gear shifting question for bighorn owners

[attic_dude]

i recently bought my bighorn november of last year from a friend in subic. its a 1995 bighorn fieldstar LS. i noticed this problem that the trooper sometimes refuses to go to 2nd gear even if the rpm reaches 4000rpm already. what i do is i have to let go of the accelerator pedal slightly for it to change gears. can anyone tell me what the problem is?

thanks in advance.

[kimpOy]

i assume automatic tranny ang sa iyo.

medyo mataas nga ang gearshift ng trooper.
napansin ko sa trooper ko (manual transmission) sa 3K ako nagpapalit ng gear, sa strada nasa 2.5 lang ako.

pero mataas pa rin ang sa iyo at 4K

[trup]

ganyan din sakin, around 3000rpm lalo na pag bagong start sa morning

[attic_dude]

hmm, thanks sa insights niyo.

yes that is true pag sa morning parang kelangan pa i-warm up yung engine. but have any of you experienced instances when the trooper wud change to lower gear pag nag a-accelerate kayo? sometimes pag shift to lower gear yung rpms nasa 4k 4.5k na.

is it normal that the trooper wud shift to lower gear when you press the gas too hard?

this is my first diesel turbo matic and i seem to be having a hard time driving it.

thanks for your time and i look forward to your replies.

[4xfoot]

baka meron na slippage yung tranny mo...

[attic_dude]

kung meron slippage how would i go about to get it fixed or what causes yung slippage?

[Jeepcruizerph]

papalit mo muna yung ATF fluid mo...try mo...yung sa matic suv ko nagbago gumanda shifting

[attic_dude]

hmmm, ok will try that.

in relation to my question, sometimes the engine/shifting works flawlessly, usually at night or when its cold and raining. there was a time when the shifting was so perfect that i didnt want to turn off the engine for fear that when i wake up tomorrow i wud have the same problem agen. (it did)

haaaaaaay buhay.

[trup]

attic_dude,

normal sa lahat ng automatics yung mag down shift when u press hard/abruptly yung gas pedal

[Jeepcruizerph]

yun na siguru yon,

magmula nung kinuha mo di ka parin nagpapalit ng ATF fluid?

mura lang yon bro...kahit sa suking gasolinahan pwede...yung sa akin caltex atf ang nilagay...

kasi nagbabago yung smoothness nya pag maiinit and pag malamig...kung bago yung ATF fluid mo consistent na sya na maganda.

[Jayo]

I don’t have a Trooper but I have both diesel & gas w/ auto trannies. In the morning shifting is a bit delayed, matagal mag-up-shift maybe because the ATF is not yet at its proper working temp. When you press hard on the gas or when you floor it, automatics downshift. My Starex uses a kickdown cable for this purpose, engine rpm goes a little over 4k, then it upshifts. My F-150 does the same thing, I floor it when passing, engine rpm is at 4.5k then it upshifts, this is ECU controlled. I suggest you drain your ATF, i.e. if you haven’t done so after acquiring your unit but you can only drain what’s in the tranny’s oil pan (most of it is in the torque converter, cooler & lines). The first thing I do after acquiring a used unit is drain & replace all fluids no matter what seller says.

[attic_dude]

guys thanks so much for all your advice, imagine i was looking into so many forums around the internet and meron lang palang ganitong forum dito sa pinas.

will follow everyone's advice and i do hope na may thread dito that covers maintenance work for all SUVs.

cheers!

[garyq]

good input from jayo. hindi normal for troopers to shift only after 4K rpm. Pag sa normal around 2.5-2.75K rpm and around 3-3.25K rpm pag nasa power drive.

[attic_dude]

well, its not always like that garyq, in normal circumstances it usually shifts at 3k rpm or lower. it depends on how much i press the gas pedal. but there are some instances when, i press the gas pedal halfway, the tranny refuses to upshift to 2nd gear, but if i let go of the gas even slightly, saka siya mag upshift. usually happens in the morning. but there are times when it works flawlessly.

u think it has something to do with the return line to the injection pump? may filter yun di ba? baka yun yung clogged?

[Jeepcruizerph]

Did you tried changing your ATF already?

[attic_dude]

not yet, plan to do it next week. i have to change it 3 times kasi in order to drain all the leftover ATF fluid from before.

any recommendations for which ATF fluid to use on my bighorn?

[jackaroo]

Try Castrol's dexron 3 ATF, a bit cheaper than others and made in USA. You may need about 8-9L for 3 changes.

Get another liter of ATF and change power steering fluid as well.

[attic_dude]

ok

[Jayo]

“but there are some instances when, i press the gas pedal halfway, the tranny refuses to upshift to 2nd gear, but if i let go of the gas even slightly, saka siya mag upshift.”

That’s how I “manually” upshift my Starex. Slightly let go or ease up on the gas pedal.

ATF? Check your dipstick or drain plug, my Starex has DII (Dexron II) mark on the drain plug, but I’m using Petron ATF w/c they claim to be Dexron III in their website, also use it as power steering fluid. I always drain engine and tranny at the same time every 5,000 km and immediately after a long drive so particles and contaminants are still suspended and comes out with the fluid when it drains (caution! fluid is very hot). My tranny’s pan holds about 3 liters (system requires 9 liters).

Almost forgot this, your tranny’s filter/screen, you may also need to replace or clean. This is also one of the reasons why I drain my atf with every oil change, less debris to block/clog the tranny filter.

[attic_dude]

ok, now this is really valuable info. funny how you dont get this kind of advice from some casa mechanics.

thanks again for the added information.