Strange and mysterious transmission issue....

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by wirry1423, Jul 3, 2005.

  1. wirry1423

    wirry1423 Guest

    Hello again. I wanted to take a moment to post about an od
    transmission "event" which happened a couple of months ago. Backgroun
    info: I have a 1986 Volvo 240 DL sedan with an automatic aw7
    transmission. The tranny was rebuilt in early 2002 due to damag
    caused by "rocking" the car out of a snow drift, as well as lack o
    servicing (I acquired the car in 2000). Since the rebuild, th
    transmission has functioned perfectly (with one exception) other then
    dead overdrive relay which I have just replaced successfully, and I hav
    had regular transmission servicing. However, two months ago, I wa
    driving on a city street. I fully stopped at a red light and wa
    waiting for it to turn green, when without warning, the alternato
    died. I put the car in neutral and pushed it to the curb, then put i
    in park while i waited for the tow truck. I had the car towed vi
    flatbed tow truck (with it in neutral for the tranfer onto and off th
    truck) to the shop. The shop also had to put it in neutral to push i
    from the parking spot into the bay. According to my dash clock, th
    battery was disconnected for over two hours while they worked. When
    picked up the car, everything was apparrently fine. But as I drov
    home, my heart sank when the car failed to shift into third gear at it
    usual 27 mph. It shifted into reverse, park, first gear and second gea
    absolutely fine, but would not go into third gear. I even drove it u
    to 50 mph to see if i could force it into gear all to no avail. Nex
    morning, I took it back to the shop. All told I drove it for over on
    hour at various speeds and turned it off and on without it shiftin
    into third once, but all other shifting was fine. When I took it back
    they asked about the tow truck (flatbed with car in neutral) and the
    asked if i was moving when the alternator failed (I was not). Th
    mechanic then asked to take it for a test drive with me as passenger.
    We drove for the first couple minutes without it shifting into thir
    gear. But after some hard accelerating along with the mechani
    shifting from drive into 2 and 1 climbing gears, the car finally poppe
    into third a little late and with a little thud. After the first time
    it shifted into third and back for the rest of the ride normally. The
    then checked the fluid, which was fine. They said they did not kno
    what happened, but that maybe the computer reset itself. I though
    that the alternator failure caused a solenoid to short out (but tha
    was not it because the car did shift after some time) Since thi
    incident several months ago, the car has shifted absolutely normall
    with not one problem. I even recently changed out the OD relay (whic
    had died several years ago) and it shifted into OD like norma
    immediatly. My question is what do you think caused the car not t
    shift into third gear for that first day after the alternator repair?
    I am simply very curious and frankly still a little concerned. Than
    you very much for reading that lengthy post and for any thoughts yo
    can provide
     
    wirry1423, Jul 3, 2005
    #1
  2. It sounds like a fairly common problem; a sticky or otherwise deranged
    kickdown cable. More often it manifests itself in all gears, but it can
    certainly show up just in certain ranges - more commonly in the lower gears.
    Essentially, it fools the transmission into thinking the throttle is open
    wider than it really is.

    Open the hood and (with the engine off) rotate the throttle wheel where the
    cables wrap around it, by just rotating the wheel while watching the cables
    where they wrap around the wheel. If you have cruise control, two will wrap
    one way and one will wrap the other - you are interested in the one that
    wraps the other way. If no cruise control, watch the one that tightens as
    you open the throttle. That one is the kickdown to the tranny. It should
    move smoothly and not try to ride up as you open the throttle. A squirt of
    graphite into the cable can't hurt. But from your description I'd guess a
    bit of debris got in the way when the alternator work was done and it
    eventually fell out, or the cable was misaligned (same cause) and eventually
    popped back into place.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Jul 3, 2005
    #2
  3. wirry1423

    wirry1423 Guest

    Thank you for replying. The Kickdown cable also came to mind when th
    event occurred. I actually remember mentioning the KC to the shop whe
    I brought the car back, just before the test drive. The mechanic wasn'
    sure, but the owner of the shop thought that it was a possible culprit
    I just finished checking the cable and it seems tight and well aligne
    from my inspection of it. Is there any possibility that my driving fo
    that day with the Kd cable out of shape/misaligned caused any long ter
    tranny damage, or am I in the clear now? Thanks again for th
    response
     
    wirry1423, Jul 4, 2005
    #3
  4. No damage from that, it just confuses the shifting for a while. The AW-70 is
    a remarkably rugged tranny so I think you are out of the woods.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Jul 4, 2005
    #4
  5. wirry1423

    wirry1423 Guest

    Thanks, thats kinda what I thought, but i just wanted to get anothe
    opinion on it. No-harm-no-foul I guess. Take care
     
    wirry1423, Jul 4, 2005
    #5
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