no the studdering problem you are describing sounds like a possible wire issue or coil as others have stated, the trans issue is only at around 50 or so + when the convertor is supposed to lock up, and no a torn boot wont do, once the grease has been thrown out by the axle it will weaken the joints and youll start to hear alot of clicking around turns and on acceleration

I'm no tranny guy, but my problem first showed up in the 45-55 range and as it'* worsened I new get a shudder and hard shifts at as low as 30 when it'* trying to hit 3rd. I went out on a drive with my transmission guy on Saturday and during the whole drive (approx 20 min.) my TC never went into lock-up like it'* supposed to. He'* yet to experience it at it'* worst, but it'* something. Today is the worst it'* been in a long time, even noticed the rach bouncing while it was doing it. It did that once before about 2 months ago.

Insofar as the cv boot goes...its more cost effective to replace just the boot if you catch it early enough. If you let it go and the joint goes bad (due to contamination, lack of grease, etc.) I've found that the half-shaft assembly is usually only a few dollars more than just one joint. The half-shaft of course has the inner and the outer cv joints on it.

I just checked Autozone and Advance Auto Parts and neither has a listing for just the joint, and only Advance had listings for the half-shaft for my 2000 SSEi. Reasonable prices too if you ask me. A repair shop might be able to get you just one joint, but it'* doubtful that'd be cost effective.

And for those people wondering about the valve body, I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong) that the piece that'* failing is the Boost Valve and Sleeve. Intense as an improved design on their site that I'll be putting in when I have my tranny work done.

Well, the reason I thought it was related was mostly because it felt like the tires weren't responding to the acceleration on the engine and the rpm'* on the dash.

My car used to peel out if you floored it, now it just feels like it'* going through a bumpy road until it gains momentum.... If I want smooth acceleration, I need to gently give it gas. The engine revs up well, but somewhere along the line the power doesn't reach the tires.

I got the boot at the dealership for $45 bucks and I'll get it replaced sometime this week.

Folks, I dove under the hood and found this:



The other two coils look clean, can I get away with just changing that one coil instead of replacing all three?

yeah, that shouldn't cause any problems. If you're feeling thrifty you can try cleaning the terminal first.

Greetings all. First time poster. I'm the 2d owner of a 2001 SSEi, with 68K on the clock. Presently the car is sitting at the local dealership, won't start. The 'service engine' light had been on for a few days, took it in for a computer scan. Was told to change the crankshaft position sensor. Had that done. Brought the car home, parked it overnight. Next morning, it ran poorly, and stalled twice at stoplights. That being a Sunday, mechanics are unavailable. Had to have it taken to the dealership on the back of a local tow truck the next morning when it would not start. Dealership says a plugged catalytic converter is the primary culprit, 2 new coils, plugs & wires are the fix, after replacing the converter.

New problem!!!

Today, while going into a multiple story parking lot I stopped at the entrance ramp to get my parking slip... once I took it out of the machine I pressed the gas pedal with no movement except a stutter.

The car was vibrating strongly but it didn't move up the ramp!!!!!

No, it wasn't burning rubber.... =(

I let go of the gas pedal and pressed it ever so slightly and it started moving. Yes, the ramp was pretty steep but would you all still consider this to be a plugs/cable problem?

Holy crap man...that sounds serious! I'd be getting that thing into the shop ASAP. In the meantime though, did your check engine light come on? When you hit the gas what was your tach doing? Are you sure it wasn't accidentally kicked into neutral? How did it behave when you left the garage?

If it was in gear, sounds like more than plugs and wires to me. Other more experienced tranny people will chime in on this one soon and give you some ideas. I'd get it into a shop PDQ, Cottman does a free tranny check including test drives, checking codes, etc.

Sounds like a converter issue. You may want to drop the pan and take a look at whats residing there.

Yup, no neutral, no check engine, tach went up to like 2100 - 2300

During normal, easy driving the car behaves well except for the stuttering that started this topic and hard kicks I feel from under the hood when shifting gears (Sometimes).

I was thinking on taking it to the shop after getting my new gas pump, gas filter, UIManifold, Plugs and Wires... just to eliminate any issue not tranny related.

Should I really take in ASAP, could it get worse if I don't take care of it now?

Also, I had the infamous front tranny mount replaced... it was 85% torn.