I have read a lot of overdrive related issues, but I feel that mine is unique.

My 1982 240 DL 4sp Manual with push button overdrive had an intermittently working overdrive when I first got it. After rewiring the button (the wires were all stripped inside the shifter) everything seemed to be working fine, until I started it.

When the car is in the "on" position (key turned all the way to the right but not running) and the car in 4th gear the button works perfectly. But as soon as the car is running overdrive only seems to work when it wants to. I have noticed that it seems like the longer the car has been running, the better the chance of the overdrive working.

Has anyone had this problem? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

Far from being unique...quire common actually. Since we will assume you wired the switch correctly, the likely culprits in descending order of likelihood: 1. OD relay 2. Wiring under the car is either broken or has insulation loss 3. The solenoid itself has failed.

 

The same thing happened to my 1993 automatic 240. Whenever it rained it seemed the overdrive would not work, my guess was because of the moisture shorting out wires with worn insulation. I bought a piece from IPD that I installed on the transmission, it basically prevents the solenoid from working, keeping the overdrive functioning beautifully. I could not ever imagine trying to tow something or doing anything else where I want to prevent the transmission from shifting into overdrive so I bought it and installed it. Best thing ever. If you need to use your overdrive button you can try replacing the OD relay (it was behind the glovebox on my 1999 wagon) and they are very cheap on ebay, you should be able to get a hold of one for around five bucks. The solenoid would be more expensive, but pretty easy to find online. Hope this helps.