Hi there. I have had my car for about 2 months. It has 205,000 miles on it. It's a 96, has a 3.1 in it and an automatic transmission. Here is what it does. When picking up speed, the RPM's will go up but it doesn't want to shift when it's supposed to or pick up speed very well. If I take my foot off the gas just a little it will go ahead and shift and the tac will drop to where it's supposed to be. But it doesn't always do that. 30 - 40 percent of the time it shifts exactly as it should and behaves itself. Normally I use regular drive when attmepting to reach highway speed then I shift it into overdrive once I hit about 55 or 60. Well I did that a week or so ago and the whole car shook like I had driven over a railroad track or something. It just lasted for a few seconds. I have only used overdrive since then because I've been a bit worried to mess with it. When going up hills I lose quite a bit of speed, even on low inclines. Depending on the hill I typically lose between 5 and 15 mph. I don't give it more gas when going up because it does no good, I actually have to let off the gas some as I approach the top of the hill, the car will start shaking if I don't. My husband was driving one day and gave it a lot of gas, the RPM's jumped way up there but we couldn't feel it in the car at all. It picked up NO speed. If I push it too hard my check engine light comes on. When I baby it, the light goes off. It takes nearly a mile to go from 0-60 though and it's getting old. I just realized that my gas mileage is beginning to decrease too. My husband thought at first that it was a transmission problem, then I was reading some stuff that suggested it could be the catalytic convertor, and I also read something about a TRANSAXLE SYSTEM SENSOR but can't seem to find out what that even is. Since I've had this car, the transmission has been flushed, the fuel injection system has been cleaned, I've replaced the fuel filter, and it has a new battery and alternator. It starts BEAUTIFULLY and is sooo quiet when it's not moving. There has been more than once that I didn't think it started because of how smoothly it started.

On another note... there is a hum or buzz I guess you could call it that seems to come from under the hood somewhere kind of on the drivers side. I thought at first it might be a tire.. but I have gotten new front tires and it didn't change. It is not present at all when just idling but as soon as I begin to move it starts. The slower I'm going the deeper the noise, the faster I drive the higher pitched it gets...it's not high enough pitched to be considered a whine though. Like I said, it's a hum sort of noise. Any thoughts? My husband is going to replace my brakes & bearings which both need done. He said when he has the wheel off he will be able to see more, said he thought it could potentially be a CV shaft that's making that noise, or the bearings or maybe the transmission. I'm hoping somebody has had one or both of these problems before and can offer some helpful suggestions. Any thoughts? Do ya'll think this noise is related to the problems I mentioned above or something completely different? Thanks in advance.
Krys.

 

I posted your list of issues on my repair website. Let's see if we get any responses.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/carfix_online/

 

The loss of power going up hill to me indicates a problem with the catylic convertor. They mess up everything on a car, including shifting, without sending an error code. It will get to a point where it cant get out of it's own way. With 200k+ miles, there could be other issues, also.
Wayne
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2319272

 

I was reminded of something else this morning, don't know if it is relevant or not. On occasion (not very often) when it's having to work hard (going up hills or picking up speed from a dead stop) the AC or HEATER will quit blowing. Once the car isn't having to work anymore they go back to normal. I also sometimes hear a very high pitch faint whistle during that time. My husband thought the whistle might be a vacuum leak somewhere.

SolaraSlayer: Thanks for that. I clicked on the link to see if there were any responses... some people are just rude. I replied to the only response but I don't know if it just went to his email or if it will post there.

RocknSS04: Thanks for the input. Until browsing around here I never knew that a catalytic convertor had so much control over a vehicle.

 

Here is a response:

A mechanic should be able to tell what the problem is related to very quickly,
so I'm assuming no shop has looked at it. My wild guess would be that the
exhaust system is very restricted, which would also cause the sound that is
described. The MIL coming on should mean there is a trouble code stored that can
be read by most auto parts stores for free. The trouble code could be helpful.
It at least would let you know if there was a misfire or lean fuel condition.
I'm not sure about the shaking but it could be that the car indeed has a misfire
that was ignored long enough to overheat the convertor to the point of a
meltdown.

Kenneth Hayes

 

Here is another responder:

Hi Krys,

What does "[posted from another website]" mean?
Does this mean that you are 'cross posting' to
see if one group can beat the other???
It means that you are LAZY and ONLY want a cure
without participation...
If so, you can pack sand!

On the other hand...

If you are experiencing extended revs when there
shouldn't be, you are usually experiencing Transmission
Slip.

"The Light goes out".
WHY IN THE WORLD did you ask for info to help you and
NOT provide info that could help?
If this is a "check engine" or "service engine soon"
light, it *could* help us to Identify the cause.
I hear that AutoZone will extract codes for free.
Do it and give us the clues we need.

I believe, from your note, that you are having 2 (TWO)
conditions for the Trans...
1) You have a Trans Slip problem.
2) There is a Secondary Ignition problem.

On the "noise"

I would start by checking wheel bearings...

Tell us more, please,

Mike.

 

And yet another response. I am telling that you all should go out and join this group. They are the best at solving roblems. I've never not found out what is wrong with any of my cars:

I have a 95 cutlass with approx 92,000 miles on it. same engine and funny thing
is what your experiencing is the same thing I am. Some days the car runs great,
some days it don't. I can't seem to figure out whats going on with it other than
one repair shop told me its the trans and to drive the car until it dies. I also
find that at times, when I put it into reverse the car will actually go forward
or not move at all.I have to shift it into another gear then back to reverse I
also have found that if I put it in to "D" and not over drive it sometimes runs
better and the trans will shift like its suppose to. A couple of weeks ago the
car shook so bad that it kept stalling. It would not run. I later found that the
Vacuum hose to the brake booster came out. not sure how or why that happened. I
ended up having to replace the hose that stopped the noise that I was hearing
from under the hood, btw it had a small crack in the hose. I have a feeling
that what we are
experiencing is trans problem. In my case I can't afford to have it fixed so I
am hoping that I can get through the winter and tax season to see what my other
options are. So far I have put alot of money into this car.

 

Had a 1984 Olds Cutlass with 3.8 liter and 4 speed transaxle. In overdrive the rpm`s would go way up with a vibration. No acceleration. Select 3rd and all was great for about 100miles and ditto the 3rd gear. Took it to the shop. They drop the pan. Pan was full of very fine metal shavings. Replaced the tranny and all was great after that. When I read your predicament the first thing I thought of was that Olds. Pull the pan off the tranny and look inside. I`m not so sure it`s the converter. Good Luck!

 

Just thought I'd give an update as to part of my post. Turns out the "hum" was in fact the bearings. My husband and son replaced my drivers side bearings a couple of days ago and it is sooo much quieter now. I am amazed at the difference. Now that that's fixed I can hear that the CV Shaft does in fact need replacing. One thing at a time. First stop CV shaft, next stop after that, CATALYTIC CONVERTER. I'll let ya'll know how it goes. Thanks for the input.
Krys.