Overdrive issues

[echopdx]

It's still not working and I am soooooooo frustrated. I want to pull a new wire directly from the relay all the way to the solenoid. Does that seem like a good idea? Which wire should I attempt to pull from? I will also replace the power line from the battery to make sure I am getting enough juice there. Thanks again for the help.

[timsrv]

What have you done so far?

[timsrv]

For those of you who have given up on troubleshooting, here's an easy way to get your OD back. If you think you'll ever want to turn your OD off, then this isn't for you (this will permanently enable it). This completely eliminates the need for the OD electrical circuit.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121976035242
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/volvo-over-d...BZqyl3&vxp=mtr
You just climb under the DS of the van, remove the heat shield (2 8mm hex bolts), then remove the (2) 12mm solenoid mount bolts, cut the wire, and remove the solenoid. Install this part and you're done (should take about 5 minutes). Tim

[Ace MM]

FYI, I actually got my transmission hot enough once to activate that protective feature.

I've been trying to find the temp it does activate.
I have an external gauge and I haven't gotten above 211*F & no light.

[Tan Van]

When mine failed, it was a long gradual process. It would still work if I drove long enough, but it was basically sticky/gummed-up. I probably could have cleaned & reworked it, but after 225k miles I figured it wasn't worth the effort. I put a good used one on out of one of my spare transmissions. Then I got one of those $40 Volvo OD solenoids to replace the one I robbed . Tim

okay, so , by a "long gradual process" did you mean that you were getting overdrive, but it became more difficult over time to get it to shift into OD (e.g. - higher rpm's as time went on ??) -- if so, I might be in the middle of this "long gradual failure of the solenoid process... my OD is working, but at a noteably higher rpm than in my previous van (about 48mph vs. about 38mph)...
-or, was the "long gradual process" of it failing more like an intermittent working/not working scenario ?

[timsrv]

I mean the OD didn't work when the van was cold (even though I had the OD engine temp sensor disconnected). After the transmission warmed up, then it would shift. For the 1st few months of that eventual failure it would take about 1 mile or so of freeway driving before it would shift, then for another few months it would take 2 or 3 miles. After a year or so it would take 5 or 6 miles, then it eventually stopped shifting into OD altogether. During testing I verified it was powering up, but it wouldn't change positions (stuck).

Shortly after I replaced the solenoid (which solved that problem), the transmission started shifting weird. It would not want to shift out of the low gears when floored. If I babied it, it would shift, but if I floored it again it would drop all the way down to 1st (even if I was going way too fast for 1st). It would only do this while the transmission was cold and would start shifting normal again when warm.

So I figured it must be an issue with the transmission fluid (which was synthetic and only about 2 years old). I had only put about 30k on that fluid, but I changed it out as a final "hail Mary". Over the course of 3 days, that problem gradually went away and all was good. So, almost exactly a year and 15k miles later it starts doing that low gear shifting thing again. I decided since that transmission was original and had over 250k miles on it, it was time to go. I pulled it and swapped it out with one from one of my parts vans (about 150k miles on that one). I was a little worried because that transmission had been sitting in that van for over 15 years. But that was about 4 months/5k miles ago and all is working good. I'm using the Volvo OD solenoid in this one & it's performing excellent. I'm using Amsoil synthetic ATF. Tim

[Tan Van]

okay... so, replacing the transmission was the final solution for you, then...

I just bought an '87 LE 2wd and it is shifting into 3rd and into 4th (OD) way later and at much higher rpm's and at much higher speeds than my old '86 (tan van) that I've had for 16 years (the 1-2 shift seems about the same)

To solve the problem, I'm having the transmission from my old '86 installed into my new '87 this week and I am just so afraid that it will be some other problem after all that expense rather than just a bad transmission--

(I'll try to post photos of the new vs. the old van soon, just because it's fun to see people's new vans)

[Tan Van]

this poor thing on the left is my faithful '86 (it's the "tan van" in my profile thumbnail)... I've caulked and painted it with a brush and roller 8 times in 16 years ... it "burned down" 2 weeks ago ...

but, I'm very exited about my new '87 from California !!

[originalkwyjibo]

If your only issue is late shifts, have you checked the adjustment/function of the kick-down cable?

[timsrv]

Good point. Here's a good thread to check-out: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...months-sitting. No point in going through all that if you only need to lubricate that cable. Tim

[Tan Van]

thanks, guys... but, I've read through that "kickdown-cable" thread about 5 times in the past week and I can report the following...

- I've unhooked the cable at the throttle body and it smoothly and distinctly slides all the way in and out with perfect rigidity...

- Previous owner had it adjusted toward the"earlier upshift" position already... and, as per JPERL's post from Dec. 2016 (below) ,I've adjusted it almost all the way (with the result that there was a small additional improvement)

- The chart I've seen indicates that at about 25% throttle there should be an upshift to 3rd at around 30mph ...(and, that was the way the transmission in the '86 worked)... but, the '87 is just winding away (over 3500 rpms) before it dumps into drive (3rd) at about 43 mph... as well as winding away and giving overdrive at about 52mph (and, all on level ground with light/moderate throttle pressure)

- also, the downshift (with foot off of the accelerator as you approach a stop) from 3rd to second is quite a thump...with the engine hanging on to the gears as you slow to a stop like a manual transmission would feel like rather than un-coupling...

- finally, the previous owner had a rear seal replaced on the transmission, but, based on the incredible amount of "goo" all over the fuel tank and floor in that area I would guess that the transmission probably drove pretty empty for quite a while...

so, do you guys think I should replace ??? I'm no transmission expert, but, I'm learning a heck of a lot thanks to the founders of this site !!! ...thanks

[Tan Van]

you guys were right, a closer look at the kickdown cable revealed that a 1/2 inch piece of the outer protective sheathing was separated from the rest of the tubing (like it had been sliced off by the clamp long ago) and it was interfering with cable travel... after I cleaned up the business end of the cable, I now have really nice shifting-- it's smooth, and, at light throttle I get 3rd at about 23 MPH and I get 4th (OD) at about 31MPH

thanks to all of you for the wisdom to always start with the easiest thing before overdoing it

[timsrv]

[donne13]

I've got an '89 4x4 van-wagon, auto trans that is not shifting into high/4th gear. It seems like it could be related to the accelerator kick-down. Is there a vaccum modulator/electrical component that could be at fault?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks, donne

[JDM VANMAN]

I’m thinking this may not be 4WD specific because all auto transmission vans have the kick down cable adjustment so this maybe moved to the proper sub forum.

I used the “advanced search” feature and typed in “kick down cable” and 3 threads came up that may address your issue. If you read those 3 and post in the one that’s most related to the issue your van is experiencing you may find your answers and even get a quicker reply from one members that have posted in that thread

Try this thread and if it’s the one that works for you please post there and let us know to delete this one. Thank you!!

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...ble-adjustment

JDM

[donne13]

Still trying to diagnose this shifting issue, have had it looked at by the Toyota dealer in San Raphael CA to no avail. I have adjusted the kick-down linkage all the way thru it's range, and while it did affect the first two shift points, it did not affect the 3rd shift, 3rd gear to overdrive. At this point I am suspecting either a faulty overdrive solenoid or low fluid pressure, although the low fluid pressure seems like it would affect all of the shift points.

thanks, donne

[llamavan]

donne13, as JDMVanman earlier said, this is not a 4WD issue; it's an auto tranny issue. I've merged your two posts and moved them to the overdrive issues thread. Even if you've read this entire thread already and it hasn't helped, this is the correct place for you continue posting about this problem — so that the next person with overdrive issues will have one more solution (hopefully! eventually!) to reference.

Thanks for helping keep TVT organized for everyone!!!

Gwen

[Willotquentin]

Hi everyone,
I'm new in the world of forum and discussion and really hope that you could help me.
i just bought a van 4wd 1987 and unfortunatly after doing a big tune i just realize that it doesn want to pass on the 5th gear...
it goes fine until the 4th gear, 2300rpm for 50mil/h,
then i can keep accelerate if i want on the 4th gear until 80mil/h and be at 3700 rpm which is not the best for the engine ....
any suggestion on what that could be?
thank you very much

[JDM VANMAN]

Welcome to the forum, sorry your having this issue with your van, I deleted your duplicate thread started in the 4WD section because both 2WD and 4WD vans have manual transmissions.

I’m going to redirect you to a couple of very helpful threads that’ll help you search the forum, when we all practice this method it really helps prevent dead end duplicate threads and this way you also get maximum exposure to other things you may experience while you own your van!!

By posting your questions in existing threads you may get the answer just reading a thread, alert a member that’s already experienced it issue and help build those threads up.

Check these threads out and enjoy the journey of knowledge you’ll stumble upon!!

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...taVanTech-com!

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...ng-new-threads

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...arch-Tag-Index

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...-4WD-Tag-Index

And of course if there’s nothing out there that fits your issue then let’s get your thread started up!!

Good luck and enjoy

JDM

[kamesama980]

What do you mean "doesn't pass in 5th gear"? Like, doesn't pass other cars? 5th gear isn't for passing, it's for cruising along steady speed for better mpg. I think what you maybe mean is that your engine has less power than you'd like?

I searched and found another thread (https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/...hlight=redline)stating the engine redline at 5500 rpm. 3700 isn't gonna hurt it, Toyota designed it to be used. Much like an auto, your shift points for a manual should be roughly proportional to your desired power output/gas pedal input.

Could be worse, my beetle has half the power, a lower redline, needs to keep the revs above a certain point to keep the cooling fan spinning, and doesn't have a 5th gear. There's only a tiny overlap between gears but at least that means there's no decisions to make. On the other end of the spectrum, the Firebird is overflowing with power and geared stupid tall: To pass someone going 50 mph, I'd shift from 6th to 2nd (also allowing the passee to enjoy the beautiful symphony. redline of 2nd is about 65 mph and rev-limiter about 70).