1989 Toyota Corolla a very strange problem

MARTOX

MEMBER
1989 TOYOTA COROLLA
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
180,000 MILES

I have a great running corolla however about a year and a half ago it started developing an unusual shift problem. The car will NOT shift at all until the engine and transmission are up to full operating temp. Even in the middle of summer I wont be able to get out of first gear until about 3-4 minutes of driving time and it finally decides to hit third about 5 minutes later. In winter it takes much longer and if it is cold enough it wont even reach third gear unless I stop, stall the tranny for a while to help heat it up and continue on. No matter how high I rev the engine it just doesnt shift until it starts to warm up. Any ideas?

3 Replies

RASMATAZ

MECHANIC
75,992 POSTS

Check the fluid level and condition if okay test the throttle position sensor and vehicle speed sensor-if this 2-sensors checked out have the tranny pressure tested to find out more

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Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 AT 2:08 AM

RASMATAZ

MECHANIC
75,992 POSTS

Just stay on this post and reply

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Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 AT 9:11 PM

MARTOX

MEMBER
1 POST

Thanks again for the reply, I change the fluid and filter earlier and replaced the thrttle pos sensor and no dice. But I dont know if there is a vss sensor in this model, I was looking at a wiring diagram for this year car (how reliable it was I dont know)but it seems that the ecm gets it speed signal from the instrument cluster via the cable, is this true, does this tranny have a governor as well? I guess I probably need a good service manual, what port do I use to check main line pressure?

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Sunday, November 7th, 2010 AT 3:14 PM