Hi Everybody,

This is my first time posting on this great website. I have been reading weekly since I bought my 1997 TF Magna Executive in June of 2004, but have only just got around to registering on the site. My Magna is my first car and I have loved it since the day I bought it.

I have lots of questions to ask about it but have only got time for one tonight. My question is about my auto transmission. Ever since I had my car, the change between 2nd & 3rd gear is quite "clunky". Just recently, the other gears have started to also get clunky, especially 3rd to 4th, but not as bad as 2nd & 3rd. When it first started, I had a panic attack, because reading certain articles on here, transmission isn't the cheapest problem to fix. However, I have been talking to a couple of friends who also own a TF or similar. Their gears were ridiculously clunky, far worse than mine. After a visit to a Mitsu Pro, and $20 later, they were as smooth as the day they bought it. They said that it is a very simple DIY job, disconnect the battery, wait 5 mins and re-connect to reset the trans computer.

I have tried searching the forums about this but couldn't quite get the search terms right (or there wern't relevant articles). What I did find was an article on the "2-3 procedure". By the looks of it, when you do the DIY job, the car has to go through a whole re-train routine. My friends say that the gears were smooth right from the word go. What is the case with the "2-3", does the car need to be re-trained to be smooth, or will it just be fine straight away? Is the DIY job detrimental to the trans (I wouldn't think so)?

Anyway, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to inputting into future posts after just reading them.

Cheers,

Nickuss.

Hey. Welcome to AMC. Always good to see new people join. Congratulations on making the best decision in buying a magna. :) You won't regret it.

Anyways, to your problem. Disconnecting the battery will basically reset the computers on the car, including the one on the gearbox. The reason they say 're-trained' is because the gearbox basically adjusts to your driving style, but should be nice and smooth from the beginning after reset. The trip computer is the fuzy one. Once that is reset, it takes around 15 minutes to idle properly again. I did it a few times, and the car keeps stalling at idle. its annoying, but it will pass quickly. People usually say 15minutes, but i allow 30min to be sure. Just take the car for a spin after the reset and drive it normally. When you stop, the car will most likely stall, so what i always do is put gear into Neutral, and keep accelerator pressed a little so it revs to about 800 - 1000RPM. Then after about 15min drive, park somewhere and let it idle in neutral first. It will still stall but after a few takes, should improve slowly. Then Do it while in gear, but dont drive. This gives the engine a little more resistance. Then later on, you can whack on the aircon, for more resistance. And voila eventually it has sorted itself out.

It sounds scary, but its quite easy.

But regarding the clunking, i dont know if it will fix that problem. its wortha shot, since its free anyway. But there may be something wrong with the gearbox... Others here know more about this stuff, and im sure they will post soon. :)