Transmission probem, my version.

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Sun May 10, 2009 9:12 pm

Another thread regarding an automatic transmission. The reason for my efforts was a progressively worse shifting to overdrive. Now it takes 10 minutes of driving in the morning until the tranny goes to OD. I commute for about 50 km one way every day between North Van and Langley in various traffic conditions so you can imagine that I can judge how the tranny works. Sometimes it kicks into OD as expected at 60-65 km/h while accelerating slowly and the other time it stays at 3rd gear and I have to accelerate to 80 km/h and then take the foot of the pedal and 5 seconds later the tranny goes to OD. Before paying for the replacement tranny I decided to spend a few bucks and a couple of hours this weekend to change ATF and a filter but that did not help. The pictures below represent what I saw. I am not sure if everything looked normal but I did not like the amount of 'dirt' on the magnets, the ATF color and the smell of it. The last tranny service has been done by one of our reputable mechanics less than a year and 10,000 km ago. The 'A/T Temp' light turned on twice last December while climbing to Hemlock Ski Resort and both times I stopped right away to cool down. I am still puzzled what caused the overheating; please do not advise a snow plug on the cooler. Any other input will be much appreciated.

Sergiy.

MardyDelica · Post by **MardyDelica** » Sun May 10, 2009 10:31 pm

hi, sergie,
your overdrive solinoid is no good.i can fix it for you as i did some of this overdrive problem. no need to replace your tranny.
i have a transmission specialist who i send & work for all my delica same problem. but we fix it. customer is happy now.
call me if you need help i can help you,
Cheers;
Mardy

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Mon May 11, 2009 3:56 pm

Thanks Mardy but I doubt it is the OD solenoid. That was my problem a year ago (I got the van with a dead OD solenoid from Silk Road Auto):http://www.delica.ca/forum/overdrive-on ... -2129.html. BTW you recommended changing ATF and a filter to fix the problem at that time. The symptoms are different now and my sixth sense tells me that this time it will cost me much more than $40 I paid for the solenoid.
Actually my question was simple: do the pictures represent any kind of a problem (too much dirt etc.) or not?

MardyDelica · Post by **MardyDelica** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:56 pm

hi, sergie,
you cannot buy this soliniod for $40. its a diff soliniod that was inside the transmission is see it already.
soleniod price ranging fro 400-600 new. thats what my transmiission mechanic specialist told me.
as per the color its bad. that mean you havenot change the trans fluid regularly.too dirty. you much cahnge the trans filter & fluid every 20 or 25 kms.as normal usage beyound that , your looking for trouble on your transmission.
hope this help you sergie.
cheers;

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:17 pm

Mardy, I paid $40 for the OD solenoid and I have the invoice from RJD Services for the replacement. I did the troubleshooting myself as mentioned in the above post. I can present the invoice if you want. Maximum Overdrive quoted me $150 but could never deliver it; in fact I waisted my Saturday trying to get the deal hanging around but was told at the end of the day that they got the wrong transmission.
As for the the ATF change I provided enough detailed info to indicate no issues with the maintenance schedule.

jrman · Post by **jrman** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:30 pm

Mardy - I think if you look at the original post - Sergiy mentions that the tranny fluid was changed less than 10,000km and less than one year ago.

Sergiy, the fluid not not clean for sure and the amount of material on the magnets is certainly not normal given the timing of your last fluid change. Clearly there is something more going on here with your tranny. Sadly I might be a few months behind you given my own experience recently.

....my tranny light came on all winter which I wrote off as excessive moisture due to heavy snowfall. I am aware that these tranny sensors can be a somehwhat unreliable and give faulty readings from time to time, and was hoping that was the end of it.

But, this weekend I found the light started going off while in the Okanagan driving on flat roads while NOT under stress. The tranny fluid & screen was changed in Feb 2008 by RJD before a long road trip, and again in December by CVI when the light first went off (and 13,000km additional on the clock).....but, the fluid is already darkened and has that somewhat burned smell 5 months later.

The light came on during the long climbs on the way home, and went off as soon as I hit a downhill - suggesting the sensor is working....tranny still functioning ok from what I can tell, but the fluid should most certainly last longer based on my non-abusive driving style.

I know I'm supposed to pull over and let the vehicle idle till the light goes off, but after the first stop and waiting 20 minutes - I figured it was a rotten sensor and just kept going...light went out as soon as I was going downhill - never came back on when running on flats and not on now driving around town...but, fluid is again in need of changing

Any chance the tranny cooler is clogged / not functioning?

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:39 pm

Thanks Sean for making a point. I will keep you posted after meeting Glen.

MardyDelica · Post by **MardyDelica** » Tue May 12, 2009 4:21 am

hi, sean,
i do understand what sergie is saying. what i mean here is it common to this l300 delica with this problem. i am not saying that its only th e slolinoid problem on it. we have to check open the whole transmission & go from there. i dont mention for sure 100% its a transmission soleniod is the problem with sergie tranmsssion. this is just a hint as i fix some delica already. we still have to open & see whats the real problem. i have transmission specialist with me working together about this problem when you encounter this. it doesnt matter if you just change the fluid 10k or 5,000 k. if this thing go it will go. we cannot do anything about it. well just have to fix it.
i just share this thru my experience with this. everybody have there own opinion ,this is just my opinion.
we have to go to smaller common problem before going to the big problem. step by step to diagnose the problem.
cheers:

jrman · Post by **jrman** » Tue May 12, 2009 10:46 pm

Hey Mardy,
Hows things!!!!
I understand clearly what you are saying. I was only correcting your comment about Sergiy not changing his fluid on a regular basis when in fact he did state that he had recently (far earlier than expected) changed out the tranny fluid. Both of us have changed our fluid after only 10-13,000 Km or so and noticed it getting darker than it should and evidence suggesting it's been "cooked" earlier than normal and only post in hopes there is solution. I don't have the O/D problem yet that Sergiy is dealing with, and your recommendations may in fact be the solution - but it's always better to have someone say "aha, I know exactly what that problem is" as opposed to doing repairs by process of elimination. Sometimes, using the process of elimination is the only choice, sometimes there is a more direct solution if someone has experienced the exact same problem....thus the reason for posting.
All the best buddy.

MardyDelica · Post by **MardyDelica** » Wed May 13, 2009 12:12 am

Hi sean, i am o.k, my apology,as i mention on this topic this is just exhange idea on this topic thru each individual problem on trannny issue, even you change the fluid all the time if the trans already have damge inside we cannot do anything about it. we just try our best.
my trans specialist say this transmission is very good durable. but again who know how they used it in japan. thne later it will occur the problem while we used here that much.
Cheer;s

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Wed May 20, 2009 8:37 am

The problem has been resolved in CC Autos by a kick-down linkage adjustment. They also put the A/C back in operation by finding and fixing the loose fuse.
Thanks everybody for reading and special thanks to CC Autos team!

loki · Post by **loki** » Wed May 20, 2009 10:33 am

Profister wrote:The problem has been resolved in CC Autos by a kick-down linkage adjustment. They also put the A/C back in operation by finding and fixing the loose fuse.
Thanks everybody for reading and special thanks to CC Autos team!

ccautos = Deli GODS!

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