I've got a 2.8l v6 1989 rs (automatic) i bought a couple years ago that used to run fine. after the last time I drove it, it seems the car has trouble shifting at times. for the first two gear shifts it drives nicely, yet after that the shifting is iffy. It will either shift fine or it will revv up much too high as if it doesnt know to shift. how screwed is my transmission?

 

Hows the fluid level // color?

 

dark, but its full , got topped off yesterday (after it started acting up) when i had the oil and oil filter changed. no idea how low it was before that

 

"Dark" is not a good sign.

Sounds like maybe you should teach your driver to check it more often?

No way to be sure how much it got damaged, if at all, by being run low; just hafta fill it up and see where that leads you. You could say, it's got a 50% chance; either it's farkled, or it's not. Keep your fingers crossed. But, it's not sounding good for the home team at this point.

 

So i changed to fluid and filter: black as night
put stop stick in with the new fluids and drove it around
the first three gears work fine but as soon as i hit 55ish (the next gear shift) it starts revving real high again without shifting. would the clutch be the issue?

 

Either it is now, or it will be, within a matter of about 2 minutes of driving it like that.

End result is pretty much the same.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's evidently beyond any "miracle in a can" at this point.

 

3/4 clutch pack is gone, common as it is a weak point in the 700R4. The dark fluid is from the clutch/friction material.

RBob.

 

well a 700r4 isn't the most expensive trans there fairly cheap if you replace it because thousands of vehicles had them they are fairly reliable transmissions sounds like you should keep better eye on the fluids next go around

 

so should i replace the trans and the clutch?

 

found a 700r4 for 550. how hard is it to swap'em out