1999 LS400 A650E Low RPM Hesitation
Hello Everybody, I have been coming to ClubLexus for help for some years now with my old GS, but never needed to make an account until now. I am still new to navigating and searching the forum on desktop so please forgive me for any mistakes in advance. Back in January I bought A 99 LS400 with 220K needing transmission solenoid S1/A, The car would leave off the line in 3rd gear and shift very clunkily. Around June I did a drain and fill with T-IV which made it a little smoother, but at times made shifting issues a little more apparent. Even with this being said however it confirmed the transmission was not hurt enough to need replacing yet. I did this two more times with no change until finally dropping the pan about 2 weeks ago. While under the car I replaced the solenoid needed, plus the strainer, and I also turned the line pressure dial on the valve body clockwise to turn up the line pressure. While turning the line pressure dial I pushed it too far and the retainer pin that sits on the pressure dial to set it in place came out of position and snapped down toward the front of the car (not out of the valve body), however I was able to get it back to its normal position and successfully turned the dial all the way clockwise. The transmission strainer was very clean and there was not much wear on the magnet, although I did see what looked like a couple of "shards" on top of the normal metallic sludge that collects on them. After putting it all together with fresh T-IV the car grabbed drive and reverse quicker and smoother than ever, on top of shifting through 1-5 well. However it would rev higher than normal when attempting to accelerate while cruising, without accelerating at an appropriate speed for the rpm, and would rev freely for a second or so if you hit the gas hard enough for it to kick down. It would also do this same thing slowing down to low speeds around 5-10mph, as if the transmission doesn't know which gear to pick so it goes into neutral until it decides. These symptoms were most apparent at low speeds around residential corners and while trying to accelerate quickly, however it was never apparent off the line in 1st gear and between shifts. The worst it ever got was while hitting the gas 3/4s of the way down in 3rd gear, when it tried to grab 2nd and revved up to 5k then grabbed it so hard the tires chirped before taking off. I was going to drop the pan again and put the pressure dial in the middle as well as put in more fresh fluid, but the next couple of times since then I've took the car out it gotten better and better. It is to the point it doesn't seem the semi botched pressure dial adjustment is the cause, and the computer just had to adjust. I have yet to drop the pan, but I did put 2 more quarts of T-IV as well as unplug the battery for a couple of days and it got even better, although just marginally. However what it does continue to do now is rev freely when slowing down to around 5-10mph until you rev it up to 1500rpm, where it will catch 2nd gear somewhat harshly. It does this going into 2nd gear, and to a lesser extent 1st. When using manual mode, it goes up through all gears smoothly. When downshifting into 4th and 3rd its quick and smooth, but going into 2nd it drops down into idle for about 2 seconds before grabbing second gear no matter the speed or rpm. It also bogs down when trying to softly accelerate in 5th gear before smoothly kicking down into 4th and accelerating appropriately, it does not slip at all. I do not know what this could be, and don't want to drop the pan again to no avail, so any advice is appreciated. Thank you everybody!!!
Last edited by 1UZFEME; Oct 22, 2024 at 10:25 AM. Reason: clarification



