Hard shifting in 130,000mi Aspire

[DriverOne]

Hey, my friend just bought a 97 Aspire auto 4 door and he says it shifts hard. Never used the auto in the Aspire, is that normal? Car has almost 130,000 miles on it. Thanks for any help!

[25Horseplay]

My auto Festiva shifts kinda hard and it has 240,000 miles. When it warms up its not as hard but still firm.

[FestYboy]

the 1-2 shift is always firm to harsh depending on temp. it's a normal thing.

[Tim]

^x2. My auto is rebuilt with about 10k on it, and it shifts pretty hard between 1 and 2 if you give it a lot of gas. Regular driving is more of a "thump", and 3rd usually pretty smooth.

Doesn't seem to vary much with temp though, but that's probably due to the low mileage.


Flushing and replacing the ATF with synthetic would probably make shifting a little smoother.


-Tim

[pwgus]

agreed yes, 1-2 can definetly shift pretty damn hard if you give it alot of gas, even when you drive it gently its a little harsh, on the up side it makes it feel a little torquier

[bhazard]

I'd rather have the firm shift myself. Smooth shifting means slipping and slipping means heat. Heat means more wear and less efficiency.

Now if its ridiculously hard shifting then you might wanna get that checked out.

[DriverOne]

I'm glad to know that it's normal. I was worried he bought the car with a bad trans. Said he paid $1100 for it. Not a stain or a tear or even a worn spot in the interior. I'll get him on here whenever he can come over and grab up some wi-fi.