A442F can't decide what gear it wants to be in

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U

ubguessin

Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Threads
8
Messages
190
Location
Montana
Alright well....WTF is where I'm at right now.
I spent the last 9 months waiting to get my 1hd-t & A442f rebuilt. I picked it up yesterday and the transmission is acting all sorts of weird.
When the transmission is cold between
35-45 mph and about 65-70 mph the trans is shifting up and down in & out of lockup. Once everything warms up things start to smooth out. Every so often it will start freaking out again.
I've got about a 5 hour drive to make with this thing tomorrow and at this point praying it holds up for us to get home and I can start fixing this new issue on the new build. Here is a video of the ****erey... Transmission freakout
 
Have you adjusted the kickdown cable?
Check to see that it is not loose/slack.
Tranny should not go above third gear until warm.
That said I feel your pain.
 
Squash said:
Have you adjusted the kickdown cable?
Check to see that it is not loose/slack.
Tranny should not go above third gear until warm.
That said I feel your pain.
Click to expand...
I'm going to check it here before I leave.
I'm leaning more towards a bad TPS I believe
 
What year?
 
ubguessin said:
Alright well....WTF is where I'm at right now.
I spent the last 9 months waiting to get my 1hd-t & A442f rebuilt. I picked it up yesterday and the transmission is acting all sorts of weird.
When the transmission is cold between
35-45 mph and about 65-70 mph the trans is shifting up and down in & out of lockup. Once everything warms up things start to smooth out. Every so often it will start freaking out again.
I've got about a 5 hour drive to make with this thing tomorrow and at this point praying it holds up for us to get home and I can start fixing this new issue on the new build. Here is a video of the ****erey... Transmission freakout
Click to expand...
what did the transmission rebuilder say? many time solenoids are not replaced during a rebuild. I've had ones act similar and new solenoids fixed the issue but valve body, wiring and module problems are also possible. what codes do you have?
 
TheBussman said:
what did the transmission rebuilder say? many time solenoids are not replaced during a rebuild. I've had ones act similar and new solenoids fixed the issue but valve body, wiring and module problems are also possible.
Click to expand...
I put new solenoids in the transmission before it was rebuilt. I haven't been able to talk to the transmission guy yet.
Wiring was apparently fixed when mechanic was installing new trans and motor. Valve body was done by wholesale automatics down under.

Before I had everything rebuilt I was having a problem with the trans not going into O/D they said my OD clutches were burnt and said it was possible something shorted out on the transmission.
So before that all happened my speed sensor had oil from the transfer case getting into the plug and it shorted out my dash so I cleaned everything up new wires new speed sensor. Then my motor took a s*** and broke a couple rings.
You can check my threads on the whole debacle. It's been a year since this all started now.
 
ubguessin said:
I put new solenoids in the transmission before it was rebuilt. I haven't been able to talk to the transmission guy yet.
Wiring was apparently fixed when mechanic was installing new trans and motor. Valve body was done by wholesale automatics down under.

Before I had everything rebuilt I was having a problem with the trans not going into O/D they said my OD clutches were burnt and said it was possible something shorted out on the transmission.
So before that all happened my speed sensor had oil from the transfer case getting into the plug and it shorted out my dash so I cleaned everything up new wires new speed sensor. Then my motor took a s*** and broke a couple rings.
You can check my threads on the whole debacle. It's been a year since this all started now.
Click to expand...
See what they say and if you have any codes. If it was at my shop i could connect a scope to all the solenoid circuits and speed sensor and then go for a drive and graph all the data.
 
Adjusting the kick down cable should be the first .
I also had an A440 in my HJ61 that did the same even after a rebuild, finally ended up purchasing an extreme valve body and torque converter that built up enough fluid pressure, problem was solved.
 
neetu said:
Adjusting the kick down cable should be the first .
I also had an A440 in my HJ61 that did the same even after a rebuild, finally ended up purchasing an extreme valve body and torque converter that built up enough fluid pressure, problem was solved.
Click to expand...
Hmm that's interesting, I had the nomad VB installed but did not get into the torque converter. Though mine was apparently rebuilt.
 
Cable adjustment is for sure important but it only changes line pressure. The ECU makes the decisions on what gears to shift into and when to lock the converter.
 
TheBussman said:
See what they say and if you have any codes. If it was at my shop i could connect a scope to all the solenoid circuits and speed sensor and then go for a drive and graph all the data.
Click to expand...
I have a 2 channel scope I can use. Though it would be my first time, what would be best way to go about this?
 
ubguessin said:
I have a 2 channel scope I can use. Though it would be my first time, what would be best way to go about this?
Click to expand...
check for fault codes first, usually the computer will complain if there is in fact an electronic fault. lookup the wiring diagram, disconnect the ECU and load test for power and ground to the ECU should be able to light up a 55w bulb if pass reconnect ecu and backprobe the the connector at the trans ECU, use a channel for engine RPM and the other for speed sensor. You'll have to adjust the scope time base and voltage to where you can see a signal that changes with rpm/speed, you can look up what the time base should be or experiment. Snap on and Pico have some suggestions you can start with. After you get the signals looking good go on a test drive and hopefully it will act up during the test drive while your recording data. If it does act up pull over or even better if you have help that can drive while you watch the scope. See if there are any signal drop outs when the problem happens. if the signal does drop out you need to case wiring to either sensor or the sensor itself. repeat this for all other inputs i think there is a engine overheat on/off signal input as well as NTC engine temp signal, the low range input, etc. If the signal does not drop out when the problem happens then switch your leads to the 4th gear and TC lockup wires. Now go for a drive again. You will be able to see if the computer is commanding lockup and 4th gear at the correct times. if everything seems good testing at the transmission ecu either run the test again back-probing at the transmission connector or load test each circuit from the ecu to the transmission, 2 amps is enough. if all the electronics check out then you have bad new solenoids or valve body, or install error. if you have verified all the inputs are good but the module will not send out the correct signals commanding 4th gear and lockup at the right time then the ecu is bad.
 
Last edited:
TheBussman said:
check for fault codes first, usually the computer will complain if there is in fact an electronic fault. lookup the wiring diagram, disconnect the ECU and load test for power and ground to the ECU should be able to light up a 55w bulb if pass reconnect ecu and backprobe the the connector at the trans ECU, use a channel for engine RPM and the other for speed sensor. You'll have to adjust the scope time base and voltage to where you can see a signal that changes with rpm/speed, you can look up what the time base should be or experiment. Snap on and Pico have some suggestions you can start with. After you get the signals looking good go on a test drive and hopefully it will act up during the test drive while your recording data. If it does act up pull over or even better if you have help that can drive while you watch the scope. See if there are any signal drop outs when the problem happens. if the signal does drop out you need to case wiring to either sensor or the sensor itself. repeat this for all other inputs i think there is a engine overheat on/off signal input as well as NTC engine temp signal, the low range input, etc. If the signal does not drop out when the problem happens then switch your leads to the 4th gear and TC lockup wires. Now go for a drive again. You will be able to see if the computer is commanding lockup and 4th gear at the correct times. if everything seems good testing at the transmission ecu either run the test again back-probing at the transmission connector or load test each circuit from the ecu to the transmission, 2 amps is enough. if all the electronics check out then you have bad new solenoids or valve body, or install error. if you have verified all the inputs are good but the module will not send out the correct signals commanding 4th gear and lockup at the right time then the ecu is bad.
Click to expand...
Thank you for writing this up. I will have a go at this here in the next week once I get truck back
 
When I had the WAT valve body upgrade installed, we also put in a new kickdown cable. Right away it drove weird. I kinda shrugged and assumed that was just how it was going to feel.

Later I dug into it and emailed WAT. They sent me their setup specs:
“If the vehicle has standard power the cable should be set to 3mm pretension. If upgraded power then the cable should be set to 5–8mm.”
1766069970598.webp


I told them the new cable didn’t have the stopper they normally measure from, so they explained how to zero it:
“If there is no stopper just use a paint marker and remove the inner cable from the pump. Lightly pull the slack from the cable and mark where the inner meets the outer. Use this as the ‘zero point’ then add tension from there.”

So I went back in and adjusted it properly. The cable I bought (the correct one from Partsouq) wouldn’t let me get below 8mm of pretension, which tells me I was probably way over that before. Once I set it to about 8mm, it drove noticeably better. My truck has power upgrades, so 8mm is within their range. I might try figureout how i can back it down to around 7mm just to see if it gets even smoother.

Hopefully this was helpful
 
roaminglost said:
When I had the WAT valve body upgrade installed, we also put in a new kickdown cable. Right away it drove weird. I kinda shrugged and assumed that was just how it was going to feel.

Later I dug into it and emailed WAT. They sent me their setup specs:
“If the vehicle has standard power the cable should be set to 3mm pretension. If upgraded power then the cable should be set to 5–8mm.”
View attachment 4050542

I told them the new cable didn’t have the stopper they normally measure from, so they explained how to zero it:
“If there is no stopper just use a paint marker and remove the inner cable from the pump. Lightly pull the slack from the cable and mark where the inner meets the outer. Use this as the ‘zero point’ then add tension from there.”

So I went back in and adjusted it properly. The cable I bought (the correct one from Partsouq) wouldn’t let me get below 8mm of pretension, which tells me I was probably way over that before. Once I set it to about 8mm, it drove noticeably better. My truck has power upgrades, so 8mm is within their range. I might try figureout how i can back it down to around 7mm just to see if it gets even smoother.

Hopefully this was helpful
Click to expand...
This will definitely help as I have a gturbo, intercooler pushing 15psi
 
roaminglost said:
When I had the WAT valve body upgrade installed, we also put in a new kickdown cable. Right away it drove weird. I kinda shrugged and assumed that was just how it was going to feel.

Later I dug into it and emailed WAT. They sent me their setup specs:
“If the vehicle has standard power the cable should be set to 3mm pretension. If upgraded power then the cable should be set to 5–8mm.”
View attachment 4050542

I told them the new cable didn’t have the stopper they normally measure from, so they explained how to zero it:
“If there is no stopper just use a paint marker and remove the inner cable from the pump. Lightly pull the slack from the cable and mark where the inner meets the outer. Use this as the ‘zero point’ then add tension from there.”

So I went back in and adjusted it properly. The cable I bought (the correct one from Partsouq) wouldn’t let me get below 8mm of pretension, which tells me I was probably way over that before. Once I set it to about 8mm, it drove noticeably better. My truck has power upgrades, so 8mm is within their range. I might try figureout how i can back it down to around 7mm just to see if it gets even smoother.

Hopefully this was helpful
Click to expand...
90-92 the cable controls line pressure, shift points and lockup. 93-97 the cable only controls line pressure and the ecu decides shift points and lockup. Defiantly important to adjust the cable correctly though to make sure you don't burn up your new trans with low line pressure, too firm is better then too soft.
 
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