Newbie tranny questions

I just bought a '92 teal SVX, happy to be an owner, transmission had already been rebuilt, but it is doing some strange things, or at least strange to me, maybe they're normal for SVXs, not all cars have the quirks these seem to. First, whenever I start and try to put the car in D, or R, I have to push the shift lock button. Once that's done, it's all normal, until I put it in P again, where it locks. Next, pretty much the first thing I did when I got it was put in an auxiliary AT oil cooler with a magnetic inline filter and Amsoil, and when I'm putting around town I have it in 3, but when you coast, or slow down, the rpm bounces down around 750, slightly slowing the car. Normal? Third, when I park (locked in P as always) the car, even on the slightest rearward incline, if the hand brake isn't pulled REALLY tight, it'll roll back, with a tocktocktocktock sound. That I know isn't normal. Lastly, when I'm driving between 100-120 kph (up here in Canada, you see), I assume the transmission is in od, but it jumps and falls around 250rpm, and it does it in cruise as well. If I downshift (or is it upshift?) manually, the rpm's go up considerably more than 250, so I know it's not actually shifting, but I don't know what else it could be doing. For now, that's it, look forward to any suggestions.

[oab_au]

Originally Posted by pinstripeSVX

I just bought a '92 teal SVX, happy to be an owner, transmission had already been rebuilt, but it is doing some strange things, or at least strange to me, maybe they're normal for SVXs, not all cars have the quirks these seem to. First, whenever I start and try to put the car in D, or R, I have to push the shift lock button. Once that's done, it's all normal, until I put it in P again, where it locks. Next, pretty much the first thing I did when I got it was put in an auxiliary AT oil cooler with a magnetic inline filter and Amsoil, and when I'm putting around town I have it in 3, but when you coast, or slow down, the rpm bounces down around 750, slightly slowing the car. Normal? Third, when I park (locked in P as always) the car, even on the slightest rearward incline, if the hand brake isn't pulled REALLY tight, it'll roll back, with a tocktocktocktock sound. That I know isn't normal. Lastly, when I'm driving between 100-120 kph (up here in Canada, you see), I assume the transmission is in od, but it jumps and falls around 250rpm, and it does it in cruise as well. If I downshift (or is it upshift?) manually, the rpm's go up considerably more than 250, so I know it's not actually shifting, but I don't know what else it could be doing. For now, that's it, look forward to any suggestions.

Gid'ay, welcome to the forum.
Can't help with the shift lock button, the Australain models don't have it.
The "tock tock" sound is mone than likely the parking pawl in the box not engauging properly, maybe the shift lever needs adjustment to allow it to hold. May help the sticking lever.
The 3rd braking could be from either a shift kit that has been fitted ( is there a little black box fitted behind the battery) or the resistor fitted behind the battery could be faulty.
The rpms changing, sounds like the torque converter locking up. It does this to save gas. When it goes under load the converter unlocks to multiply torque, then it will lock up again. About 250 rpms sounds right.

Harvey.

I have the same problem with the shift button. I just delt with it. Not a big deal, but if someone could suggest how to fix it and it doesn't invole $$$. i'm up for it.

[Electrophil]

With all problems put together, it sounds like the culprit is inbetween your selector lever, the push-pull cable attached to it, or the range select lever attached to the cable.

The parking pawl is tensioned "away" from the parking gear with a spring. If the parking rod doesn't fully engage the parking pawl, the pawl will only partially be pushed toward the gear, and then ride the parking gear teeth in a "tock tock" fashion.

The same range select lever that puts it in park also controls the manual Lever, plate, and valve that is used to select the proper oil passage for your selected gear. If it is misadjusted or damaged for parking, it will be misadjusted or damaged for gear selection. It's a mechanical "thing".

I'm assuming somehow the manual switch... which feeds it's signal directly to the TCU, somehow allows the TCU to adjust the gear when it normally wouldn't be paying attention. The manual switch is designed to keep the car in a specified gear for slippery conditions, but will be over-ridden by the TCU once rpms hit a preset and it will change gears to stay out of "danger zones" both high and low.

So to examine this mechanism, is it best done from the top, taking out some trim in the cabin, from the bottom, looking/reaching up & around, or does the tranny need to be lowered? Thanks for the deduction, somehow I thought that at least a couple of the little niggles had to be related.

[oab_au]

I haven't done it myself, so this is just general. It looks like you have to remove some exhaust heat sheilds, to get to the shift lever cable, its on the right side of the box. To adjust it, you disconnect the cable from the lever on the box, place the shift lever, in the car to Park. Move the gear box lever to the Park position, then adjust the cable, at the shift lever end, till the connecting pin will slide back in without moveing any thing.

Harvey.

[oab_au]

Originally Posted by Electrophil

With all problems put together, it sounds like the culprit is inbetween your selector lever, the push-pull cable attached to it, or the range select lever attached to the cable.

The parking pawl is tensioned "away" from the parking gear with a spring. If the parking rod doesn't fully engage the parking pawl, the pawl will only partially be pushed toward the gear, and then ride the parking gear teeth in a "tock tock" fashion.

The same range select lever that puts it in park also controls the manual Lever, plate, and valve that is used to select the proper oil passage for your selected gear. If it is misadjusted or damaged for parking, it will be misadjusted or damaged for gear selection. It's a mechanical "thing".

I'm assuming somehow the manual switch... which feeds it's signal directly to the TCU, somehow allows the TCU to adjust the gear when it normally wouldn't be paying attention. The manual switch is designed to keep the car in a specified gear for slippery conditions, but will be over-ridden by the TCU once rpms hit a preset and it will change gears to stay out of "danger zones" both high and low.

The bit in bold, is a bit misleading. The lever on the side of the gear box, only moves the manual valve in the box, in the 1st and R position. The rest of the positions,2nd,3rd,4th, are just electrical switches that signal the TCU to select that gear and operate the gear position lights on the dash.

Harvey.