91 R/T won't shift

[DanEboy5]

I have a 91 R/T that won't shift. It seems as if it is stuck in limp mode. I cannot manually shift it and it takes off real slow like it is in third gear. Anybody had this problem?

Thanks,

Dan

[IPD]

"like limp mode". perhaps it's actually in limp mode?

[J_Parker]

I'm with Steve on this one. Plug 'er in and see what it says.

[DanEboy5]

Well hopefully I can get my hands on a TCU and see if this is my problem.

[DanEboy5]

Ok, so I pulled the tcu and sent it out for repair. I picked up a used one from a guy locally who had a 91 R/T with about 130k. He said he had no issues with the trans. However, I had the ECU rebuilt and it runs fine, better even. The trans is still stuck in limp mode! WTF! How can I have another bad tcu? Anything else I should look at?

Thanks,

-Dan

[IPD]

it might actually be dying. excessive metal shavings in the pan?

[DanEboy5]

it might actually be dying. excessive metal shavings in the pan?

Well, the kid I bought it from said he just had the trans flushed. The fluid is clean and it was waaaaaaaaay overfull! I draid about 3qts and it's still a lil over the hot mark...not too much 1/8". No shavings from I can see. I should be getting my rebuilt tcu back this week. If I still have the same problem I may have to pull the pan and see my nightmare!

[IPD]

kid could have flushed it to try and "cover up" whatever was wrong with it. can't say for certain though. i've heard many stories about kids doing neutral-drops with an ATX. i wouldn't put it past teenage dumbass.

[Steve '92ES]

What you could do before you throw more money at it is read out the diagnostic codes.
If you know how to read the ECU codes with a meter the transmission codes are very similar except that you ground pin 10 then connect the meter (-) to pin 12 and the meter (+) to pin 6. (the ECU codes are pin 1 )
The list of codes is long, post up what you get and I'll look it up.
(or you could download the manual from 3SX )

[DanEboy5]

kid could have flushed it to try and "cover up" whatever was wrong with it. can't say for certain though. i've heard many stories about kids doing neutral-drops with an ATX. i wouldn't put it past teenage dumbass.

Well, he knew nothing about cars. He was a geek going to IIT for electrical engineering. He claims to get it from the second owners widow. He actually died and the cars sat or about eight years. He drove it twice from the north side of Chicago to the south side (IIT) twice and it got hot. He parked it and asked a friend what was wrong with it. When I looked at it,it started fine but leaked coolant out of both "O" rings. I did a full 60k and replaced all hoses, gaskets and such. I just assumed the trans was ok because I found a receipt for a trans flush. I then find a bad tcu with "No Good" writen on it! lol Oh I haven't had the wool pulled over me in years. I will be looking at all electrical connections tomorrow.