Catfood

My 88 928 is really slow to engage gears when it is still cold.

For instance when I start the car I put it in reverse and it takes a good 2-3 seconds for it to kick into reverse, and when I go back to drive and hit the gas it takes a couple more seconds for it to engage the gear and then it goes.

The car has no issues kicking down or taking off from a light once its warm it is just really sluggish when cold.

I have run the car on the lift and checked the fluid level while running the car and it is the right level. Is this just how old 928s are or is a pump not working right?

Landseer

There is some discussion that reverse lag is caused by thinning of the reverse frictions.

Similarly, for issues in forward, some talk about replacing the B2 piston and seals.

You might search advanced for posts on these things made be steve cattaneo and also by Tails.

the flyin' scotsman

I'd refresh the oil and filter and tshoot from there.

Bill Ball

Regular fluid and filter changes every 30K miles (factory service interval) are important, at least for my car. Mine starts doing weird things if I go longer. Throwing in a can of Trans Medic or similar actually helps a lot too. About 5 years ago mine stopped dropping into first gear. Fluid and filter change fixed it for a month, but it came back. Adding a can Trans Medic took care of it for the next 30K miles when it started acting up again. Fluid and filter fixed it again and it's been fine since.

Calgary Ole

Fluid and filter fixed up my shifting issues as well, I am sure it was original based on the condition of the fasteners

Catfood

Car has fresh fluid and filter, so my next task is to take a look at the B2 piston and maybe some of the seals?

How long do I have before it really becomes a problem?

Steve Tacheny

Don't know about your forward issue but mine has had the reverse issue at least since 1994 when I bought it

Catfood

What exactly is this Trans Medic and where can it be found?

Bill Ball

I'm not specifically recommending Trans Medic, a brand name. There are a number of transmission treatments that are intended to be added to the fluid and left in (as opposed to flushed) that have solvents and seal conditioners. These can free sticky shift valves and possibly improve seal performance. Your problem may be beyond that, although perhaps your slow response into R will be helped by this. For me, when I was pretty sure my problem was a sticky 1-2 shift valve, it was worth a try and it did work. And although the problem returned a few times, it is fine now and has been for more than 3 years. Any auto parts store will have a selection of these treatments.

Also, I assume your recent fluid change was made with the correct fluid, which is Dexron II-compatible, including up through the newest Dexron VI and Dexron/Mercon multipurpose. Type F fluid would be wrong.