Greetings, she likes to shift crisply only when warm. I just checked the fluid and the fluid poured out and more so when it was in gear and operating. For the record,the gear shift light does not come on for D, unless I move it back slightly, but this comment is only provided for completeness. Now I thought that an overfilling came with blown seals. Does the fact that is only shifts promptly when she is warmed up (10 or 15 minutes) lead to a conclusion? I also thought there would be no fluid coming out when the truck was running and in gear, as I was unscrewing the plug. Thanks,

 

Did you ever get an answer to this question I have a similar issue with my 03

Norm

 

Hi Norm. No. For the record, I blew a transmission line and thought I may have damaged my transmission pump, so that has always been on my mind. I am going to get under it this week and add some Lucas treatment. Now when I start it up, I put the vehicle through all gears and it is better. I have to think it is a fluid issue and the lack thereof.

 

I believe it's normal. My 02' is slower to shift when cold and the 04' I owned previously did the same.

 

My 02 doesn't like to go into 4th gear until after its warm goes from 1st then 2nd then 3rd perfectly fine. but it takes a good 2-3 miles (about 5-10 mins) and a few stops to get it to want to shift into 4th. i guess when its close to 20F in the mornings it should be kind of expected.

 

This is TOTALLY by design. It is to bring the transmission up to a warm temp before allowing the overdrive to kick in. There is a temp sensor In the transmission that regulates this. There are a few threads on this with more detail if you search. Cheers.

 

To add to this I believe there is also a corresponding engine coolant sensor which aggregates with the transmission sensor via the ECU or the transmission ECU (can't remember the name - senior moment I should be in bed it's 01.30am here), anyways, the early stage auto shifting is controlled by temperature. On the Pajero some people short the sensor to achieve more rapid gear shifts earlier but I don't know about the D2 and whether that's possible or advisable.

 

To complete the circle, I had to play with the adjustment of the XYZ transmission position device and voila, the truck is now shifting properly (it is also plus 3 degrees as well). Having the dash and gear shift lights not referring to D or red lighted was the sign the switch was not functioning properly. I read about the AC drain above it and ruining it, but such was not the case with mine. It was a simply 2 mm adjustment necessary after I moved the switch when putting in that rotten upper transmission cooling line. Cheers,