As a mechanic, If you are noticing a surging effect it sounds like the torque converter lock up is slipping to me and a full fluid change MIGHT help or at least put off the inevitable repair for a little while. A quick way to tell if it is the converter clutch is to tap the brake pedal while it is doing the lurch/surge. Hit the brake pedal just hard enough to activate the brake switch but not so hard as to engage the brakes, if the surging stops you have found the culprit. It could also be slipping in O/D so shifting to 3rd or D or whatever you have to do to take O/D off in your vehicle, if the surge is gone with O/D out of the picture then you have an issue with the trans itself, most likely a one way clutch is not holding and an overhaul will be required. If the surging is still there then it could still be the trans and/orconverter clutch and it just isn't disengaging/working as it should, a plugged/restrictive fuel filter or worn fuel pump, plugged up injector, slight ignition misfire even, causing the surge as well as a myriad of other itmes I won't get into, but those are the most usual suspects from my experience.
I would say the easiest thing to do is to take it in for a full trans service including a flush, pan drop and filter/screen change, this way you can see if there is any debris in the pan. You can drop the pan yourself and do the filter etc, it can be a little messy if the pan doesn't have a drain plug. When you drain/remove the pain you are only draining about 1/3 of the volume out as the torque converter holds 10-14 liters/quarts on avg. and the pan hold 4-6 liters/quarts, so I would still look at taking it in for a fluid flush as well.
If you take it in for a flush it is a 1:1 fluid swap process, no fuss or mess.
And Murph is right about the smell of burnt trans fluid, it is quite possibly the worst smell there is, I think it is even worse then diff oil which comes in a close 2nd, IMO.
Last edited by jakewash; 02/05/09 08:33 PM.
