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  #1  
Old 11-12-2007, 11:04 AM
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help!! Tranny wont shift

Driving down the highway everything was fine then hit some traffic and now the 300tdt shifts only into 2 and 3rd gear. Will only do that at very high rpms around 3700 -4100.

I disconected the kickdown switch... nothing happened.

I am reading all I can but I can't even find the bowden cable to see if it moving freely.

Please help me I need to drive tonight and don't want to drive three hours in third gear again.

Thanks in advance.

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1994 Toyotal Landcruiser 220k (Sold)

1987 300TDT 278K My Addiction (Going Going Gon...)

2001 Volvo V70 (New Ride)
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  #2  
Old 11-12-2007, 11:11 AM
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What year is you car? You may not have a bowden cable.
If you do have one it should be connected to the linkages on the top of the valve cover, on the firewall end. It should drop down and go into the engine bay. It could be way out of adjustment or broken.
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  #3  
Old 11-12-2007, 11:19 AM
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it's a 1987

thanks again.
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1994 Toyotal Landcruiser 220k (Sold)

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  #4  
Old 11-12-2007, 11:25 AM
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Fluid level?
What happens when you manually shift it?
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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13
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  #5  
Old 11-12-2007, 11:28 AM
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Fluid level is spot on.

I can't manually shift it unless it goes into third or second gear then I can downshift but I wouldn't try this because the rpms are already way too high.
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1994 Toyotal Landcruiser 220k (Sold)

1987 300TDT 278K My Addiction (Going Going Gon...)

2001 Volvo V70 (New Ride)
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  #6  
Old 11-12-2007, 11:37 AM
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Have you tried shifting up from L to S to D to see if you can convince the transmission to shift manually up thru the gears?
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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13
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  #7  
Old 11-12-2007, 11:40 AM
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Yup, tried to force the shifting with no luck.

I think it's either a vaccum problem or the bowden cable. I lent my mityvac to a friend and of course I haven't seen it since.

How do I test the bowden cable to see if it broke?
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1994 Toyotal Landcruiser 220k (Sold)

1987 300TDT 278K My Addiction (Going Going Gon...)

2001 Volvo V70 (New Ride)
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  #8  
Old 11-12-2007, 11:47 AM
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Unless I'm mistaken, I think shifting it manually bypasses the external controls of the transmission. So if the transmission is not responding to manual control of the shifter, I suspect the problem is internal to the transmission and not a question of vacuum or the bowden cable.
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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13
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  #9  
Old 11-12-2007, 12:03 PM
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That's not what I wanted to hear....but thanks for the response.

So much for my new tranny 30k ago.

Wonder how much this is gonna cost me?
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1994 Toyotal Landcruiser 220k (Sold)

1987 300TDT 278K My Addiction (Going Going Gon...)

2001 Volvo V70 (New Ride)
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  #10  
Old 11-12-2007, 12:17 PM
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Don't take my word as gospel. I'm just postulating based on my experiences with the transmissions in 123's and 116's. Yours could be different. I'm just trying to imagine what problem with a bowden cable and/or vacuum would stop it from going into 4th gear. Since it can go into fourth at various throttle positions and with varying amounts of vacuum, it's hard for me to imagine a problem with these components stopping it from going into 4th completely as opposed to just changing the quality of the shift or delaying it.
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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13
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  #11  
Old 11-12-2007, 06:29 PM
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It does sound like kickdown switch or stuck (extended) Bowden cable.

The bowden cable on your car is on the driver's side of the head, just at the rear of the head / just ahead of the firewall. The throttle linkage connects there to the cruise control servo, the bowden cable is the one going down from the linkage, has a white nylon adjustment on the end.
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  #12  
Old 11-12-2007, 07:26 PM
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Before you start tearing into things, after checking vacuum and linkage and fluid condition. What color is it, does it smell burnt, how long has it been in the car? Change it and the tranny filter. Then use a magnet to scearch for metal filings, from worn out steels and run the fluid through coffee filters to see how much fiber from the discs is there. This will give you a good staring point to diagnose an internal problem.
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  #13  
Old 11-13-2007, 10:03 AM
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Fixed (for now)

Thank you everyone for your help, especially babymog for pointing out where the bowden cable was.

Seems like my bowden cable had locked up somehow. All I did was move it back and forth a few time and that seemed to do the trick.

Can't believe it was that easy...seems like I will have to replace this cable in the near future because I'm sure it will happen again.

Thanks again and safe driving.
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1994 Toyotal Landcruiser 220k (Sold)

1987 300TDT 278K My Addiction (Going Going Gon...)

2001 Volvo V70 (New Ride)
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  #14  
Old 11-13-2007, 10:06 AM
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Can someone explain how a stuck bowden cable would stop a shift into 4th? Is it just that the shift is moved to such a high rpm that it is difficult to get going that fast. Or, does it stop the shift altogether?
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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13
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  #15  
Old 11-13-2007, 06:49 PM
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I believe that my 3-4 shift with WOT doesn't occur until about 75mph.

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