAN AND MUST BE INSTALLED THRU THE SIDE PAN AND THAT WILL SOMETIMES LEAD TO THE TRANSMISSION REMOVAL IN ORDER TO INSTALL PROPERLY.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRANSGO- ... ccessories

The Trans-Go kit Intense sells/sold went into the accumulators and there was one spring that went into the side pan that most omit, until they go into the side pan.

I'm biting the bullet and having the PCS replaced since it's about $475 with car rental at a local shop. I'm starting to get more "slam-bang" behavior, so now's the time.

harofreak00 wrote:Are you guys only installing part of the kit?

Yes. The kit addresses several issues. The accumulator springs are meant to address the P1811 and firm up the shifts. The sider cover spring is meant to address an issue which I did not feel was a problem I had. I just threw away that packaging, so I cannot tell you what that other issue is, but anyone who has the instructions for that other spring maybe able to tell you.

The one spring was meant to be installed in the reverse drum to address the slow into reverse issues.

The other metal parts I didn't install. Just the pan stuff.

Update: I called the local tranny shop that has serviced my previous cars, and I described the problem - shifts fine except when stuck in traffic for more than an hour last week, after which it shifted noticeably harder than normal but no unusual noises. They want (cough cough) $3,000 to $3,200 for a complete tranny rebuild. They said it's safe to drive the car 'for a few days'. Wow! I hope that's not what's soon in store for me.

If it were me, I would drop the pan, get a new filter and new fluid in it ASAP. If you can get a transgo kit in short order, do that too. But I wouldn't rebuild the transmission until it stops moving.

Billha wrote:Update: I called the local tranny shop that has serviced my previous cars, and I described the problem - shifts fine except when stuck in traffic for more than an hour last week, after which it shifted noticeably harder than normal but no unusual noises. They want (cough cough) $3,000 to $3,200 for a complete tranny rebuild. They said it's safe to drive the car 'for a few days'. Wow! I hope that's not what's soon in store for me.

You aren't going to wreck anything by driving with a bad PCS, they are just trying to scare you.

$3000-3200 for a rebuilt is ABSOLUTELY ridiculous. You can get a fully rebuilt one from one of the best names in transmissions for $1549, or a high performance one for $1749: http://tripleedgeperformance.com/Transmissions.html

Putting a $3k transmission into a car you paid $3k for.... doesn't seem very smart to me.