Shudder In Transmission

[dougs 400]

My '95 LS400 has 96,000 miles and is in great condition with the exception of a couple of irritating, transient problems. When in town between 45 and 50 mph, the transmission seems to shudder or jerk between the 3rd to OD shift. Never happens at higher speeds. This has been going on for some time with no change. Had the fluid changed and screen cleaned with no change.

Anyone have a clue what this could be? Thanks for your input.

[nc211]

i'm trying to help you in the other thread you started about this....

[fisher972002]

gotta put toyota type IV in these transmission.. You ahve TCC shutter because there is either mercon or dextron in there, someone put it in there, have it flushed and put back in Toyota Type 4 fluid only and it will fix..

[CUMan]

I'm not sure a flush and fill is needed. When I was having this problem on my 93 LS several years ago, I just did a drain and fill, using Type IV fluid. This stopped the shudder, and it never returned.

[jcrome04]

If a flush and fill fixed your shudder shouldn't there be a chance it'll do the same for him??

[Leadfoot]

If a flush and fill fixed your shudder shouldn't there be a chance it'll do the same for him??

A "flush and fill" is different from a "drain and fill". Draining only takes out 2 quarts, flush swaps out the entire 8.9 quarts. For most of us it's a lot easier to do a few drain and fills than try to flush the entire system (haven't seen a procedure for this yet!). Achieves pretty much the same thing though.

[beaudroix]

My '95 LS400 has 96,000 miles and is in great condition with the exception of a couple of irritating, transient problems. When in town between 45 and 50 mph, the transmission seems to shudder or jerk between the 3rd to OD shift. Never happens at higher speeds. This has been going on for some time with no change. Had the fluid changed and screen cleaned with no change.

Anyone have a clue what this could be? Thanks for your input.

I have a 94' that does the same thing. Had the transmission completely drained and refilled with new fluid and it did not help. Was recently told to add some Dr Tranny - Torque Converter Shudder fix. Has anyone used this?

[90LS400Lexus]

I have never even heard of it. Thankfully, my old LS400 (1990) and current one (1991) both had/have perfectly smooth transmissions, (knock on wood), but when I had my old 2000 Toyota Tundra it had a harsh 2nd-3rd shift. I was told to get auto RX (I think this is what it was called) for the tranny. I was supposed to be for engine or transmission concerns. I was afraid to put it in, so I never did. I did put one bottle in the engine of my 1985 Mercedes and it smoothed it out alot.

I ended up selling the truck and that 2nd unused bottle of that stuff is here somewhere.

[CanadaCraig]

My '95 LS400 has 96,000 miles and is in great condition with the exception of a couple of irritating, transient problems. When in town between 45 and 50 mph, the transmission seems to shudder or jerk between the 3rd to OD shift. Never happens at higher speeds. This has been going on for some time with no change. Had the fluid changed and screen cleaned with no change.

Anyone have a clue what this could be? Thanks for your input.

I have a 94' that does the same thing. Had the transmission completely drained and refilled with new fluid and it did not help. Was recently told to add some Dr Tranny - Torque Converter Shudder fix. Has anyone used this?

Hi Guys!! :)

I hope you're OK.

I find this topic very interesting.

MY transmission - or should I say - my TORQUE CONVERTER - is causing the exact same sensations. The TC clutch [so I've been told] is not always staying 'locked' and locks and unlocks at [And around] 50 MPH or so. THIS is what has been causing my car to have what I have often referred to as the 'towing a boat' feeling. [And is - so I suspect - the culprit behind why my car very often accelerates slower than it should] It's quite 'jerky' on the freeway. My Lexus dealer [in an attempt to fix the problem - because they failed to recognize it as a problem when my car was still under the extended warranty that I bought for it when I bought the car] has now flushed and filled the transmission [including the TC of course] TWICE. [At their expense] The last time [just a couple of weeks ago] using synthetic transmission fluid. [Filling the transmission with synthetic fluid when they were done] Neither 'flush and fill' fixed the problem. So now I'm looking into things like 'Dr. Tranny'. It would be interesting to see if it worked. Some websites seem to suggest that a worn clutch might be the problem. Can the clutch be replaced on a TC?

Oh well....

Just felt like saying all that!!

Have a great day!

Craig!! :)

[fisher972002]

Yup

Same thing happened to me when I bought my car.. Put the correct T Fluid, Type 4 in it and it will correct, easy fix.. TCC shutter, very common when people put dextron/mercon in these cars.

[ramnozack]

If a flush and fill fixed your shudder shouldn't there be a chance it'll do the same for him??

A "flush and fill" is different from a "drain and fill". Draining only takes out 2 quarts, flush swaps out the entire 8.9 quarts. For most of us it's a lot easier to do a few drain and fills than try to flush the entire system (haven't seen a procedure for this yet!). Achieves pretty much the same thing though.

MATE,CHECK OUT MY POST ON PAGE ONE OR TWO ,I THINK.I HAVE COMPLETELY DETAILED IT. G/L

[nc211]

Doug's original post was due to his ecm unit. He had the imfamous off-throttle-shock syndrome that several of the 95-96 years had, unfortunetly.

[Hotrodls]

What about if the car has close to 200xxx is it still ok to just drain and fill

 

[Bykfixer]

In a word, yes. Try that first. 

Some say the crud stuck onto parts and pieces of a high mileage tranny are what keeps seals from leaking.