Hey everybody, I am in need of everyones help. I bought a 2000 sle about two weeks ago and since i have been driving the car more and more i have noticed a problem and i am almost 100% positive it is the transmission.

Here is what is going on. The car accelerates smoothly untill i get to crusing speed which is usually 45-55 mph. What happens is unless i am above say 2200rpm the rpm'* will drop as low as 7or 8hundred and as the rpm'* drop i hear a grinding sound. Once the rpms stop dropping the grinding stops unless i give the car more gas to try to accelerate. If i let of the pedal and ease back onto it the rpms go up smoothly with no problems soon as the rpm'* stop rising the rpms drop again with the grinding. The problem keeps occuring like that over and over again. The only time it doesnt do this when i am on the interstate and am doing above 70.

I have read some of the other posts but they just didnt sound quite the same. I have read that plugs, wires, coils, tranny fluid, dirty maf and throttle bodie may cause this.
I pulled the throttle off today and cleaned it, it was completely coated with carbon build up( it probobly hadnt been clean since the car was made and the car has 147,000 miles on it). The tranny fluid is just a bit low but it also looked a bit dirty. Since the car has a good bit of mileage on it i may get a tranny fluid flush, but im not sure it will help.

Do you guy'* have any ideas about what the problem might be. I hope it is not serious. There is no way i will be able to aford to replace the tranny at this point. Help me please. Im begging you.

I am a newer member but it sounds like it might be a Torque converter or you might be losing a gear or something I have read that the trannies are the weak point for our cars

thanks i have been wondering if it was the torque converter. I hope its not a gear things could get real expensive real quick if a gear is going bad.

Also i forgot to mention before that the symptoms are the same wether im going up/down hill on flat ground. It also doesnt worsten or get better on a long drive doesnt matter if i drive 5 minutes of five hours.