since i have to drain the tranny and take the pan off while im int here what else should i do? Ive been having issues with the truck stuck in low gear and my kickdown cable is kind of bunched up so i figured i would repalce it.

since it is drained how do i test the solenoids?
should i pull the valve body off and inspect it for damage? is it possible to visually see damage on a valvebody?

 

Just so you know, you don't have a "kickdown" cable. The "Throttle Cable" controls how hard the transmission shifts (harder at higher speeds). The shift points (what an old-fashioned "kick down" cable played with) are all electronic. It's an important part of the transmission, so if it's damaged replacing it is certainly wise.

You can check the solenoids in your hand http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...34electron.pdf , but the easiest way (by far) to do that is to use the diagnostic codes (that's what they are there for).

I've never removed the valve body. If there is visible damage you could see it (duh!), but since the whole point of the valve body is tiny pistons moving through precise passages, I would imagine most valve body problems are NOT visible to a casual inspection.

 

The guy at the toyota dealership referred to the cable as a kick down cable. It is the one that runs from the throttle body to the transmission.

I do not get any check engine, or transmission codes, if I did it would be helpful in tracking down my issue.

I'll check the solenoids first and then go from there....thank you for the link

 

"The guy"?

Either he doesn't know what the part is, or more likely, he didn't want to bother explaining it to someone he didn't think knew any better. So he called it what he thought you wanted to hear.

I don't recommend trying to be a "poser," but read up on your parts before you go to the dealer. Personally, I get a print of the drawing that shows the part I think I want (circling the part), then write my VIN on the drawing. While I usually think I know the part-number I want, I never make that assumption. I hand the drawing to the guy at the parts counter, because it makes his job SO much easier. And he might even be willing to tell me the REAL name of the part (which I thought I knew already, but it's been 22 years since Toyota built my truck, so things change).

And if you make his job easier, and he thinks you know what you're talking about, do you think you'll get better service? Heck, do you think you'll get the "mechanics" price sometime, even though you're just a "walk-up"?

 

Call me old fashioned, but what's a "throttle cable"?

Oh, that's the one from the go fast pedal to the butterfly valve on the intake manifold, right?



The one from the throttle to the transmission, I've always heard it referred to as "detent" cable. Funny... Toyota calls it by that name too.


Anyhow, as to what you can do with the regards to testing any thing without any transmission fluid in there and such... not a thing.

 

For what it's worth, Toyota's manual refers to it as a "throttle cable," or probably more clearly, "transmission throttle cable." http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...32prelimin.pdf
http://www.toyotapartsoverstock.com/...552035050.html

We know it doesn't "kick down" anything. And I'm not sure where the word "detent" would come from. There's a detent on the shift lever, but I don't think it has anything to do with the throttle cable.

 

I wasn't trying to be a "poser" I explained to the parts dept employee what I was looking for and he said it is refereed to as a kick down cable buy alot if people. I didn't question the real name of the part or the reasoning for the name, he knew what I was after and I left it at that. I've never heard of a "detent" cable? And I post on here in hopes of learning about things and not being bashed by people. I am sorry if I wasn't born knowing everything there is to know about stuff. Like most I learn along the way!