I just bought a 1990 Legend v6l .. the transmission has serious problems. It seems to me in Drive it starts off in 3rd gear and attempts to use the clutch to bring it up to speed. If i drop it down in 2 it seems to use 2nd gear then shift into 3 when i push the shifter up. Also at around 60 mph the tach is sittin on 3 grand... is this 3rd or 4th gear? Is this a common problem?

Sorry for the length of this post.. just thought i would tell the problem... also how hard is it to change the tranny in this car .. without a lift.

Thanks
~rc

 

The problems you state are pretty serious. In case you didn't know, the first generation Legends start out in 2nd gear from a dead stop. What you should do is go spend $50-70 to get your transmission flushed, If the symptoms continue, you should be looking at www.car-part.com for a transmission. You do need a lift to do the tranny job. Don't do it without one. check out www.acura-legend.com, click on the forums.

Mike Diaz

 

I was told by my "professional" auto mechanic .. that to flush the transmission with this many miles on it would not be beneficial. I was told that it would cause the gears to grind i suppose and cause more damage. I am not familiar with this car at all... thanks for the reply

~rc~

 

Your problem is most likely stuck shift valves (solenoids). Short of pulling those and cleaning, a transmission flush, as Mike says, is the first step.