Hello,

My Trusty 240 won't shift into the final gear when I am on the HWY (or anywhere)

It stays in 3rd from below 80km-130km.

My overdrive button still works going on going up hills.

I've read it could be the relay its not shifting into the final gear or I have also read it could be a kick down cable adjustment thats needed.

Any information would be great.

Thanks

 

i assume we're talking about an automatic transmission here?

the OD *IS* the 4th and final gear. when you push the OD button and the OD light comes on, that indicates the OD is locked oFF, so you're at most in 3rd gear. pushing the button again so the light goes out, and it should shift into OD/4th unless there's too much throttle pressure or too low of an RPM.

you can visually inspect the kickdown (throttle pressure) cable... it comes off the drum under the hood that the throttle is connected to, and its a cable that goes behind the engine and down along the firewall towards the transmission. there should be a little 'bead' crimped onto the end of the cable... with everything off, that bead should be about 1/8th inch from the end of the adjustment ferrule, and if you manually turn the throttle drum/spool, that cable should smoothly pull out, and when you smoothly release the throttle drum/spool, that cable should retract with almost no slack at the idle position. if the cable isn't retracting and is leaving a lot of slack, then you need to replace that cable. if its jammed out like that, the transmission will assume you're hard on the throttle and stay in a lower gear much longer.

 

all what pierce said and i will add
you can test if the overdrive relay is bad by taking it out and jumpering pin 15 and 87 with a paper clip. does this allow the trans to shift into 4th gear? if so the relay is bad.
you can access the relay by removing the glove box.
my trans will shift into 4th at 38mph with light throttle pressure.

 

Thanks for getting back to me. Yes its an automatic.

There is no bead on the on the throttle cable but have adjusted it and still wont shift into 4th gear.

Would changing out the relay be the next thing to do?

Thanks again

 

The light still comes up on the dash when the overdrive is pressed.

Thanks again

Trevor

 

if the light on the dash is on, the trans will not shift to 4th gear.
you should not change out the relay without testing to see if is bad or not. see post #3 on how to test. if that test is not conclusive, then the problem lies with the o/d solenoid on the trans. or the wiring to it. the the solenoid needs 12 volts going to it at all times in order for the o/d gear (4th) to engage. test the relay operation first as it is easier.

 

you said the OD button still works going up hills.

can you further clarify this?

with the transmission in "D", at any speed above about 40MPH, on level ground cruising a steady speed, it should go into 4th if the OD light is off, and if you push the oD button to lock it out, the light turns ON, and OD is disabled, the RPMs should go up a bit. push it again, the light goes off, and it should shift back into OD, and the RPMs should drop a bit. the RPM difference at 40MPH is quite subtle, its more obvious at 60MPH.

re bead... this is a 740 turbo, but its pretty similar on a 240... you can see the throttle spool on top of the intake manifold. the upper cable that 'pulls' it is the accelerator pedal cable. the lower cable that the spool pulls is the cable to the transmission...



when the throttle is at idle, there should be just a hair of slack in this cable. if you manually turn the spool towards full throttle, the transmission cable shoudl pull out smoothly, and when you release the spool (don't snap it), the transmission cable should retract smoothly until you're back at idle and there is just that same bit of slack.

there SHOULD be a little metal bead crimped onto the cable about 1/16th of an inch from the orange cover over the ferrule where the cable goes into the shield. the orange cover is often missing on an older car, not that big of a deal.