Alright today was not a good day for my car, on my way home from school, I noticed it shifting rather early and oddly, it goes 1......2 comes in real early....like less than 10mph, then quick slips past 3 in a lurch feeling, then locks into 4th, as low as like 20mph....kickdown switch no longer does a downshift....it just stays in 4th and pushes along, once its in 4th it won't come back out of it until I have slowed back down in a normal stop below 17mph where it resets itself........upon attempting a brisk acceration, it refuses, and quick drops in second, slips 3rd, then proceeds to use 4th at about 35mph, even with full throttle applied. I never see rpms above 1,700 now....it just won't let it rev anymore....when I put it in "S" which supposedly limits it to not using 4th gear/OD, it stays in first/ second, and won't go to third. It just started doing this today on my way home, on the way to school 3 hours earlier it was perfectly fine, I had all the seals re-done and such about 5 months/6,000 miles ago, and it had firm shifts, and was working perfectly. It still drives ok....I guess, but I really would like to know what happened, is this vacuum or modulator....or some sort of adjustment? It just is odd that it would show up suddenly like that. Help?

 

the transmission oil level is right? does it have any burning smell?

check the brake band piston lip seal. the front brake band. if the seal is leaking, the brake band 1 will not hold and it will skip 2nd gear.
check also the O-rings on thrust element on the other side.

does your transmission got B-switch?

check vacuum control (yours is diesel engine i assume), value at vacuum unit measured in closed throttle position approx 0.4 bar...in wide open throttle is 0 bar.
the vacuum control valve is on the left wheelhouse.

it is better if you tell me the transmission number of your car (eg. 722.*).

 

Alright this morning I checked the transmission fluid and it was down quite a ways!! It took almost 1.5 quarts to bring it back up to the proper level....it never drips a drop of anything, so I am assuming it was just normal loss through operation....it says that in the manual. I guess I will keep a better eye on that. After filling it to the right level and taking it out, it drives perfectly again, wshew!!!!!

 

great.

1.5 quart can create bubbles and therefore affect shifting.