89 240 DL wagon, automatic - bought it in warmer weather, now that it's colder she needs to be quite warmed up before she will shift into high gear. This morning (in the snow) had to drive about 3 miles (it wouldnt shift past 1st gear) in low, then suddenly-clunk! she made her shift and we were fine, able to go more than 30 mph. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! Dave

 

Is the fluid clean and full?

Is the kick down cable seized?

 

tech- haven't checked anything yet. would a kickdown cable effect upshifting? I'll look at the fluid level tomorrow. The guy on the Saturday am call in radio show said- "new tranny" Dave

 

Checked fluid level, by the book- at normal operating temp, P,R,N,D 1,2 and back to P, leave it running, pull out dipstick. There are two different sides to the dipstick! (two different min / max lines) !? Anyway it looks red, clean and plenty of it. which set of marks to use? Engine running during level test? Thanks!! Dave

 

The lower marks on the dipstick are the cold fluid readings.
The higher ones are the Hot fluid marks like after driving 10 -15 miles.


The kick down cable will also affect upshifting.