Hi all, I was wondering if any of u are familiair with my tranny problem. Since I have had the car the tranny goes into o/d quite early. Sometimes at 35-40mph in 4th gear. I've been tinkering with the adjustment cable, it helped just a tiny bit. Since a few weeks, it goes in and out of the o/d all the time when driving constant speed about 65mph. Im doing a road trip this weekend and cant take it to the tranny shop before monday.. any tips?
It'll shift in and out based on hilly terrain; but since I see you're from the Netherlands, that's unlikely. So, it can be the TV cable adjustment, but before trying to tackle that, verify the fluid level and condition.
I was going to suggest to check the fluid level as well; perhaps you might even want to get it changed. I DO NOT recommend getting the tranny flushed; getting an old trans that's never been flushed can sometimes suck out some of the material within the older gaskets, which you don't want to have happen. Just change the fluid and you may notice a marked difference.
Change it and see, but if the TV cable is out of adjustment, you'd better get that handled right away, or you'll be rebuilding it.
I learned how to drive in my dad's '83 CE and recall clearly how it would do this at a cruising speed of ~65mph on Route 81 in CNY (hilly terrain). On the other hand, when we would travel the NYS Thruway (flat terrain!) the car would be fine. This of course was back when the car was nearly new. If you have predominantly flat terrain, I agree with the other suggestions above - get it looked at.
All hydromechanical ODs are supposed to downshift on a hill climb or on acceleration, but up-and-down terrain (I-5 where I live North of Seattle) or a lead foot (ahem) makes it pop in and out, even at cruise speed. My dad's 90 F150 only has the AOD, and it certainly does it, up to about 70. Then it'll stay in OD on even a very steep climb, as long as I maintain 70+.
The first question is, are you SURE the trans is shifting in and out of fourth, or are you feeling the converter lock up and unlock? It the TV cable is adjusted correctly, the converter lockup is the more likely cause. One easy test is to temporarily disconnect the electrical connector on the side of the trans and drive it. The converter will be unlocked at all times under this condition. If the problem goes away, it's converter lockup that you are feeling. Be aware that driving with the trans plug disconnected will likely make the CHECK ENGINE light come on. Don't worry about it. Once you reconnect the plug, disconnect the battery cable for a minute or so to clear the error code.
