hh65flyer

Hey guys, could really use your help as the truck is stuck at a business and I need to move it soon.

I have an 89 with 158K, 3.0 and auto trans...yep, she's a real drag-racer! ;-)

Stopped to get fuel today and run a few errands. Truck runs and starts flawlessly. Went to leave my parking spot and have no drive. I thought the tires were just spinning in the snow but quickly realized I have no power (or very, very little) going to rear. 4WD is same story. Engine just revs and truck moves very slightly. I was able to finally get it going a bit, then nothing at all. It will move slightly better in reverse, sometimes even normally but then other times, nothing. Again, engine revs, no mov't.

I tried adjusting the kick-down cable with no change. I disconnected the cable completely and had my son pull on the cable while I tried to move the truck. That seemed to be a bit better. I was finally able to move the truck a few blocks by pulling the cable completely out and putting vice-grips on the exposed end to hold it fully extended. This worked for about a mile until the first red light. I backed the truck into a business parking lot and that's where it sits. I'm just trying to get it home now and hoping that if it cools completely I may be able to nurse it home.

Two more things...the trans fluid is pink and very cool to touch, even with all the revving and driving for several miles (about 12F deg here) and the O/D light flashes sometimes when I rev the engine.

A few months ago I drained and filled the trans (just what I could from the pan) and about a week ago I drained and filled the transfer case (Dexx II for the auto trans). The fluid that came out looked fine.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted you guys to have all the info. I hope someone has some good news... Thanks!!

Marc

Welcome to the forum.
Can't help too much but that is not a kick down cable - it controls line pressure which might explain why extending it helps a bit.
Are you sure you have enough fluid?

I believe if you short out terminal TE2 and E1 in the diagnostic connector the O/D light
should flash the error codes.

hh65flyer

Thanks for the reply Marc...yeah, I'm sure the level is right, been driving it for months now after the fluid change with no issues. There are no leaks at all on this truck...one of its few endearing qualities.

Re the cable, you're right...I just didn't know what else to call it. Thanks again...

hh65flyer

As update, I just had my wife run me out and try it again after it sat for a few hours, no change. I'll try again in the AM but don't expect to see any difference.

Of course it is supposed to snow a couple inches tonight which will make towing it home so much fun... Wish me luck!

hh65flyer

AM update...

Let the truck sit overnight then went out this AM early. After brushing off the snow, I hopped-in, fired it up and put it in gear. Everything felt normal so I wasted no time heading for the house. Made it about 2.5-3 miles when she started slipping again badly and I lost all forward progress.

Truck is only about a mile from home now. Will let it sit again today and try to get it home tonight or first thing in the morning.

Seems temp related, although the truck was not up to temp at all.

hh65flyer

Finally got her home. Burried under two feet of snow now so I won't be able to look at it any time soon... Still hoping for something simple! Yes I am delusional...

bswarm

The trans most likely needs to be rebuilt. There's o-rings in it that harden and let the fluid pressure bypass the o-rings. There are ATF additives that might rejuvenate the seals, but it's a temporary fix at best, and may cause more damage than it fixes. It used to be a rule of thumb not to change fluids on automatics with over 100k miles, as it may not work again with new fluid, I've seen that happen a few times.

hh65flyer

I'm inclined to believe you on all of the above. Maybe I can use some snake-oil to at least get it to the shop.

I've also heard not to change the fluid. I wonder if the same holds true for the transfer case? I did the trans months ago but just did the transfer case fluid days prior...?

a4runnerfreak

assuming you have the A340H, possible causes according to my '94 FSM.....
Manual linkage out of adjustment
Valve body or primary regulator faulty
parking lock pawl faulty
torque converter clutch faulty
converter drive plate broken
oil pump intake screen blocked
transmission faulty.

What it sounds like to my, since you said you changed your fluid, the pump intake screen is blocked.......

could even possibly your clutch packs.......

hh65flyer

Thanks for the reply 4rnrfreak.

I stopped by a local shop and they said the same thing about the screen possibly being clogged. They want me to bring it in so they can drop the pan and start the diagnosis there. They quoted $2600 for a rebuild. It's booked at 22 hours just for R & R on the trans. That seems crazy to me.

The weather has improved dramatically here. I cleared most of the snow off of the truck and out of the bed. I hope to get it into my shop soon and drop the pan myself. It would be good to find something simple like a clogged screen but then there's the question of what is clogging it? Likely clutch material...

Thanks again for the reply.

hh65flyer

Finally got the truck into my shop. I pulled the pan and found nothing really horrible. There were two small cream colored broken pieces of plastic...probably half the size of an eraser head. No metal but the filter was pretty dirty. I cleaned everything and put a new filter in. She took about six and a half qts to re-fill. Really made no difference at all. As soon as the engine warms up a bit, the trans starts slipping badly.

I did notice something odd while moving it around the house. While in Park, the vehicle will still roll (backwards in this case). I had thought I was just slipping on the ice but the wheels were turning. Would bad clutches allow this to happen (slipping)? I thought there was a prawl for Park?

What would the syptoms be for a bad transfer case? I can tell by the orange gasket material that someone has been inside the transfer case previously... Thanks.

millball

Yes, there should be a mechanical pawl that locks the tranny output when in park.

hh65flyer

Millball, that's why I'm considering something amiss in the transfer case...? I really don't know a lot about this style case. I know some people desribe them as similar to an auto trans (planetary gearset) and off course it uses auto trans fluid. My initial problem arose almost immediately after changing the fluid in the transfer case...

RJR

That's very instructive - sounds like the problem is likely not in your transmission at all. Certainly bad clutches would not cause what you're seeing - the park pawl should be a direct mechanical connection to the rear output shaft of the tranny. If the vehicle still rolls, there is a disconnect between the drive shaft and the transmission.

On the A340H, the transfer case is integrated with the transmission, and is electronically shifted with solenoids. It's possible a solenoid is not operating correctly and the transfer case is being left in neutral.

hh65flyer

Yeah, kind of what I was thinking (hoping). Is there a way to gain access to the solenoids without removing the trans? I know there is another smaller 'pan' bahind the main trans pan, are there transfer case solenoids in there? Doesn't look like you can get access to all the bolts on the small pan without removing the crossmember. At this point it's got to be worth at least taking a look right?

While I had the trans pan off I looked at all the shift solenoids in there. Nothing looked noticably wrong. I've seen the kit to change out the solenoids...I've been debating trying this but I haven't found anyone with symptoms like mine and I hate to put more time and money into this trans if it's going to come out anyway. I'm fortunate that this isn't my DD I guess...

Y8rodo

Just joined recently. Just curious what has happened up to this point was wondering if the case linkage popped of and possibly is sitting in neutral?

hh65flyer

Welcome Y8rodo. I don't believe that to be the issue as the truck moves around fine in all gears for about a mile or until things warm up a bit. Thanks for the suggestion though.

RJR

As it warms up, does it gradually stop moving (ie., slip more and more), or does it suddenly go from normal to "neutral"?

hh65flyer

It's gradual but pretty abrupt (if that makes sense). The vehicle runs fine, shifts through all gears for about a mile or so then will start to slip. After coming to a full stop, it will no longer move forward on its own. Reverse usually works but after some time that will go away also.

Y8rodo

Hey guys sorry I missed that part of the thread . This is a link to a service manual http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/
Is the neutral light on the dash? Is the fluid level correct?