Slipping reverse and Vacum
 

I have an oportunity to pick up a 85 sd cheap. The owner says sometimes you have to shut off the car manually. Also reverse slips. Forward gears are fine. Now I thought to myself perhap vacum problem could be the results of both issues. But shifting fine is forward sort of throws a wrench in this theory? What you guys think? Is the reverse adjustable?

The shutoff is a vacuum leakage somewhere, the fact that it's intermittent points to some part of the ACC pod system.

As for the bad reverse, check the tranny fluid level, but another forum member will have to confirm the problem there. I don't think vacuum can cause reverse to slip, I think you have a tranny on the way out.

I think the shutting off is an easy fix. But the tranny could be a money pit. Thats what worries me the most. 246k miles.

Well, another member can confirm whether it's out of adjustment or out of life, but if it is going out, you could just pull another automatic from a wrecked car in a junk yard, and it will probably be good for a while.

Dunno of SD's have a manual tranny that you could put in? If you managed to do that, you would probably have no tranny problems for the life of the car.

Reverse slip can be the sign of trans that has lived a long and happy life, but is nearing the retirement home. 722.303 is not adjustable on reverse firmness.

ForcedInduction has put a 4-speed manual on a 617.951. Hopefully he'll give you the real word on it.

IIRC the 617.952 was on 123s and the 617.951 was on 126s, right?
(I should bookmark the wikipedia page where they have a nice big chart of all this)

I only saw the manual tranny transplant on 123s, never on a 126. I'm guessing I missed something?