I have a buddy that owns a 2nd Gen and it's a 1.5 automatic. He had rebuilt the motor. I don't know exactly since when but he complains that when he steps on it it shifts fine but when he's going slowly and the tranny shifts from 1st to 2nd gear it does a loud clunk and lunges the car. It feels like when someone puts good pressure plates on the automatic transmissions but it only does it from 1st to 2nd and when driving slowly (not when really pushing it). Any ideas?

 

I tried the FAQ but couldn' t find out what tranny a 2nd gen 1.5 auto uses. If it's the FA4A-EL, it's the same as my tranny.
I have noticed a slight lunging (no sound though) when i start from a complete stop, barely touch the gas, get the car rolling and let it shift from 1st to 2nd REALLY slow. It's not noticable in any other gears. If i'm not micro-feathering the gas, it's impossible to notice the shifting.

 

Heh, well i have a stick of the 95 LX version. I think i know what u talkin bout. Recently my car has been screwin up. Well now after i seem to have it workin ok.. my car loses water in the coolant reserve and sometimes when i change gears i feel a HUGE hesitation which makes a huge popping noise and it accels slow as hell. Anyways, I rarely have dat prob anymore but it is still a problem. If your friend tries and drives it while the car is cold that may be da prob cause it only does that hesitation when its cold. But when its warm i have no problem.

 

the valve body in the tranny probably needs to be readjusted.. that or the fluid is bad