glenmore

iTrader: (1)

1990 LS400 with about 180k. Tranny has been flawless up until now. Now on occasion it will not go into reverse. Sometimes on a cold start, sometimes after the car has been driven. When you shift into reverse there is no chug of the transmission engaging. The car will just rev with gas and no movement. Shift to D and you can go forward but no reverse. No amount of shifting to D, N, R will get it into reverse. The only thing that seems to work is a repeated shut off and start and then it will engage. When my daughter first reported this to me, I thought maybe she was parked on a hill (San Francisco) but it seems to have no relation to the position of the car.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

check this
http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html

3UZFTE

Well this is just theory, but basically automatic transmissions operate by hydraulic pressure. If you are not getting it to go into reverse gear right away, but are able to turn off, and turn on, and than get it to go into reverse... I would either be willing to bet on either there isn't enough fluid to build enough pressure until you let it rest for a few seconds to let some fluid come back down into the pan, you could have an electrical problem that maybe a shift solenoid isn't building enough voltage to shift, or you could possibly have some blockage in the line, there could be any number of things. And to be honest without seeing ti right in front of me, all I can do it help you with theory. In reality, 180k is pretty decent for a tranny life, and if you need to spend a few bucks to get it serviced, it will only go that much farther.

I noticed that when I move my LS400 out of the driveway in the winter, when it doesn't go into gear right away, if you rev then engine a little bit, it tends to get it to jump or shift into gear, but I know I am low on fluid, maybe your is a bit different.