Hey,
For a while i have had this problem. But i never seemed to mind till the high gas prices sky-rocketed.
My 2nd Gen 4Runner's over drive is not kicking in on time. It usually happens when the car is left over night and then the next morning I drive it.
I have a highway right next to my house that I take every morning so I have to get on that while my rpms are at 3000 doing 50 mph. It stays this way for about 4-5 miles then it finally clicks in.
I notice that when turning the heat on at start up and leaving it on till the o/d kicks in, it usually kicks in within a mile or so.
Any help would be great!
I have taken the dash off but i can seem to find any wire damage, what color is the wire coming from the o/d anyway?
-mike

 

if you search this you will find that the tranny wont kick into od until it reaches operating temperature.

 

Then why would it click in faster when the heat is on?
Isnt using the heat good for cooling the engine?

 

Try replacing the thermostat. That worked on my old 2nd gen... Some sensor has to read a certain engine temp to allow the tranny to shift up to the O/D. I stressed about this for a long time and then found out what it was and all was releived...

 

thanks, i'll see what i can do