93 Saturn transmission

My 93 Saturn automatic transmission shifts well in the forward gears. The
problem I'm having is when I try shifting into reverse. When I place the
gearshift lever into reverse nothing happens for about 5 seconds. After
about 5 seconds reverse gear will engage with a kind of a clunk. I can get
reverse to engage faster if I give it a little gas. I've changed the
transmission fluid but it didn't help very much. Any information that anyone
could provide me with would be very appreciated. PS Although the cars is a
93 it runs very well and has no other problems. I sure would like to fix it
if I could. Thank You.

 

Go to groups.google.com and search this group for "transmission valve body".
This has been discussed here at length in the past. There is a forum that
has a post that describes a procedure you can try which may remedy the
problem that will be of interest, and the search should bring up the link.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

Did you change filter too??? (It is a spin on unit) It points to a
weak pump or likely leaking seal on reverse clutch pac. (when you rev
it up you increase oil flow to them and cause them to overcome leak
sooner. If filter does not fix it, things do not look good. You could
try some tranny seal conditioner and see if it will swell seal back up
some. The good news is that it will not likely die over night but it
may get slowly worse too.

 

Yup common problem ("reverse slam" is one search term). I think I posted
the link here a few weeks ago, here it is again.
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23670

 

My 93 did that a couple years ago and I took it to a Saturn dealer and
they had to put new throttle body on. Several hundred dollars but
didn't have to remove the tranny. Neighbor kid bought it and it still
runs ok.

 

I think you mean valve body, not throttle body. The valve body is inside
the trans, the throttle body is on the intake manifold and regulates engine
RPM.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]