1988 FJ62 A440f Transmission Cold Shift Issue (1 Viewer)

[TX Customs 4x4]

Calling all A440F transmission Gurus. I have a 1988 FJ62 I just recently resurrected from being parked for 6-10 years. The truck has 114k miles so not too many miles considering the age. I did a search for similar threads and have read through several Auto trans threads but none seem to exhibit the behavior that I am experiencing.

First what Ive done:
Adjust TV Cable
Drop pan and replace filter screen (fluid was dark but not burnt, some clutch material in the pan but not the worst Ive seen)
Full Rodney flush and service trans to appropriate level.
After driving for several days (cycles), Party trick x 2

What the trans is doing:
On the first start of the day, in D, it starts in 1 (L) and will not shift out of 1st gear. I can rev to 4k+ and it wont shift. If I manually command L, it goes to 1st. If I then manually command 2nd, it will go to second. If I rev the engine to about 3500 rpm in 2nd and then command 3, it will shift to 3rd. If I then command D, it will go to OD(4) and then lock up.

Here is the confusing part to me. After I do this once, and leave it in D. The rest of the day it will shift up and down fine in D. Park, get out run and errand, come back in an hour or more and it drives fine starting in D, all day long. Park it overnight and the first shift of the day is back to manually getting it through the gears. The trans exhibited this behavior before I did all the above servicing but I figured I would give it the best chance for success by doing the above maintenance. After it shifts once manually, It shifts fine and I do not detect any slipping in any of the gears, so the clutches seem to be fine. If I let it warm up to operating temperature before driving, the behavior seems to be the same. Not really temperature related but more like first shift of the day related if you know what I mean.

After studying the transmission FSM, I estimate that I have one of three problems:
1. Either I have a governor that is sticking/clogged or a governer filter screen (per the schematic a small screen in the governor) that is clogged.
2. One or more of the shift relays (in the valve body) is sticking/clogged with clutch material.
3. Something else I am not aware of.

I am hoping someone has experienced this issue and has some guidance. Specifically, if Rodney has some experience on what might be causing this issue I would be very interested to hear. My next steps are to pull the valve body (becuase its a lot easier than pulilng the split case and inspecting the governor and screen) and inspect. If someone has some "targeted" guidance what exactly I would be looking for in the valve body, accumulators, or governor that would be much appreciated. In any event I will keep others updated on what I find as I figure this out.

Thanks,
Albert

 

[BGarcia88FJ62]

In my experience. Symptoms of a buggered and or worn out kick down cable. They can get gunked up or corroded.
Issue will be part availability, as always with these older trucks.

 

[TX Customs 4x4]

In my experience. Symptoms of a buggered and or worn out kick down cable. They can get gunked up or corroded.
Issue will be part availability, as always with these older trucks.
✌

Thanks BGarcia88FJ62. I will give the TV cable another inspection. I don't think that is my issue since once it shifts once, it works fine the rest of the day. I would think that if it were sticking or mis adjusted it would have an intermittent problem that would persist.

 

[BGarcia88FJ62]

Thanks BGarcia88FJ62. I will give the TV cable another inspection. I don't think that is my issue since once it shifts once, it works fine the rest of the day. I would think that if it were sticking or mis adjusted it would have an intermittent problem that would persist.

Had a similar issue 17-18 years ago. it was the Kick Down Cable. Mine was crusty and frayed inside the sheath.

 

[89BIGBLUE]

I second that.
I would verify the kick down cable moves freely in the sleeve.

I had one that looked good, but had no “spring back” action. Chased it for weeks until I figured it out.

After replacement, I investigated the old one and found a crimp in the sleeve that had stopped cable movement COLD.

I would also verify fluid is at the proper level, per FSM. These can be picky about fluid level.

I’m not saying these two items will fix ya, just that they are important items to know are correct and functional.

 

[89BIGBLUE]

Thanks BGarcia88FJ62. I will give the TV cable another inspection. I don't think that is my issue since once it shifts once, it works fine the rest of the day. I would think that if it were sticking or mis adjusted it would have an intermittent problem that would persist.

My issue was intermittent shifting flare from 2-3, and it would not put itself into OD.

 

[TX Customs 4x4]

Well, you guys are on point. I pulled the cable and found it to be a little sticky. Not so much that it wouldn't move but enough to effect its operation. I removed the throttle end from its support bracket/throttle body, removed the rubber stopper, and sprayed some brake cleaner down the cable while working it repeatedly. Once it freed up enough (minor rust residue was observed), I repeated the procedure with some trans fluid in a spray can I have. I continue until I felt like there was enough to coat the entire length of the cable. I reinstalled per the FSM. I took it for a drive and low and behold it shifts now! I did end up adjusting the TV cable a bit after a drive as I found the shifts were a little too early. I added a half turn on the adjusting nut and drove again. I can say that it shifts perfectly cold as well as warm and performs as expected. A sincere thank you for everyone's advice. You saved me a lot of trouble. Photos for the effort!

 

[89BIGBLUE]

Well, you guys are on point. I pulled the cable and found it to be a little sticky. Not so much that it wouldn't move but enough to effect its operation. I removed the throttle end from its support bracket/throttle body, removed the rubber stopper, and sprayed some brake cleaner down the cable while working it repeatedly. Once it freed up enough (minor rust residue was observed), I repeated the procedure with some trans fluid in a spray can I have. I continue until I felt like there was enough to coat the entire length of the cable. I reinstalled per the FSM. I took it for a drive and low and behold it shifts now! I did end up adjusting the TV cable a bit after a drive as I found the shifts were a little too early. I added a half turn on the adjusting nut and drove again. I can say that it shifts perfectly cold as well as warm and performs as expected. A sincere thank you for everyone's advice. You saved me a lot of trouble. Photos for the effort!

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BONUS!

Thanks for posting a follow up!

Cruise on!