Bought me a nice 2000 sle tonight. when i test drove the car 2 days ago shifted nice and smooth. and did so when i picked it up tonight. but as i drove home...about 2 hour trip...i noticed the car shifting harder. especially if i got into it to kick down..it would shift really hard either way. well, babied home and checked when i got home..the cable that goes from the cruise box and wraps around the brake booster then connects to TB link..was unhooked! the actual black plastic connector on the end of the cable was broke to were it won't stay clipped onto the TB link arm.

My question....will this being unhooked make the car shift hard/funny?

Next, what damage could it have caused driving this way???

cable is called the servo cable evidently...

here is a pic of it..

There is a bulletin about hard shifting. And it can be something that points to having a pressure valve changed in the trans. But it also can be a minor condition causing it. Even a dirty MAP sensor can cause it intermittently. My 2001 does the hard shift thing once in a while. It'* been doing it for years now.....

i ordered new cable for the car..haveit tomorrow.

when i tried hooking it back up when i got home ad drove it, it was shifting normal again and cruise worked. evidently gasing it a few times got the cable unhooked again because cruise wouldn't work and it started shifting hard again. got home, and sure enough it had come unhooked. i think the servo brain for cruise has some sensors in it to read back to pcm to regulate trans or something..i don't know, but it sureseems to affect its shifting. i parked it till i get cable replaced.

thanks!

can you get a closer up picture of the cable end? I think you might be installing it incorrectly. It should SNAP onto the tab on the TB link.

IMO, the disconnection of the cruise cable has nothing to do with the hard shifting.

what little reading i did in a service book so far indicated that the brain box for the cruise monitors vehicle speed and a few other items. Just seems odd to me that when it is unhooked it shifts hard, but when hooked up seems all is good.

the black connector is damaged. it won't snap in place. i am familiar with these connectors. worked with many time.

I can agree with Haro about the cruise and trans being separate. I also can believe that when the connector is plugged in, it works fine. Sometimes there are interactions in the software that can be counter-intuitive.

It is also possible that the shifting problem is intermittent and the apparent relationship to the cruise control connector is purely coincidental.

What you describe, sounds like the classic sticky Pressure Control Solenoid. If it turns out to be the PCS, I recommend installing a shift kit for $90 instead of the $500 - $600 to replace the solenoid. I did the shift kit almost a year ago and no more hard shifts. PLUS, the transmission shifts soooo much nicer in general.

well, it was a thought anyway. but, i got the cable on...cruise works well now. at first thougth on driving was that shifting was normal again. further i drove ....basically getting things up to temp, i started noticiing the hard downshift kickdown and up so to speak when gassing it at higher speeds. liking coming in and out of OD. running at 60mph or so....gun it, kinda kicks down hard and thuds, when foot let off, does it again like going back in OD or something..i really don't know. i haven't noticed the hard shifting through normal drive out...such as take off from stop...mainly from only highway speed stuff. i will get some more time in it drivng and see what it is doing.

one thing i noticed...and maybe this is normal, but in all my cars i have had over the years, i don't remember seeing some many bubbles on the trans dipstick when checking it. just seems odd to me. it doesn't smell burnt or anything...little more brown than i would like to see, but not overbearing burnt smell or anything...the bubbles make me curious though.

If it is the Pressure Control Solenoid, the main cause of it sticking, is old and dirty fluid. I HIGHLY recommend changing the transmission fluid SOON. When you do, add a can of Sea Foam Trans Tune. When mine first started shifting hard, I temporarily solved the problem with this method.

If the problem is not the PCS, the fluid change can only help.

I agree. Get a can of Trans Tune, follow the directions on the can, and then drop the pan and change the fluid and filter. In many cases, you can get away with not pulling the seal for the filter out of the tranny. I'd suggest that you try to replace that, also. You shouldn't be seeing bubbles on the dipstick.