I have an 89 305 TBI with an automatic. It has 107k miles on the car.

I noticed that when driving and I let off the gas the car seems to shift into neutral after a few seconds. I dont think it used to do this. I am pretty sure it is doing this because the rpm's will drop fairly quickly to near idle speed.

To compare, when I was driving and let off the gas the rpm's dropped and then I shifted the transmission into neutral. The same load was on the engine and the rpm's remained the same, then i put it back into OD and it stayed the same until I gave it some gas, then the car started to move again. It does not really hesitate to get moving though.

When accelerating the car shifts through all gears fine, no slipping, but it seems to go into neutral after a few seconds of letting off the gas.

I readjusted the TV cable and I think I did that correctly and nothing seemed to change.

I checked the fluid and it was a little over...after the crossmarks it says "FULL HOT" on the stick and it was just past the 'T' on HOT. It also had bubbles on the dip stick, I am not sure if the bubbles cause it to be above the full mark. The color was red, not dark red, on the napkin it seemed to be a have a slight brown tint to it, so I would say it was light red.

I have had owned the car for 30k miles now and I have never changed the transmission fluid. I am not sure if the last owners regularly had it changed so I am not sure if I should have the fluid changed and get a new filter or not.

What should I do at this point? Does it sound like my transmission is on its way out, or do I just need to do something minor?

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't this happen when the torque converter unlocks. DTPMIKE, what happens when you let off the gas and tap the brakes? Does it do the same thing?

 

If converter unlocks should still be some engine braking. It sounds like the foward sprag is broken. If memory serves this is the overrun clutch that allows engine braking to happen.When my 700 broke its foward sprag it did the same thing no engine braking. I guess the sprag doesn't necessarily break every time, sometimes they just get worn out, or the races get glazed over and won't let the little rollers grab. Not exactly the technical terms I'm sure but I hope this helps...

 

My transmission just did the EXACT same thing! What is the best way to fix it? Does it have to be rebuilt?!?! Please say no