I. Had that problem for many years when the transmission was cold. It was worse in cold weather. I would drive in second until it warmed up. After it shifted into third once, all was well. If I recall it was because of a dirty valve body? I eventually had it rebuilt and that solved the problem. Good luck!
Jeff
85 Westfalia 
Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 21, 2025, at 11:43 PM, Ray Brubaker <rayandmerle@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I'm living with a long standing problem of mine not shifting into 3rd when
> it is hot. If I back off the power, it will shift and then I can apply
> power again and it will stay in 3rd. It also sometimes needs a little blip
> of the throttle to get it to go into reverse and then it goes in hard. In
> 2018 I spoke with a trans overhaul shop about this and whether to try an
> additive like Lucas. He said the additives are good now and it would be
> worth a try. I changed the fluid and added Lucas. It helped for a while but
> the problem has returned. It will always shift when I let off the power and
> let the RPM drop about 1000. The torque converter is slinging a small
> amount of fluid so there is a seal leak there, so my tranny is tired.. I
> don't usually drive it far these days.
> 
> Ray
> 
>> On Fri, Jul 18, 2025 at 10:57 PM Dug Smith <dug@dugbert.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Eric,
>> 
>> I had a similar behaviour when a seal in the torque converter failed.
>> 
>> I would say make sure it's actually in Drive rather than looking like
>> it's in Drive but it's actually in 2.
>> 
>> Low or dirty fluid could do that too, but if the fluid level's low,
>> where did it go?
>> 
>>> On 7/18/2025 19:50, Eric Caron wrote:
>>> Hi folks,
>>> 
>>>         Today we set out in the 85 Auto for a short trip.  A little way
>> from home I noticed that the transmission had not shifted into third gear
>> even though we were moving at 38,000 RPM and 45 mph.
>>> 
>>> This happened yesterday morning as well but we thought it was  driver
>> error.  And, looking back, it happened a couple weeks ago.
>>> Any thoughts as to why the transmission would not change to third gear?
>>> 
>>> It so far only happens once at the start of a trip.
>>> 
>>> I’ll get it hot and check transmission fluid level tomorrow.
>>> 
>>> Not sure if fluid level could even be a factor.
>>> 
>>> Any tips or suggestions appreciated.
>>> 
>>> Eric Caron
>>> 85 Auto
>> 
>> toodle pip,
>> --
>>       Dug Smith          | Terry Pratchett: It's almost
>> (mailto:dug@dugbert.com) |  impossible to ride a rock and roll
>> (http://www.dugbert.com) |  motorbike and stay on for three verses.
>>