98 sl2 TAAT trans won't shift at all

[T.Gamble43]

I have a 98 saturn sl2 and it's having transmission issues. It has moments when driving where it will go out of gear and not shift but after turning the car off and back on it works fine for a bit. Now it won't shift into anything, reverse, drive, 2nd or 3rd. Tested the solenoids and all sat around 4.8. Went through all the wiring and nothing looked to be broken. Changed fluid and filter recently. Could it be electrical problems or mechanical within the transmission? Any ideas that would help me narrow this problem down and how to fix it would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou.

[fdryer]

Here's an example of how difficult it can be to troubleshoot some problems with a solution eventually requiring a little more than casual second guessing; http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...54#post2168654

[Chazberry]

No trouble codes?

[T.Gamble43]

The only trouble codes it pulled was gear 1 ratio incorrect and gear 4 ratio incorrect. But it doesnt have the service engine light on.

[Chazberry]

Originally Posted by T.Gamble43

The only trouble codes it pulled was gear 1 ratio incorrect and gear 4 ratio incorrect. But it doesnt have the service engine light on.

So all Shifter positions are like Neutral? When you select Reverse, do you hear any Reverse Servo operation? Do you get any movement with the Tranny harness disconnected? There are some OBD-I diagnostics here that are equivalent to your P0731 fwiw . . .
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...4&postcount=29

[T.Gamble43]

The rpms will go up when in a gear but it acts like it in neutral no matter what gear i put it into. havent tried it with the trans wire harness disconnected.

[J N Winkler]

It doesn't sound like there is a mechanical or hydraulic fault in the transmission since it shifts normally when it works. Electrical faults in the solenoid circuits would seem to be ruled out by visual inspection, fuse and continuity checks in the wiring, and by resistance checks on the solenoids themselves. My best guess is a bad throttle position sensor. A misaligned range selector switch might be a possibility, except I'd also expect to hear about slamming when first put into gear.

[T.Gamble43]

When it does go into gear it doesnt slam or even shift very hard. it would shift hard into 3rd sometimes but not always. So a throttle position sensor could be it?

[Chazberry]

Is it worth verifying that this shaft going through the Range Switch is actually turning when you move the Shifter?

[T.Gamble43]

I will check that and see what it looks like. (this is my girlfriends only daily driver) so i think just to save time if nothing is really working, im just going to get a lower mile transmission from a junkyard and swap.

[Chazberry]

Originally Posted by T.Gamble43

I will check that and see what it looks like. (this is my girlfriends only daily driver) so i think just to save time if nothing is really working, im just going to get a lower mile transmission from a junkyard and swap.

Sounds a little drastic. More often than not it's something minor with these TAATs. I would do a little more troubleshooting before going through all that work.

[T.Gamble43]

ill check the range switch and ill check the solenoids again since its not wanting to work at all now, then ill see the throttle position sensor although i dont think that would cause it not to engage into gear.

[Chazberry]

Originally Posted by T.Gamble43

ill check the range switch and ill check the solenoids again since its not wanting to work at all now, then ill see the throttle position sensor although i dont think that would cause it not to engage into gear.

You could also measure your fluid pressure to see if you have a pump failure, although this is pretty rare.

[billr]

Does your scanner display live-data? That will quickly tell you what gear the PCM is seeing selected, what gear is being commanded, TPS operation, etc., etc.

[T.Gamble43]

So the line pressure solenoid is below it's range. Swapped it with the 4th gear solenoid and it still wouldn't move or even try to engage into gear. The range selector is that the electronic box that the shift selector goes into?

[Chazberry]

Originally Posted by T.Gamble43

The range selector is that the electronic box that the shift selector goes into?

It's not electronic. It's just a set of contacts, the combination of which tell the PCM what gear is selected.
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...81&postcount=3

Do you hear anything when you shift into Reverse?
Do you want instructions for checking your fluid pressure?

[T.Gamble43]

It has audible clicks in the engine bay when selecting a gear like it's shifting into it but it doesn't engage. How do you go about checking the fluid pressure.

[T.Gamble43]

Also how would we test the set of contacts to see if they are making conection?

[Chazberry]

Originally Posted by T.Gamble43

How do you go about checking the fluid pressure.

Some info in these threads . . .
FSM Pages:
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/att...5&d=1328382752
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/att...7&d=1328382883

Pressure Chart:
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/att...3&d=1329187074

Gauge Set Up Threads:
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...8&postcount=11
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...3&postcount=93
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...0&postcount=89

[Chazberry]

Originally Posted by T.Gamble43

Also how would we test the set of contacts to see if they are making conection?

If you are sure the adjustment is right, you can check continuity to ground using this diagram which shows which contacts are closed in the various Shifter positions . . .
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/att...5&d=1329391067
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/att...0&d=1373502911