'99 LS Rodeo - 35k mi. Mostly driven short trips in town. Transmission began shifting hard/clunking 2nd to 3rd and also when it shifts down. Had fluid changed - metal in fluid. Shop says it is a plastic/nylon 'spacer' between 2 plates in the transmission that has worn down - wants 2300. to fix.
Anyone else had this problem? Does this seem reasonable? Any comments/info/suggestions greatly appreciated. Thank you

I got that problem at about 35k & at 55k miles. right now i got 60k. Whenever i got that problem i will definitely have a fluid change.
I noticed that after a while it will be gone but then the car will be jerking for a few miles.

After some research, i "think" it was the torque converter running empty.
Once the converter got it's fill of fluid, it should be shifting fine.

But then, i did not have that metal & plastic at my used fluid.

What transmission shop did you take it to?

My Rodeo did that at 69k miles, took it to AAMCO, as it was past the powertrain warranty, they too stated that I needed a whole new transmission as there supposedly was metal particules in the fluid.

Didn't really believe them, so I took it to the dealership and I actually got them to take a look at it for free, as I told them that it would be a shame to own an Isuzu and have tranny problems at 69k miles.

I never expected them to take it to the back, they did a complete flush on the transmission after dropping the pan themselves, they didn't find any metal particules and two days later I got it back. I now have 150k miles on that same transmission with no shifting issues.

What exactly the dealership did, I don't know, all they told me was that they installed a new filter, cleaned the tranny pan, and did a complete flush and everything was fine. I didn't have to pay for it, which has always left me to wonder if something else was wrong and they covered it for free just to shut me up.

Long story short, unless you REALLY trust this mechanic, don't always believe the first guy you take it to.

I will never go back to AAMCO, I've heard a lot of bad things about them ripping people off.

Never heard of the nylon spacer thing. It is amazing the tactics some transmission shops will use to take your money!! I have never seen a trans pan that DIDN'T have some metallic particles in it. Completely normal. 4L30E's do need ATF changeouts every 30-40K miles to live a long life. For hard clunky shifts, look into the range sensor. Try a search in this forum for that.

Joel

are there even nylon spacers in a trans? that doesn't seem right...friction and all..

Hey there me too i had the same problem(clunking hard upshifting and down shifting) with mine 4l30e about 5k ago ,so what i did is what rodeo2 suggested you i cleaned my range sensor repacket with new alcaline grease and she works like new .Rodent1 i suggest u to get all the help from the guys on this forum first (they are really great guys with a big knowledge)before trusting some guy in the repair shop, cause all they know is the oportunity to make some profits

yup, flush it and clean the range sensor and I bet all will be well.

Let us know! Gotta treat this auto tranny right. Have you ever serviced the tranny? Every 30K I drop the pan and there is always a coating of fine metal shavings on the magnet and bottom of the pan. Good luck!