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[Oh]

Hey guys so i've had my 2001 Catera Sport for about 8 months or so. I bought the car with 60k original miles and a blown motor for a whopping $500. I replaced the motor and got the beast running. I had a stereo/TC light/sunroof/gas cover issue, replaced a fuse in the engine bay and the issues were resolved.

I have since been having issues with the infamous limp mode, and it seems pretty random. Here's what i've gathered so far. It generally happens on warmer days more often, although it still happens in cold days after a bit of driving. EX spent about an hour mostly under 15mph cruising around a neighborhood with a lot of steep hills admiring christmas lights and ornaments and as i was making a u turn at a culd-e-sac(SP) limp mode kicked in and my sport light started flashing.

Shifting is also an issue. When the car is initially on, it will sometimes not want to shift to 2nd after taking off. When this happens shifting is generally a little rough and sometimes jumpy, not through all gears but it's a guessing game. This is also random. It doesn't happen all the time. The car sometimes runs smooth and shifting issues are hardly noticeable. Although it happens more often than not.

I went in and did a fluid change since I wasn't aware of any service history, I was sure it couldn't be horrible with 60k original miles on the vehicle. When I took it in I had them check the codes since If the car goes into limp mode twice the same day the CEL will come on. They gave me a code P0743. From what i've gathered, it's a code for Torque Converter Clutch Solenoid.

Since i'm still having issues with the sunroof randomly opening and closing I'm a little concerned that it could possibly be an electrical issue and not necessarily a $200 with a probable $300 labor charge. I would be willing to crack the tranny open but to be honest I'm not comfortable enough to do it by myself since i'm sure i'm lacking some necessary tools.

BTW. If i shift the car to 1st and manually shift to 2nd and D and so forth the tranny slips going into 2nd every time.

I appreciate any help and advice. Thanks for your time!.

[Welung666]

Firstly... the sunroof. Totally unconnected, try the reset on it. Turn to fully open and hold the switch in during the movement and for about 5 seconds after it has completed the cycle. Switch to tilt and hold the switch in again as before, then do the same for closed. This will reset the sunroof.

As for the trans... Was the fluid filled with the engine running and the car level?

[Oh]

Yeah. I took a look at the fluid as it was drained and it seemed fairly cleans still, the filter had dust sized specs but they were barely noticeable. I would say and the mechanic agreed that the fluid was in good shape and he had no concern about giving me the warranty cause of it. Before they started putting oil back in they started the car and raised it back up on the lift and filled it until it topped off and spilled a little bit back out.

[Welung666]

Yeah. I took a look at the fluid as it was drained and it seemed fairly cleans still, the filter had dust sized specs but they were barely noticeable. I would say and the mechanic agreed that the fluid was in good shape and he had no concern about giving me the warranty cause of it. Before they started putting oil back in they started the car and raised it back up on the lift and filled it until it topped off and spilled a little bit back out.

Did they follow that by selecting each gear in turn then taking it around the block and re-checking the fluid level?

[Oh]

I don't believe so. They topped it off and sent me on my merry way. It wasn't a full flush, they drained the fluid from the pan and took the pan off changed filters put the pan back on and filled. About how much fluid do you think could be potentially missing? and could this cause rough shifting and sport light to come on.

Also I forgot to mention. The sport light has come on with sudden breaking, I noticed that the car sometimes tries to downshift when I've had to break fairly hard. I have put the trans in neutral to test the hard breaking issue and it hasn't come on but maybe once under the same situation.

It also happened on a round about ramp to the interstate at about 30-45mph.

[Welung666]

You can never fully drain the ATF, I can normally get about 6 litres (just shy of 11 fl oz) back in after both trans sumps have been off.

It could be a sticking solonoid but you need a good quality GM code reader on it to read, clear and re-read the fault codes stored in the trans ECU.

[Oh]

I tried getting the codes read at autozone, (they claim on tv that they'll read your codes for free) and every autozone that i've visited all say that they wont do it. So I had the trans guy who changed the fluid check it out but he had a small reader he claimed wouldn't find all the issues that a quality code reader would.

My other 3 options are take it to the stealership and fork out the benjamins to get it checked out. Take it to a cadillac specialist the only one i've found within 50 miles of where i live or hit up the boneyard i picked up my motor from and have a tranny installed I was quoted $700 for the trans and labor.

I'm probably going to have to pay a visit to the specialist and see what he says. Last time I talked to him he said something like $70 per hour for troubleshooting. Just troubleshooting. I asked him if I could use some lube so it wouldn't hurt so much and he laughed. The only upside is that he offered a free oil change since I was a new customer.

[hotel21]

You can never fully drain the ATF, I can normally get about 6 litres (just shy of 11 fl oz) back in after both trans sumps have been off.

It could be a sticking solonoid but you need a good quality GM code reader on it to read, clear and re-read the fault codes stored in the trans ECU.

6 litres equates to about 210 fluid ounces, I think??   :-/

[Welung666]

I tried getting the codes read at autozone, (they claim on tv that they'll read your codes for free) and every autozone that i've visited all say that they wont do it. So I had the trans guy who changed the fluid check it out but he had a small reader he claimed wouldn't find all the issues that a quality code reader would.

My other 3 options are take it to the stealership and fork out the benjamins to get it checked out. Take it to a cadillac specialist the only one i've found within 50 miles of where i live or hit up the boneyard i picked up my motor from and have a tranny installed I was quoted $700 for the trans and labor.

I'm probably going to have to pay a visit to the specialist and see what he says. Last time I talked to him he said something like $70 per hour for troubleshooting. Just troubleshooting. I asked him if I could use some lube so it wouldn't hurt so much and he laughed. The only upside is that he offered a free oil change since I was a new customer.

Pretty pointless as you've just had it done!

I'm sending you a PM with an eBay link which may save you a few dollars getting the codes read

[Welung666]

You can never fully drain the ATF, I can normally get about 6 litres (just shy of 11 fl oz) back in after both trans sumps have been off.

It could be a sticking solonoid but you need a good quality GM code reader on it to read, clear and re-read the fault codes stored in the trans ECU.

6 litres equates to about 210 fluid ounces, I think??   :-/

Well spotted I need new batteries in this keyboard as it keeps missing letters out! I meant 'just shy of 211 fl oz'. Thanks for spotting it H21

[hotel21]

You can never fully drain the ATF, I can normally get about 6 litres (just shy of 11 fl oz) back in after both trans sumps have been off.

It could be a sticking solonoid but you need a good quality GM code reader on it to read, clear and re-read the fault codes stored in the trans ECU.

6 litres equates to about 210 fluid ounces, I think??   :-/

Well spotted I need new batteries in this keyboard as it keeps missing letters out! I meant 'just shy of 211 fl oz'. Thanks for spotting it H21

I dunno if a UK pint is the same as a US pint but according to my wifes flour measuring jug in the kitchen, thats what the sums work out at!   

[Welung666]

UK pint = 20 fl oz or 568ml
US pint = 16 fl oz or 473ml

[Oh]

Sweet!. Thanks for the link. How accurate do you think it is? Have you used it? It's a reasonable price but it seems a little primitive.

[Welung666]

We don't have Cadi's here but I have something similar that reads the codes for any OBDII compliant vehicles (which yours is) and clears them. You may have to google the codes though as that one doesn't have the option to describe the fault as mine does.

Try searching the UK eGay (www.ebay.co.uk) for something like the Sealey VS8700 and see if they ship to the US as they are a similar deal but with a better readout

[Oh]

Thanks. I'll try to take a look for the best deal since i'm on a tight unemployed budget since i got laid off a while back.