Auto tranny 1987 question

[Montanahelp]

I have a 1987 3SFE with an auto tranny. It has about 165K miles on it. When I shift into DRIVE from a dead stop it takes a while to engage and go forward. If I manually shift to Low it takes right off. Any idea ideas?

[HomeGrown]

My, these cars do have their tranny issues, don't they?

Does it do this all the time, or only when cold?

[WVcamry3sfe]

your tranny is beginning to show signs of age. it will be maybe about a year before you need a total tranmission rebuild. a140 and 140e transmission rebuilds cost about 1,700-2,000 dollars. So if you love your camry start saving money. If you want to get a different car, start saving your money. Don't neutral drop your car ever... and be easy when putting it in drive, give it enough time to engage before slamming down the throttle.

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Could it also be a shift linkage out of adjustment? I know on some Chevys that'll cause an engagement delay.

[Montanahelp]

It acts up when it is cold. Once it warms up it doesn't seam to do it.

[Kep]

WVcamry is probably right. If you want to prolong the transmission life you may want to consider additives. That plus driving conservatively may extend your transmission's life until you're ready to unload the car. Cargo sells an "Automatic Transmission Leak Sealer" in the transmission to clean & "rejuvenate" the rubber parts. I think it helped my transmission (about 350,000 miles before it was totaled). There are others on the market.

Until you give up on it, baby it. I don't recommend flushing it until just before you accept the fact that you are going to rebuild or replace the transmission. Flushing the transmission seems to be a 50/50 proposition. Sometimes the fluid being forced through dislodges chunks that obstruct passages. Sometimes deposits in the various seals are what keeps a tranny functioning. Sometimes it cleans out a problem and helps.

I had a personal approach of draining the fluid (through the drain plug only) each time I changed the engine oil. Only two quarts drains out (out of the total of 12) so I figured it would freshen up the existing fluid without causing a major change. I used the high mileage type that had its own additives in it already. I only dropped the pan every 30,000 miles to change the screen. Worked for me but I have no evidence that it was a good thing to do.

The fact that it works better warm than cold makes me feel a little more optimistic about the cleaning rejuvenating additives. I don't know why but it seems right to me. Thinner fluid would flow through restricted passages better and the additive might clean out a residue/deposit enough to open the passages back up.

In the end, WVcamry made another good point. Start saving up your money. It the tranny craters you're going to need a nest egg. This also might be a good time to join AAA for their towwing insurance.

Best of luck,
Kep