right, im going to drain, then slowly fill to level, according to manual your suppose to fill to level, start, then shift park-D2 and back to park then shutoff, check again and fill if needed. im going to fill like that. when i initially checked i let the car warm, then shut off, then checked. it was brownish black, def overdue. thanks again

 

Does the D4 or the S light start flashing when you are driving? That would indicate that the transmission computer detected a problem (it is separate from the engine computer)

There are two sets of solenoids on the transmission that you might want to clean with throttle body cleaner. Crud can buildup in there over time and they have a screen that may be blocked up.

In the Online manual thread in the DIY section, I posted a site to a 91 shop manual that would show you the locations of the solenoids, etc.

 

thanks PA, no they don not flash. i have done 1 change of tranny fluid and although the car does seem to shift smoother the TC is still hunting. I did though notice today for sure that it does not go away after driving for a while, but i did notice that when i hit an incline the rpms drop 300rpms and when i crest the hill and begin to pick up speed they rise 300rpms ?? does that help to diagnose?? i have a haynes manual so i will look for the solenoids you speak of PA thanks. i will also look at the shop manual. I am not fully sure i understand the adjustment of the throttle cable, i was told if i mess up the adjustment that i will def damage the transmission over time. saturday i am going to have a buddy who has adjusted it give me a hand and see if that helps.
again thank you all for the help.

 

The actual throttle cable (from the gas pedal to the throttle) MUST go a bit slack & MUST NOT be used to adjust idle RPM.

Sounds like you loosened the downshift cable & it goes slack. Then tighten it up just to the point where it doesn't go slack. That sounds to me like you did it right.

It seems to operate backwards, if that makes any sense. When you climb a hill, the TC is supposed to unlock - & RPM will go UP a bit. Then when you go to level or downhill, it locks.

 

Yeah now that sounds like the cable to the tranny like JimBlake said. When I put a new tranny in my cb7 my honda mechanic showed me this trick. You loosen the cable to have a very slight about of slack in the cable. So when you are driving in 4th @ 50mph+ it makes the engine decelerate roughly 250rpms. It helps save a little bit of gas and you just have to push the pedal just a wee bit harder and it will jump 250rmps and you can accelerate from there.

 

thanks guys. i will give the cable a go, and clean the selanoids too. jim my car does the opposite, the rpms drop when i climb hill. they should go up when climbing the hill as you stated. well either way i am going to try both saturday and i will let you know the results. thanks again for all the help !!!

 

noticed something today that i havent noticed since ive been working out the TC problem. My car when fully warm now idles at 900-1000k rpm's which unless im crazy is high? i think prior to the TC problem it was at like 7-8 hundred rpm's. could the higher idle be related to the TC problem? i have done the ICV, FITV and throttle cleaning a few months back already just as normal maintenance. any suggestions gents? related or not? thanks again for helping troubleshoot.

 

700-800 is more like it, but I don't really think that's related.

Find your idle adjust needle valve (recessed in a hole above the throttle bore)
Set your base idle like this:
- vacuum leaks eliminated
- throttle body cleaned & throttle plate actually closes
- engine all warmed up, idling, & ALL loads turned off
- unplug wire from IACV (it'll almost stall so nurse it with throttle)
- adjust to about 550 rpm
- turn off engine, plug IACV back in, let it cool down & reset the ECU

Start the engine without touching the gas pedal. Let it warm up completely without touching the gas pedal.

 

excellent thank you jim

 

I had the exact same problem, described exactly like your problem. After going through this thread, I Did some of the things noted here. I took off the lock-up-solenoids, and also the shift-solenoids, they were very clean, but, sprayed them anyway, with carb cleaner. Changed the trans fluid, got all the bubbles out of the radiator, adjusted the trans throttle cable, and put everything back together. And BAM, it works now. I dont know which item(s) solved my problem, but it is solved. I was going to do them one at a time, to see which one was giving me a problem, but I just decided to do all of the things that I did at once, because they may be next on the list to give me problems later on, and it seems like its a good idea to knock them out of the way while I was in the mood.