tranny shuddering..ideas?

This may seem very repetitive in this forum. But When I bought the car the only problems it had shifting was when it went into OD the rpms went high then dropped. Lately if I gas the car then it shudders, mind you the speed still increases but it shudders really hard. If I ease off when I feel the shuddering coming on then it shifts smoothly. Is this because the tranny needs to be put down or perhaps rebuilt? There's some kind of additive at the auto parts store that says it helps eliminate the shudder but I thought if you add to much tran fluid then it actually harms it. Ideas? I have located a trans shop, and I do plan on having some routine maintenance done on it i.e new filter and fluid. Anyone heard of "Mr Transmission"?

I don't know if the past owner did and routine maintenance, he was stupid enough to believe the squeal under the hood (needed a new serpentine belt) was something serious enough to sell the car for 900.

It looks like it might be the Torque converter. I'm still going to have the shop look at it. but from what I have read 95% of the time its the TC. I have gotten some quotes to have it replaced along with fluid and new filter, first shop wanted 900 (my cars cost) and the next wanted 450 for everything and a 6 month warranty. I'll see what happens. Its a good thing I only have to go a mile to work lol.

I do need some clarification when they refill the tran fluid, they are supposed to use Mercon not Mercon V. I heard that if you use Mercon V (supposed to be used with 96 or later) then it helps eliminate shudders next time it happens. Will it hurt the tranny if "V" is used? A little edgy because are other car had the wrong fluid put in and soon the tran when down the *****t3r.

for the sake of speed no grammar will be used/punctuation. i took he car to the shop and from what the guy said it isn't the transmission. he said it might be the tires, as they were reallllly needing to be changed anyway, he also recommended grease lightning a fuel injector cleaner (best cleaner out there. sea foam has nothing on this nor STP) . i did both injector cleaning and sucked it up and bought new tires, but i still shake at 45-50 (od). although the ride is better and the shutter is less intense it still does it. I'm going to take it to get a front end alignment tomorrow.



i have noticed that when it rattles it feels like its coming from the rear wheels? also when your moving out of first gear you hear a whine from the rear end. could it be the differentials? iv never heard of anything happening to any cars differentials unless it was ancient.



although i totally agree with skymarshal, if i did put and additive in it then it would tell me it was the transmission right? just thinking out loud.

keep hitting me with ideas. please..

thanks for the help

MustangLX-5.0 said:

I must say,that shop is taking you for a ride.Ahh really,the tires? Come on man! I'm not saying anything about you,but this mechanic sounds like he's trying to get hours on his sheet.I"m sure you probably needed new tires but they would not cause a problem like this.If a tire had vibration issues,it would be constant or in a turn on the front tires.The tires also would not have anything to do with how the trans shifts unless they are so low they look flat.

Either the torque converter is the culprit or something in the trans.I would get it flushed like sky suggested.Find a different shop while your at it.I don't like the last one you took it to.Did the mechanic even test drive the car? Proper diag would include this procedure.

Can you describe this shuddering any further? I know it sounds like i'm asking a lot here but I need to get a clearer picture of this.I might be looking at this all wrong.Does the shuddering feel like bass from a subwoofer,or is it really low repetitions like a bad wheel shaking back and forth? Does it rattle objects inside the car? Does it cause you to lose engine power like a dragging brake or something rubbing....say like the rear end squating down and hitting something? Does it sound metallic or dull? Finally,does it shudder all the time,or only when it's cold or warmed up?

Ed - The noise your hearing from the rear is most likely the transmission.It's normal to make some whine like noises in low gears,especially first and reverse.Automatics tend to be a tad noisier.This is normal.It also tends to sound like it's coming from the differential because the driveshaft transfers sound.I could be mistaken on the sound your hearing.

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yes the guy took it for a test drive he said he took it into od then dropped to neutral then back to OD, he said if it when have been the torque converter he would have majorly felt it. the guy owns a 96 mustang auto, and a 04 and 09 gt. and as for his time sheet i don't know, wouldn't you think he would want me to stay at his shop for "repairs", instead of sending me away with other cheaper options to pursue? ( ididnt pay him anything for looking at it.) the guy that did it is not just one the hourly pay roll who reports to the "shop man", he seemed pretty cool infact he says hes a member on stangnet (he brought it up). i don't know his name on here. I TOTALLY AGREE on taking it to another shop to have it looked at, but the tires need replacing anyway, so if it fixed it fixed and in my case it didn't but the car has new tires. I looked on some consumer report shiet, and it said one of the problems for the 95r was the auto trans, in 3-4 gear would shudder and most the time new tranny fluid would fix it. oh and on a trip i took to dallas about 300 miles, i had an airborne experience, i was going about 30 or so and flew over this bumb i didn't see and landed pretty hard, i didn't notice any rattling till 3 weeks after the trip. i don't know if that has something to do with it.



chuh,ching it does rattle stuff in the car...jackpot..what is it? um the engine dosent loose power... it dosent shutter all the time, only in od, and when the engines cold it will shutter and sometimes not, and when the car is warmed up ie 50/50 on the gauge it will and sometimes wont.


as for a new tranny shop, without going 44 miles to a recommended repairshop the only other is ammco trans. from what iv heard they suck balls both with service and dragging you down for all your worth. im thinking im just going to take it back and get the trann flushed and new fluid and filter see if that helps, if not cure it.

final note, i will take my video cam and take a video of the rpm and speed gauge and i will set the camera on the back of the car next to the windshield to show you the intensity of it....

thanks for taking interest

All right here it is, I'm sorry bout the music I totally wasn't thinking about it. You can definitely hear the shuddering I'm talking about, put headphones on and turn it up. you'll hear the rattling in the back. @20-24secs




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In reply to Skymarshal i don't believe that's the problem. just recently i was driving and slowed down out of OD from 65 to 35 and then i sped back up and it didn't want to go back into OD then a second later it did. haven't had that problem before and it hasn't occurred since.

to crshelton21- I am taking the car to Peavy's garage in Katy TX. they are apparently a very trusted shop and host a car show on the radio here in Houston. they have a tranny flushing machine and for 220 they're going to flush it fill it and add this BG conditioner...now that u mentioned synthetic i might just ask them to put that in.


Iv kind of let the problem drop and that's why I haven't replied,

thanks to all for the input!