1996 Chevrolet Silverado Jumping Gears

1996 CHEVROLET SILVERADO
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DAVENMER
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i was driving the other day and my ABS system started going crazy..after turning engine off and on it was reset, but an hour later it did it again, along with my transmission jumping between 3-4 gears...later all the above happened, but tranny started jumping from 4 to 2-3-1 gears (very erratic) and the speedometer jumps to different speeds even though im going 30-40 mph...come to find out my intake manifold gasket was leaking pretty bad...could coolant leakage cause a sensor to go bad causing these problems?? any input would be appreciated.
Feb 13, 2006 at 8:54 AM
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2CARPRO JACK
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Possible, but not likely.Might need a VSS or the position switch on the side of the trans
Feb 15, 2006 at 9:50 AM
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DAVENMER
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[quote:1600383d6b="2CarPro Jack"]Possible, but not likely.Might need a VSS or the position switch on the side of the trans[/quote:1600383d6b]

? can you give anymore details? what is a VSS and what is the posistion switch?
Feb 15, 2006 at 2:24 PM
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KENVCR
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VSS = Vehical speed sensor (located in transmission - most cases)
TPS - Trottle position sensor. Located on your throttle body if you have a TBI/ FI system. This part does go bad, make sure it is not loose or wire connection loose/excessive dirt before replacing. Typically you will have to remove a lot of other emmission control parts to get at this little devil. It is however possible to unbolt and move stuff out of the way without disconnecting any other wires. If you do disconect wires you will get fault codes to your computor. YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR COMPUTOR FIRST TO SEE IF ANY TROUBLE CODES EXIST. THIS WILL HELP PINPOINT A TPS PROBLEM BECAUSE THERE IS A CODE FOR THIS AND VSS.
If you proceed to unplug STUFF you will send fault codes to your computor. If you end up taking your truck to a service garage, they will check the codes first. By you adding codes, they will spend time and YOUR MONEY to locate a problem that does not exist.
Transmission shops are best suited to deal with tranny problems. Your tranny can be computor scanned as well for any electrical problem like VSS or TCC (lock up solenoid for automatics)
Best wishes. Can you please post a reply when you get it sorted out 100%.
Feb 15, 2006 at 4:44 PM
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Suggested Repair

Scan for trouble codes before unplugging sensors. Coolant from the leaking intake gasket is possible but unlikely; check the vehicle speed sensor and the transmission position switch, including connections, and have a transmission shop scan for VSS or TCC faults.

Conversation Summary

A 1996 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 owner reported ABS faults, erratic shifting between gears, and a speedometer that jumped at 30-40 mph after finding a badly leaking intake manifold gasket, and asked if coolant could ruin a sensor. An expert said that was possible but unlikely and suggested a VSS or the position switch on the side of the transmission. A follow-up defined the VSS, urged scanning for codes before disconnecting parts, and noted a shop can also scan for VSS or TCC issues.

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