transmission 3rd to OD sometimes slacks

[Vehi-Cross-Az]

Over the last yr, my VX has had some weird things happen..
Id take a right turn and the trans would slip or take 4 or 5
seconds to catch up and go into 3rd gear. and lately, Ill be
driving and when I get up to say 45 mph or so driving it very
mild, it tends to want to stick in 2nd gear. Id just throw it in
neutral and coast a bit if there was no traffic behind me, slow
down a bit and then drop it back down in 3rd and hope it would catch.
Sometimes it would, sometimes not... but eventually it will always
shift into 3rd and then sometimes it would slip going into OD too.
When it wouldnt shift from 2nd to 3rd, sometimes Id just jump on
the gas a little harder then normal and eventually it would shift
into 3rd at about 4500 or so rpms... and sometime it will even slam
into gear.. giant clunk and the Check Trans lite on the dash would
turn on ! After that the trans would shift normal rest of my trip
around town and when I start the truck again later on, the CHECK TRANS
light would be off and Id start all over again. Sometimes with it
shifting normal for a few days until the same scenerio would repeat
itself over.
The problem has gotten worse in the Az heat and summer, which is
typically normal.. But how many selenoids are on or in our transmissions
controlling the shifts ?
I think my fluid my be a little low, so Im thinking about lifting the truck
up with a jack on the pass side when I pull the bolt out to check the level
and fill it. Id rather have a little extra in then not enough. It cant hurt.
Anyones thoughts on the slacking shifts ? anyone else get these symptoms on theirs ?
btw, mine has 149k on it.

[tom4bren]

If you think your level is low, that'd be the first thing to fix.

Unfortunately, it sounds more like a rebuild is in your future.

[IndianaVX]

I will be getting my truck back tomorrow from a complete rebuild. symptoms very similar to yours. drove it for a while, then it just would never shift into 3rd or above.
sorry, but I agree with Tom....start saving some cash. you might go ahead, if it is cheap enough, and take it to a transmission shop, and have them take a look, and read any codes. you might get lucky and not have to go the whole rebuild route, and get away with a solenoid replacement, or some kind of adjustment.

[Vehi-Cross-Az]

I have a performance/repair shop myself, its partly what I do
for a living. We dont do autosmatic rebuilds
but I have a few shops locally that can do
it for me luckily for a fair price. Ill prob end up pulling it soon
and taking it over to them them redo it for me. 150k on a stock
transmission isnt bad, I got my money out of it
Plus it will give me a reason to start driving my SVX a little more
Was sort of hoping there may of been a solenoid issue first

[Triathlete]

I would fill the tranny properly first. Don't over fill it....it is a closed system and it could (don't know for sure) cause pressure issues when the fluid gets hot/cold.

[Scott Larson]

Yup, never overfill transmissions (or engines for that matter) unless you want to blow a seal. If it was meant to have more in it, they would have designed and built it that way. There are components in both that are not supposed to be splashing away in the oil or fluid as they would turn it to foam...And you haven't done your tranny any favors by rompin' on it when it slips, it's trying to tell you somethin' and it's not, "Stomp on the gas!" Nope, it's more like "Please check my fluid and maybe service me." People can be their own worst enemy when it comes to stuff they don't understand. I barely understand computers and you won't see me trying to write code any time soon.