92 Camry Shifts hard when cold

[prosport1]

I have a 92 Camry 4 cylinders with AT. I bought this car that was stored for a long time and recently have been shifting really hard only when the car is cold and just from the park to drive gears and the rest as well as reverse is fine. also the car seems to be stuck on the 3rd gear and not shifting to the 4th if you get on a freeway before it warms up. the car has 110 K miles on it and when the trans. fluid flush was done recently, came out really burned out. When the car warms up all these troubles are gone and the transmission is acting normally. What could be the problem and is there a cheap way to diagnose and fix it? I'm a student and can't afford much right now and really think that rebuilding the trans. will be more money than what i paid for the car. Some one advised me to check the linkage! Can i do that myself? Thank you for you help.

Also i think that the thermostat is stuck opened on this car cause it runs on the cold side all the time and i have a problem warming up the car. i think i'll try to change it myself hopefully before it gets stuck closed. Any ideas?

[DFBonnett]

It won't shift into OD until it warms up to a certain point. If the stat has failed, typically in the open position, warming up is going to take a long time. You're on the right track to replace the stat. FWIW, I'd only use OEM or Stant brand.

[prosport1]

Thank you very much for your reply. I will take your advise and let you know how it works. cheers

[Mike Gerber]

"also the car seems to be stuck on the 3rd gear and not shifting to the 4th if you get on a freeway before it warms up"

As DFBonnett stated, this is normal. Your transmission is kept in the lower gear until a certain engine operating temperature is reached to facilitate a quicker warmup. That's why changing that thermostat is a good idea. Also, don't forget to get a new gasket, actually an o-ring for this application. I prefer Toyota OEM for the thermostat and gasket.

Mike