96 sl2 tranny problems

I have a 1996 SL2 automatic. It developed "hard" shifts around 94k miles, a
few months ago. I have at a ATRA certified shop checking it out. They said
first that the seleniod (sp?) valve assembly needed replaced, specifically
the pressure valve selenoid. Once they started on the job the said the
found a loose wire connection, fixed it and put it on the scanner and
found no codes for the seleniods, in fact no codes at all. He gave me the
ATRA technical bulletin #635 which explains the learn-in driving
procedure. I was to first disconnect the battery overnite which I did. I
followed it step by step and now it makes bad noises when it shifts, and
the shifts are still harsh. Has this happened to anyone else before? I'm
not sure if the repair shop just dosen't know what there doing or what.
Pls help!

I had a valve body replaced in a 95 sl1. After it was done, it shifted hard.
The Saturn tech told me I can drive it like this for a while and eventually
it would go when the computer figures out your driving habits.
I did for a few hours, but didn't like it, I then bought it to the
dealership and they hooked up the handheld computer and programed it. The
harsh shifting dissapeared. But, I was told again, that it would of
eventually went once the driving habits were picked up by the computer.
Go figure.

"christianone" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
>I have a 1996 SL2 automatic. It developed "hard" shifts around 94k miles, a
> few months ago. I have at a ATRA certified shop checking it out. They said
> first that the seleniod (sp?) valve assembly needed replaced, specifically
> the pressure valve selenoid. Once they started on the job the said the
> found a loose wire connection, fixed it and put it on the scanner and
> found no codes for the seleniods, in fact no codes at all. He gave me the
> ATRA technical bulletin #635 which explains the learn-in driving
> procedure. I was to first disconnect the battery overnite which I did. I
> followed it step by step and now it makes bad noises when it shifts, and
> the shifts are still harsh. Has this happened to anyone else before? I'm
> not sure if the repair shop just dosen't know what there doing or what.
> Pls help!
>

I replaced a pressure solenoid in my son's '96 Saturn SL1 back around March
IIRC. Check this newsgroup's archives for details. Finding the bad
solenoid is a breeze. All you need is an ohm meter and a 7mm socket wrench
to remove the electrical connector. It is easy to get at. The connector
has 10 pins and they go to 5 solenoids which are all identical. If you
measure resistance across adjacent pins you should see 4-8 ohms for each
solenoid if it is good. In my case, the pressure boost solenoid measured
1500 ohms and all others were 4-4.5. I opened the trans and replaced only
the single bad solenoid and the cover gasket (~$50 or so at the dealer) and
all was well and has been since then. By the way, local trans place didn't
have a clue how to diagnose this since the trans computer did not register
any problem codes. The only symptom was the terribly harsh shifting across
all gears.

Good luck.

Bob

"christianone" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> I have a 1996 SL2 automatic. It developed "hard" shifts around 94k miles,
a
> few months ago. I have at a ATRA certified shop checking it out. They said
> first that the seleniod (sp?) valve assembly needed replaced, specifically
> the pressure valve selenoid. Once they started on the job the said the
> found a loose wire connection, fixed it and put it on the scanner and
> found no codes for the seleniods, in fact no codes at all. He gave me the
> ATRA technical bulletin #635 which explains the learn-in driving
> procedure. I was to first disconnect the battery overnite which I did. I
> followed it step by step and now it makes bad noises when it shifts, and
> the shifts are still harsh. Has this happened to anyone else before? I'm
> not sure if the repair shop just dosen't know what there doing or what.
> Pls help!
>

thanks Bob, It sounds like I'm having the same problem. I disconnected the
battery lastnite and recennected today and just drove it normal. It seemed
better at first but eventually it went back to the harsh shifts. Are you
far from maryland, you made it sound so easy I'l like to get you to do it
for me.

Bob, I forgot to ask you where is this connector located?

The connector is in the top of the transmission under the air intake.
Pretty much directly in front of the driver side of the firewall. You won't
miss it... it is the only umbilical cable going into the top transaxle
cover. There is a single small metric bolt... 7mm as I recall to unscrew
and then the connector pops right out. Measure resistance on adjacent pins.
As I recall they start in one corner and go around in a clockwise or CCW
fashion. Measure resistance from 1 to 2, then 3 to 4, then 5 to 6, etc.
There are 5 sets so 10 pins in the connector. The resistance should be
fairly common and between 4 and 8 ohms depending on the temperature of the
trans. I hope this is what is causing your problem as it was not
particularly difficult to fix. The biggest pain is scraping off the old
gasket and not letting it fall INTO the opened transmission since the cover
comes off from the top side! (Most transmission pans come off from the
bottom so scraping is not an issue...

I am in Illinois so won't be of much help. By the way, before I did the
trans, I had replaced the torque axis mount on the top side of the engine.
That helped reduce movement and improved shifting some, but did not correct
the problem. I only mention this here since I am not sure how bad/harsh
your shifting is so it might be worth looking at.

Good luck.

Bob

"christianone" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Bob, I forgot to ask you where is this connector located?
>