Third gear shift hesitation

[jeryst]

The auto tranny in my 90 Loyale Turbo 4WD wagon (107k miles) hesitates when it shifts into third gear. Its hardly noticeable when driving normally, but under more aggressive acceleration it is very pronounced. The motor doesnt rev like it is slipping, there is just a very noticeable hesitation, like a dead spot. It is so noticeable that you actually can feel the car stop accelerating. All of the other gears work normally, and I do not seem to notice it when the tranny downshifts.

 

Anyone have any idea what this might be? Is it signs of a pending transmission failure? The fluid is nice and red with no signs of burning.

[soobie_newbie67]

you'll probably get a better answer later, but just here to help: i've heard enough that the auto's in the old EA82T's are crap. more then likely the seals in the transmission are old and shrunk, so its not producing the proper pressure to give a normally quick shift. i have done sea foam in auto's before (believe it or not) with the same hesitation and it fixed it pretty damn well. did it in a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.2 and a 1965 Oldsmobile 442 with a turbo 400 automatic transmission. works pretty well. also, i cant seem to find it anymore, but i had this very old can of stuff called Tune Up in a Can (was not sea foam, btw) and its performance a tune up for the transmission in my truck was unbelievable. i cant seem to find it anymore though. good luck to you.