Probable PCS problems, help on what to do!

[radchad3]

Hello everyone! I have a 1998 Bonneville SE. About 5 months ago I replaced my trans filter and fluid and adding Sea Foam prior to the pan drop. I have had the hard 2-3 shifts occasionally and had a PCS code come up the last time it was at the dealer. The last several months the hard shifts have seem to be much more frequent. The car has 104K miles and is otherwise in good mechanical condition. Would a shift kit be the right thing to do in this situation? How does this kit alleviate the symptoms? Is there a thread that explains the install process? Any other thoughts would be great! Thank you! Chad

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

I've dealt with the same thing, and documented it here. Shift kit, then PCS replacement. Search for my install thread for the shift kit.

Do it, it'll keep your car around longer.

[radchad3]

Thanks Buffalo! I did a search for the install thread and I am not finding it. Any ideas? I just ordered the transgo kit and will be installing it when it arrives. Thanks!

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

Did you scroll through all the shift kit threads in the Performance section? IIRC, mine's in there.

[radchad3]

WIll run through those. Thanks! Chad

[radchad3]

Was reading more of your posts Buffalo and see you are now replacing the PCS. I am just trying to understand the situation with the shift kit. I was thinking it basically bypassed the PCS by shifting quicker and not allowing long shift times. So why would it need to be replaced. Thanks!

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

It does bypass the PCS for the most part. It just so happened that after 50k miles of some kind of shift kit my PCS, which had been flaky the whole time, had gone out almost completely. The car couldn't accelerate faster than 2k RPM's from a dead stop without shaking violently. I'd been living with the issue for a year or so, then decided it was time to have the PCS replaced since it was truly getting to be a safety issue. Now I can floor it from a dead stop with no drama again.

So the kit works. It's definitely more of a band-aid than a true fix. It worked to mask the problem well enough until it got truly dangerous. For most folks, that point will be when the rest of the car is ready to be junked. It happened sooner for me since my car's an over-achiever for breaking.

Replace the PCS if you're intending to keep the car for another 60k miles or 3-4 years.

My advice: Do the shift kit first. See if it helps. If the problem persists and you're keeping the car around long-term, replace the PCS and keep the shift kit. It'll only help the new PCS live a long life.

[radchad3]

Thank you very much for the explanation!

[radchad3]

I got my TransGo kit in yesterday and plan on installing in the next week or two. I had a quick question regarding the kit. The TransGo kit has a plain, red, and white spring with two spacers (.530" and .750") for the 2-3 accumulator and a plain, white and one spacer ( .750") for the 1-2 accumulator. I have seen kits that have no springs and two spacers for each accumulator. Why are springs included in some and not others? Also in my kit the red spring meets some resistance when trying to put it in the bigger plain spring. Is this normal? Just want to get my questions answered BEFORE my trans is apart! Thanks again for the advice! Chad

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

The TransGo costs what it does because of those springs. The springs replace the OEM ones, and need more pressure to compress. I believe the purpose is to raise the line pressure. The spacers limit the piston travel so the shifts are faster. That's my hypothesis after installing mine.

Follow the instructions provided with the kit, and reference my topic about installing a TransGo shift kit.

My topic: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=18722&hilit=+shift+kit

[radchad3]

Thanks Lesebre! That writeup is good and I plan on using it when I install mine. Did you notice a snug fit with the red spring in the plain? Is this a big deal?

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

IIRC it's not a huge deal. The springs were pretty snug going in. The white ones dropped right in, but the red one did need a little finessing.

[radchad3]

ok. Thanks for the input!

[radchad3]

Thought I would post an update to my situation. I completed the shift kit install this morning. Took about 1.5 hours. That included setup and cleanup. Not too bad. Took it for a test run and the shifting does seem a bit firmer with less slip. Now it is just a matter of putting some miles on to see if my symptoms are gone. Thanks again for the forums help!! Chad