Lucas Transmission Fix

I've seen passing mention of this product, and I'm considering using
it. The reason is that we nought a '95 Camry four wagon last Fall that
was somewhat neglected: it appears that the transmission flush it got
last year was the only fluid change in almost 50k miles and many years.
We had one drain & fill done last Winter, but the transmission still
hesitates before going into gear when cold - especially into reverse. It
is also reluctant to upshift into fourth when accelerating, unless we
back off the throttle slightly. In about 75% of driving situations the
cars acts fine - it's the other 25% I'm worried about, along with the
life expectancy of this transmission. The car has 109k miles on it, is
in very good shape otherwise, and seems to have plenty of line pressure
and friction material left, going by the strong upshifts. I'd like to
solve the problem, and I'm hoping the Lucas product can help. What are
the risks, and how likely is it to help these symptoms...?

Delayed shifts across gears sound like a line pressure problem. It may
be due to varnish causing sticking pistons and valves etc as others
mentioned. Another source of low line pressure can simply be a plugged
strainer.

The strainer in its casing is impossible to clean with compressed air.
I just replaced one with 24K miles of fine metal particles lodged in
it with a $20 Fram ATF kit that included a cork-rubber gasket that
helped to hold the bolts in place.

Yeah, maybe a more frequent ATF drain and refill schedule for a while.


> > I think in your place I'd drop the pan and clean the
> > screen followed by a refill with fresh fluid then evaluate before I
> > added the Lucas.
> > FWIW
> > YMMV
>
> That was already done once, with little or no improvement. We're
> going to have it done again, but I suspect that more will be needed to
> fix the problem.

johngdole@m wrote:
> Delayed shifts across gears sound like a line pressure problem. It may
> be due to varnish causing sticking pistons and valves etc as others
> mentioned. Another source of low line pressure can simply be a plugged
> strainer.

When it does shift it does so decisively, so I don't think it's line
pressure...


>
> The strainer in its casing is impossible to clean with compressed air.
> I just replaced one with 24K miles of fine metal particles lodged in
> it with a $20 Fram ATF kit that included a cork-rubber gasket that
> helped to hold the bolts in place.
>
> Yeah, maybe a more frequent ATF drain and refill schedule for a while.

The dealer supposedly replaced the strainer with the first drain &
fill, but I'll try to make *sure* they do it with the second one. Thanks.

....

johngdole@m wrote:
> The strainer in its casing is impossible to clean with compressed air.
> I just replaced one with 24K miles of fine metal particles lodged in
> it
===
Were the permanent magnets in the bottom of the pan still in place?
That's where metal particles are supposed to be trapped.
Maybe I'm wrong, but wasn't aware of non ferrous metal in the
transmission.

johngdole@m wrote:
> When the pan is off. . . I clean this layer of sludge off so
> the magnets can do a better job attracting more gear shavings. There
> is quite a bit this time, so my next strainer goes back to the 15K
> mile interval. Aisin trannys are relatively dirty.
==
FWIW, I saw that layer of slime on the pan when I bought the car at
around 80K.
Replaced the gasket, cleaned the pan, and changed the fluid.
A mechanic with a solvent tank did the cleaning.
Since then, I've been using Mobil 1 synthetic ATF in the transmission
and differential. Actually I also add that 8 oz. of Lucas also.
Generally drain and fill the A140E Aisin transmission at 5K intervals
when I do servicing.
Had to change the gasket again not long ago to correct a leak
(discovered two stripped bolts from prior work).
Pan was spotless and magnets clean. I cleaned them again anyway, but
there was nothing there.
So for me, regular fluid changes have worked well without changing the
pan, strainer or gasket.