So my car has been having issues with OD where it would sporadically downshift form the 4th OD gear back down to 3rd repeatedly. So I checked all the electrical stuff, connectors, buttons, relay yada ya and nothing fixed it. Next I opted for the OD bypass by notching a groove in the OD Solenoid.

cleaned it all up, PB blasted the whole thing, snapped off one of the 2 bolts


so any recommendations on getting this thing back together
I doubt that 1 bold in the solenoid will hold it in place

 

Can't you just go to the hardware store with the good bolt and find a match? Or is it some kinda funky bolt?

 

Well I don't think his problem is finding a replacement bolt. I am pretty sure his problem is finding out a way to remove the snapped off bolt from the transmission case.

If it didn't snap off flush you might try soaking the threads with penetrating oil and using a vise grip to remove it. If it sheared flush then you will have to use a bolt extractor with care.

 

broken flush
I don't know if a bolt extractor is up to the task this time

the big issue is that the space to work with is about 1 inch wide and 5 inches long, access is from below and the bolt is from above...ugh

 

That's going to be tough to get a drill on, if there's still a part of the threads showing you might be able to use a small chisel and tap it out?

 

I broke one of two bolts on the fuel pressure regulator on a dodge colt...turned out one bolt was enough.

With the limited work space i think I'd try one bolt to start with. If it didn't work maybe add some gasket maker.

 

uggh sounds bad. it might be easier to take the whole tranny out...
the solenoid is under pressure from trans fluid and can leak. good luck sir.

 

Well I found some super strong gasket maker and a new o-ring

I drilled out the solenoid to bypass it (the reason I removed it) and bolted it on tight with the one bolt. So far (2 days) so good


The reason I wanted to bypass it is because after shifting to 4th gear the car will spastically down shift and up shift, I thought the solenoid was bad as Ive already tested the relay but it did not fix the issue...so crap! a whole lot of work for nothing

any ideas?

 

The three most common problems is the relay, solenoid, or a frayed/broken wire.

 

so are you saying it is still doing the phantom shifting from 4th to third etc?

 

You DID change the relay?

 

Correct it is still going on

I did not "change" the solenoid I bypassed it, same as the IPS OD solenoid bypass kit.
This way it should always allow for 4th. The oddest thing is that it shifts fine all the way up and holds in 4th fine while accelerating. While coasting/slowing down or when you completely remove your foot from the gas it downshifts hard. It seems to be directly connected to how far you have the gas pedal pushed if that makes sense to anyone.

I checked the throttle position sensor and that is adjusted correctly.
I also checked the kick down cable and made it slightly less violent but still constantly happening.

I was thinking perhaps the crank position sensor might be relaying the wrong engine speed and confusing the transmission?

 

Have you checked the color and level of your transmission fluid?

 

The Crank Sensor has no part in this.

 

just for reference my tranny shifts from 3rd to 4th with light pressure on the pedal at exactly 38mph. the shift from 4th to third cannot really be felt at all, but it's somewhere between 38 and 35mph when coasting/braking.
as others have said check your fluid. i still find it amazing the solenoid isn't leaking with only one bolt attached!

 

I bypassed the solenoid a long time ago.

 

Ill be changing the fluid this weekend
have not checked the cooler, think this may be restricting the flow?

as for the speed, mine will sit in 3rd at about 40-45 then shift up to 4th after that, so perhaps theres something to that.

As for the bypass, yeah its holding tight. I figure that I will have to drop the transmission to fix that, but if I can't get it working Ill just replace it instead. I also thought about JB welding it in place since it is now bypassed I should never have to remove it again.

 

that sounds like a late shift. changing fluid might help. there is some slack in the kickdown cable when the throttle is off, right?

 

very very slight slack
one I got the car about a year ago it shifter really hard into 2nd and I adjusted the kick down and since, it has been shifting smoothly until now. Sounds like I may have covered a symptom of bad fluid by adjusting the kick down cable too much?

Ill be checking that next, I marked where it was before I adjusted it and assuming I can still see the mark all his time later I will set it back how it was, see if the issue changes.

 

yeah you could try that. i have some definite slack in mine.
changing the fluid might help also.