PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

When the PCS goes bad do you guys/gals get the hard shifts right away or do they start out little? Reason I ask is that mine has started slight hard shifts, nothing violent but is noticable, after the car gets hot. It effects all the gears except OD. So far I have no codes yet.

I haven't had the harsh shift problem, however I would think that it would be fairly consistent once code P1811 is set. That has the PCM command maximum line pressure, which is what causes the harsh shifts. That code will not set the SES, and can not be read by most code readers.

azu wrote:When the PCS goes bad do you guys/gals get the hard shifts right away or do they start out little? Reason I ask is that mine has started slight hard shifts, nothing violent but is noticable, after the car gets hot. It effects all the gears except OD. So far I have no codes yet.

My hard shifts would start out little and then get worse - the hotter the engine was the harder the shift. If you pull over, turn off the car for 20-30 seconds and restart the hard shift may go away for a bit.

Before considering a PCS replacement consider putting in a 180 t-stat. I did and I haven't had the hard shift problem in a couple of years now.

mine started shifting hard, took it to the local trans shop and they confirmed it was the PCS. shifting was fine cold but after doing city driving for about an hour it got really bad. so this past weekend i put a different pcs in and its a lot better now. i put a 180 stat in and that did nothing for my trans.

Mine are slight hard/quick shifts. My daughter didn't notice it but I do. Nothing slamming like my Olds will do once in a while. I was just curious if they start out small and then get worse or just start out slamming or if this could be something else.

mine come and go. i get really smooth shifts and really hard shifts. i'm thinking its the pcs you guys are talking about. my question is, are these changable by the average mechanic or do you have to take it to a transmission shop? i'd like to do it on my own if i find out it is the pcs.

It's doable with enough tools and patience. It isn't the usual shade-tree job, yet still doable in a driveway with a spare car, enough jackstands for the subframe/car, and a high-torque bolt-removal device such as an impact wrench or breaker bar for the subframe mounting bolts.

i don't mind dropping the subframe to fix the problem. i thought the part was inside the transmission. and since i've never tore one apart thought i'd see how hard it was to change. think i better get a book and see where it's at before i tear into it. might not be worth my time to do it myself.

All I read about is bad PCS, but has anyone done a walkthrough?

Thanks for the link 00beast.