Ok so...

My truck just started having these crazy drivability problems where basically when i hit a hill as much as i floor it the engine wont go past 2000 rpms in either drive or overdrive. and when this happens the trans tempature almost instantly starts to increase dramatically!

flat ground/downhill she runs and shifts great.

what the heck is going wrong? the trans was rebuilt in the spring.
She just got new cap/rotor/wire/plugs. made no change in the problem.

HELP!!!

 

Have you checked to be sure the catalytic converter is not plugged?

 

x2.

How are you monitoring trans temp?

 

with a glowshift trans guage+sender, sender is between rad cooler and aux cooler in the line.

but like i said, when this happens the trans temps go up extremely rapidly wich is not good because the sender is sctually in a cooler part of the line.

also, there is a WHOOSHING noise comming from what i think is the exaust. its basicaly sounds like im driving through the rain, exept only when im on the throttle. also i should mention my exaust is full of pinhole leaks, but those have been there since the first tranny change like a year ago.


what is the best "onsight" check for the cat, i mean it has rattled like a golf ball in a tin can for a long time.

so i know i need a new cat, however if its not the cat then i REALLY cant afford a cat. so all legalities aside if i beat all the guts outa the cat and it DID fix the problem then it would be safe to get a new one? or if say i beat all the guts out and it doesnt fix it at least i did spend the money on a cat, right?

is there a test i can do?

on a side note, i have a air/fuel guage hooked to the pre-cat o2 sensor, however the headers melted all the insulation/tubbing off the wire, i think it may ground out occassionaly, could this damage the system? dumb question, im going to go cut the sender wire loose and see if it makes any diffrence.

again, HELP!

 

If your cat is rattling, then the elements inside have burned off and broken up. The only places they can go is to stay inside the cat or blow into the muffler (where they will stay). Either way, the exhaust is severely restricted, forcing the exhaust and engine temp to climb. I don't know if it will affect the trans temp or not.

 

How does the transmission shift? Will it down shift? If it does downshift, does it allow the engine RPM to go higher than 2000RPM? Does it feel like something is slipping?

 

see thats the wierd part: the engine temp doesnt get outa wack, just the trans. the trans doesnt feel like its slipping ( rpms through the roof) instead its almost like the trans is binding up the engine from going faster then 2000 rpms.

just took it to the exhaust shop (no hills between here and there) and they said the cat is all kinds of jacked up inside but theye couldnt do a compression test because of all the holes in my exhaust!

so im going to install this external trans filter i have in the front lines to add another quart to the system so hopefully i dont chew this trans up.

how hard is it to replace a cat, by myself in an apartment parkinglot? (if i have the proper tools)?

 

The saga continues...

...and it gets wierd...

Ok, so I took her to the exhaust shop, and when he had it there he reved her like crazy and it sputtered and it blew out a huge cloud of white smoke. since then it seems she still sputters now and again but hasnt (knock on wood) been rev limiting as of late. however, due to all his i decided to do somethings to correct any thing, and some stuff i had laying around:

Installed external trans filter.

installed oil temp guage in the adapter drain plug hole.

cut the wire from the pre cat o2 sensor to the air/fuel guage. ( possible grounding out).

pulled the fuse out of the stereos power block ( grounds may be bad, have yet to test).

installed 4ga wire from alternator to optima battery.

replace screw in side battery terminals.


now here is the wird part. my brakes have been mush for a long time regardess of how well there bled, but after all that work it seems my brakes are really firm? but it also seems they randomly go back to mushy? is this a seperate problem, or could a bad connector in the wheel well to th brakes make this kind of nonsens?