my truck has been running great and im always claiming how well it runs for an older truck and so many miles. but here recently, i started to get hard shifting from 1st to 2nd and then it progressed to the rest of the gears and now i have a hard time getting it to engage at all. my question is, we have a tendency to want to start by replacing the transmission and are there other cheaper, maybe easier fixes for these symptoms? i was told about a shift solenoid.....but shouldnt there be a way to tell if one the sensors went out? i dont even know if my computer diagonostics work, but i love this truck. really dont want to junk it. any suggestions would be great, thanks for your time and patience.

 

Being an 89, it is a mechanical automatic transmission. There really aren't a lot of electronic do-dads on it.

The throttle valve (TV) cable has a lot to do with shift firmness & timing. Maybe this cable has fallen out of adjustment. Here are a few links for you to read through:
GM TV Cable Adjustment Instructions
Throttle Valve Adjustment
TV System 101

 

well that might be a possibility, i remember before it went completely that when i seemed to rev it up, that it would everually shift. i'll take a look at that cable and see what i see. thanks for ur reply, alot times it takes so much to time to get an answer on a forum but i got one fairly quickly, thank you so much for the advice and your time. have a great day, i'm pluggin away trying to figure this out.

 

well i checked the tv cable and its fine. it has since starting not going into gear at all, but only when its hot. if i let it set for an indefinite time, it goes into gear no problem. something tells me that this is not a transmission problem. from what i am gathering, there are about 5 sensors in the pan or transmission area but im not getting a check engine light for anything which common sense would tell i should but my truck is not in the best of conditions but it normally runs like a beast and i love it. anyone shed some light on the subject?

 

Your transmission is not electronically controlled like the newer 4L60E.

The problem is with the transmission. It sounds like you are having line pressure issues once the transmission fluid comes up to temperature.

 

What would you suggest?

 

Get your line pressure checked. At this point, you likely should take it to someone that knows their way around inside a 700R4.

 

sorry to be so ignorant about transmissions but i haven't done much work on that part of a vehicle. i'm trying to determine if i should go the route of a different transmission or is there a much cheaper fix. if the line pressure is acting up when it comes to temp, is that an indication that the transmission is shot to the point that i should maybe look another, or can one of the sensors be faulty?

 

There are two reasonable solutions for you.
1. Find a local transmissin shop that will rebuild your transmission that provides a short warranty. (I did this on my 89 the first time it went out)

2. The least inexpensive way would be to get a used transmission from the junkyard off of the lowest mileage vehical possible and change it out yourself. (A little bit of risk but most junkyards offer a warranty and you could very well get a solid transmission)

Note: I have over 420,000 on my 89 and drives like new.

3. The way i went 2 years ago is to get a GM Goodwrench Transmission from my local GM dealer and had a local transmission shop remove and install the new transmission. They charged a lot less labor then the dealership wanted. The parts departement delivered the new transmission and picked up the old one. The warranty is something like 6 years or 100,000 miles on the GM Goodwrench Remanufactored transmission.

 

so am i to assume that the general opinion is the transmission is bad? i am really not tryin to be an idiot. i'm just a person who has a limited budget and limited time, tryin to keep a job which requires me to drive everyday. i know i'm asking alot but i'm trying to excercise all options. the internet and all the great ppl on it have been a great help to me over the years and i'm tapping to that resource now, i appreciate everyone's patience and comments, please bear with my post, thank you very much for all of your help.