I have a 98 Blazer that just hit 168,000 miles...so its been around the block a few times. Anyhow, just recently it started having issues with shifting and accelerating.

I check the transmission fluid, and added some because it was a little low, however that hasn't seemed to make a difference. Last night I was checking my fuses to see if maybe one had gone bad that might control how the transmission runs. I wasn't able to determine exactly which fuses those may be.

Anyways, to describe the problem in more detail, when I'm driving I need to slowly accelerate, and even when doing that it seems like it will often rev up and then jump into the next gear, instead of a more smooth transition. If I give it too much gas at once, it will usually just rev up and then start jerking back and forth on the road, as if it was getting engine power, then none, then engine power again, and so on.

I'm no mechanic and have a pretty limited knowledge/understanding of how all of this stuff works. Any insight someone could give me would be awesome. I'm not sure if this means my transmission is going out, or if it is a simple fix.

Thanks,

Case

 

How low is low? How much did you have to add?

Low trans fluid is never good. It doesn't get 'used' so if it was low you may have a leak.

When was the last time the fluid and transmission filter changed?

What color is the fluid? Get a white paper towel and let some of the fluid drip from the dipstick onto the paper towel (don't wipe it). Is it pink or brown? Smell the dipstick... does it have a burnt smell to it?

 

From your description, it sounds as though the torque converter is slipping more than it should or possibly that the line pressure drops off allowing the bands to slip...

There should be moment where the torque converter clutch will unlock allowing the RPMs to rise before it would then down shift. If you gradually apply more throttle, you should be able to feel/hear this happen and see it happen if you have a tach. The RPMs will rise about 3-400 RPM. But the transition should not be violent...

 

Thanks, I'll give that a try tomorrow. As far as the transmission fluid goes, I actually put in just under a pint of a transmission repair fluid that said is designed to help with slippage and whatnot.

I'll check the levels again and colors/smell tomorrow as well. Are there any fuses that could give such results if they were to go bad?

Thanks,

Case