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Tranny woes

joinerman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
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Garage
Just as i was concidering selling my beloved 80 the bloody tranny has started playing up, ever since iv'e had the car ( six years ) it sometimes flares on downshifting from 3rd to 2nd, not always, it's got no worse in the 40,000 miles iv'e done, the last few mornings when driving to work it's dropped out of lockup when iv'e let off the loud pedal even when i'm above the speed it normally locks up, goes back in again ok when i reaply the pedal, no bangs clunks or anything, also a couple of times when iv'e driven out of my works estate over a sleeping policeman in second gear it's felt like it's slipped into neutral & then back into gear, i don't no wether to suspect a shift solenoid or possibly torque converteror maybe someone else out there may have other ideas, the car drives really nice otherwise with silky smooth gear changes, i'm going to try a fluid change tomorrow, also i don't get any flashing of the overdrive light on the dashboard so i suspect no fault codes to read.
Fluid is nice & red & no smell of toast.
 
It doesn't sound like a torque converter or major gearbox fault to me, more like a control problem. You could start with the throttle position sensors, both the cable and the pot if you have an OD button? (what year / spec is your 80?). Your gear selector linkage could need adjusting, when in D try applying a little pressure in the direction of N to the shifter does it go into neutral? There's also the selector position sensor on the passenger side of the box in which the contacts can become corroded and the wiring loom connector by the starter motor that can also give trouble. Just a few things to keep you looking :)
 
Hi Jon, it's a 94 vx import, haven't got the car at the moment, get it back mid morning but i've checked the tps, will try the selector thing in the morning do you mean do this while actually driving it ?
 
joinerman said:
will try the selector thing in the morning do you mean do this while actually driving it ?
Yes, to see if the selector linkage is not adjusted quite right so a slight movement changes gear. You may have more than one fault so I wouldn't only look at things that fit all of the symptoms. I'm thinking of the behaviour you describe going over a speed hump for this test and it's something so simple it's worth crossing off the list.

The selector position sensor on the passenger side of the box is quite easy to take off and inspect. There are little metal contacts with a spring behind and the spring can turn to dust and cause strange gear selection behaviour.

Check that connector by the starter motor, it's a PITA to get at but they've been known to cause problems.

If you rule out all the fairly simple checks then it could be a failing solenoid but with it being intermittant chances are your only option will be to change them and see if that fixes it. You can measure the coil resistance from the plug at the ECU (i.e. without dropping the oil & pan) but checking they operate means draining the oil and removing the pan.
 
i've got to be honest i really thought from the title that this was going to be about a completely different topic........
 
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Update, didn't manage to change the ATF today due to domestic probs however did try & see if slight forward pressure on the shifter reproduced my problem & it didn't, will do the ATF change during the week.
 
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