Worried about my car...

[Tauni]

1997 Eagle Talon, Auto, NA

So I'm really worried about my car. It's been doing a lot of wierd stuff lately and I'm thinking I might have to end up selling it to avoid fixing the problems, considering I don't have that kind of money.

So here's the issues:

I'm pretty sure the transmission is slipping. Switching gears [not all of them, but in one, I think going from second to third, I attempted to count but you know..] it revs up a bit before it actually switches gears. Normally the RPM's get to about 3k then it switches gears, but going into this one gear I will be going steady and then it gets to 3k and then revs up to 4k, and THEN switches gears.

I already told you guys about the whistling noise, which is steadily getting louder, and needles to say, more annoying.

This morning I got into my car and started it up. I started to drive away from my house and I have my foot on the gas, and when I would start to go it would bog a little bit before it actually got moving. Mostly this happened aorund corners. But it hasn't happened the rest of the day, so I'm hoping that it's just a matter of it was cold out and the car wasn't warmed up at all yet, though it's never done it on any other morning.

The main thing I'm worried about is the tranny. My last car had tranny problems and I ended up having to sell it before the tranny went out so that I wouldn't have to spend a bitch load to get it fixed. I deffinately don't have money to fix a tranny on the talon either. I'm worried that the only way out is to sell the beast, because we all know how much I love my Glorified. Although then I'd be up $6k and could go for a TSi ;) But I really don't want to sell it.

I guess my main questions are:
1. What is this bogging? Was it just the cold, or is it having problems?
2. What do you guys suggest as far as the tranny issue and selling it?

[Jakey]

What's the maintenance history of your car? Have you ever changed the plugs & wires?

[Tauni]

I'm not sure. I've only had it for a few months, and the guy before me was a dumb ass and didn't leave shit for records with me. I haven't done anything on it except change the oil since I bought it. But I can check out the plugs and see what they are looking like.

[niterydr]

Change the transmission fluid (im assuming its an auto) and the filter. If that doesn't fix it, report back for more diagnosis.

[Jakey]

To me the bogging sounds like a spark plug and/or wire issue or a partially clogged fuel filter. How many miles are on your car?

[Jakey]

Change the transmission fluid (im assuming its an auto) and the filter. If that doesn't fix it, report back for more diagnosis.

Change the fluid or tranny flush & fluid change?

[Tauni]

71k

I'll do the transmission stuff this weekend, as I have to do an oil change anyways. I will check the spark plugs and change them if they need to be changed. As for the fuel filter, I wouldn't have a clue. I'll talk to my boyfriend and have him figure that out, though.

[niterydr]

Perferrable a flush (so you get all the stuff out of it) with a high grade fluid and a new filter.
Auto trannies are suspose to have this done every 30k or so.

[Jakey]

71k

I'll do the transmission stuff this weekend, as I have to do an oil change anyways. I will check the spark plugs and change them if they need to be changed. As for the fuel filter, I wouldn't have a clue. I'll talk to my boyfriend and have him figure that out, though.

Personally I'd change the plugs either way since they're pretty cheap and you won't hurt anything by changing them whether they're the reason behind your issues or not.

[rk4g63]

You can get NGK plugs for 12-14 bucks. Change the wires while you're at it - not too expensive. Tranny fluid - my personal favorite is BG Synchro, but not sure if that's good for an auto though. I never have messed with autos. A lot of the other guys on this site can tell u in a flash though.

If you have a datalogger try using MMCD to see if the injectors are OK. I'd lend you mine but I have a 1G OBD1.