I got in late last night from a long trip and my Rodeo was just fine, but then when I left for work this morning it started shifting very hard (to the point where the entire truck jerks on every gear). Any ideas/opinions on what might be wrong? I'm hoping that the transmission fluid might just be low because of the long trip, but I can't check it until lunch time.
When was the last time the fluid was changed? IMHO fluid should be changed every 15K-20K. If it's low or old shifting can be impaired.
That was actually the problem. I was able to get under and check things out and the fluid did have some build up in it so looks like I'll be changing my transmission fluid tonight.
Thanks for the tip! I put a lot of highway miles on my truck and usually get it changed every six months or so out of habit, but I've put some extra miles on this year and didn't take that into consideration.
Hopefully you've caught it before any damage is done. Quite often new clean fluid gets things shifting smooth again. Most shops these days do what they call a full tranny flush. They pump 100% of the old fluid out as opposed to dropping the pan which usually only drains about 30-50%. The trouble with these new machines is the shop fails to change the tranny filter or adjust the bands. What I do now is have them replace the filter every other change. If you do it yourself you'll need some method to draw out all the fluid and not just what drains from the pan.
Is there a way to pump out all the fluid without having a fancy gizmo?
If I have a drill pump and am able to put a tube down the fill neck, can I pump it out?
Answer?
Thanks, Bill
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