[SuperTruck]

Hello all, need a little help if you don't mind!

Recently added a '93 Corolla to my Toyota collection. Only $500, and at only 166k, for the age it seemed good reliable car to drive while undertaking the performance rebuild on my pickup.

Operated well until about a week ago. Happened a few times after a stop at a stoplight or stop sign, my transmission would be in the wrong gear after slowing for the stop. A higher gear. Took it a second to drop back down where it belonged. Has steadily gotten worse. It seems as though my car has misplaced first and possibly second gear at this point. Also today a new addition, my "O/D off" light steadily flashing. When I stop the car and let it sit (either while it sits in the parking lot at work, or in my driveway at home) and give it a chance to cool off well, it drives great for 10 miles or so until it starts acting up again.

I've read about a common issue in 93's with transmission solenoid problems, and that they're fairly easy to replace. I don't, however, know where to find the needed quality parts for a good value.

I had considered going to Pull-A-Part and purchasing all needed to give the car an Auto to Manual swap, but even with Pull-A-Part prices, I'm looking at between $150-$200 for parts, not counting fluids.

My question being...in the opinion of you all, what would be a better idea. Replace the solenoids, or 5-speed swap? I really don't care either way which transmission I have, as long as I can get to work and back. All help is greatly appreciated!

 

[kaitaiya]

you'll get better gas milage with the manual trans. but getting ALL the little parts is a headache. the swap can be done in a day or 2 relatively not too much trouble either. as for the OD flashing i know there's a plug by the main auto trans plug(front side of the trans) that's where the solenoid connection plugs in. but when i took it out all i saw was a wire going into the trans so i would assume the solenoid is inside the trans body somewhere. just be careful if you choose to do the swap. the speedo cable and the solenoid plug are the same. just remember the speedo is on the back and the solenoid is on the front.

 

[sometoyotaguy]

Have you tried replacing the filter and fluids? That made a world of difference on my wifes car.

 

[Dave's]

I believe there's a way to read the trouble code by shorting something like TE1 and E1 on the OBDI port which will cause the code to flash something like 63 or 64. (Six flashes, pause, 3 or 4 flashes and repeat) It's been a long time but I can probably find the procedure if you can't. I was able to drop the pan, remove the solenoid and clean it by cycling it in clean fluid with air pressure. It worked fine for another 50K when I replaced the car. Once it's out,(on my Camry the two main ones were right on the bottom held by one screw I think and a wire) you can place one of the rubber tipped air nozzles in the hole on the end using not more than 60 psi. Then apply 12Vdc to the solenoid case and the wire. It should click and air come out of the surrounding holes on the side. (That will make more sense when you see it) I swirled mine in clean fluid, removed it, cycled it a few times and repeated until it clicked consistently and quickly. It was very sluggish at first. If it won't work well you can get one from salvage or from rockauto. But you should only need one and the trouble code will tell you #1 or #2. One has a white wire and the other black. Mine was a Camry but I doubt it's much different. Hope this helps. I did post the whole thing years ago.
Yes, think it's with the key on but engine not running, short TE1 and E1 together. I used a paper clip with insulated pliers. The O/D should blink at half second intervals for the 1st number, then 1.5 second pause followed by more half seconds intervals for the second number.

 

[SuperTruck]

In answer to all replies (and thanks so much for them, by the way)

Filter and Fluid change was done a year or so ago by previous owner, who said the transmission was "slipping"…but he isn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box, so I take what he says with a grain of salt.

We did manage to check the codes, and I got both #1 and #2 solenoid being bad. Bummer. I don't see how this can be. My husband poked around under there to check for loose wiring, however nothing jumped out at him. We're both really hesitant to do the 5 speed swap, it looks like it would entail a lot more than most cars to do this. Plus I really can't have my car down for more than a day, two max. Solenoids at Rock Auto I will check on, thanks for the tip! Hopefully I could squeeze by replacing just one, or maybe he could clean them both. We'll see. I'll post back when I know more. Thanks again!

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[Dave's]

Both, well that could get expensive. Hopefully yours will free up as mine did. Once the pan is off, they are easy to get to. Don't disturb the magnets on the pan. They need to stay in the same location so note where they are before attempting to clean it up or anything. Mine appeared to be the same except one had a white wire and the other black plus one had a bracket on it.

 

[SuperTruck]

Yeah…about the magnets. Back to the person who isn't the sharpest crayon in the box. He said when he changed the fluid and filter, he forgot to put it back in. So its now JB Welded to the bottom of the pan. Hope that hasn't caused any issues, but knowing my luck I'm sure it has. The car was $500 for a reason, it was so ragged out and positively FILTHY inside. The stuff nightmares are made of!

So it sounds like a pan gasket, filter and trans fluid are to be added to my shopping list today!

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[SuperTruck]

Update: Replaced filter, fluid and pan gasket today. Husband also cleaned out the solenoids in some fresh fluid. Absolutely no change whatsoever. I'm pretty bummed. The thing is, out of the 3 solenoids in there, I'm not sure which to change, and I would rather not replace all 3, theres no way it would be worth it for a $500 car. If it comes down to that I'll just grab a used transmission from Pull-A-Part.

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[kaitaiya]

by chance did he test the solenoids while he had them out? putting 12v to them should activate them.

 

[SuperTruck]

No, he didn't. He didn't know you could do that and I wasn't home when he did the filter change. I'll have to tell him.

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[Standing_Still]

Hi SuperTruck.

I just did a solenoid replacement on a 93 corolla LE. It's very easy to do... It's as easy as doing as fluid and fliter change. The only added work was unplugging the solenoid connector, unscrewing the bolt that secures the S1 and S2 solenoid, after removing the filter, then pulling the solenoids back out.

Before I did mine, I had 42, 62, 63 codes, which points to VSS, S1, and S2 being the fault detected. I disconnected and reconnected the battery, then drove the car around untill the O/D Off started blinking again. That time I only get code 62, which points to solenoid S1. Before removing the pan. I checked the resistance of the solenoid from the solenoid connector out side the transmision. Normal reading should be 8-16Ω on all 3 solenoid. I was getting 117kΩ on one of the pin. The pin assignment in the connector was, while facing the engine compartment from the front, left to right, S2-SL-S1. I was getting the high resistance reading on the S1 pin.

These solenoids are quite pricey. Local parts store want $140 for an after market. Imagine what dealership would want. I looked around the internet and found an after market version that sells for $67 shipped to my door. It doesn't look exactly like the original, but the kicker is that it replaces both S1and S2. Yep 2 solenoids for 67 bucks. The 2 solenoids is assembled together on a bracket, so both the old S1 and S2 should be removed and replaced with this. These solenoids are bigger and looks more robust than the original. In case the looks is holding you back from using it as a replacement. I assure you, it fixed the issue, similar to yours, that I had with my 93 corolla, and now runs like a champ despite its age.

The solenoids was manufactured by Rostra, but I bought mine from from transmissionpartsusa.com. If you wnat to see how it looks like got to Rostra webpage and look for part number 52-0256, the one I used on my 93 corolla LE.... rostratransmission.com/transmission-solenoids-by-rostra-transmission.php

I hope this helps...

 

[SuperTruck]

Thanks very much for the insight! I decided to try my luck on grabbing a couple used solenoids from a junkyard before I shell out any amount of money on a $500 car, and when we got home and tested them, 1 and 2 look to be good whereas 3 is bad. It looks burnt too. Unfortunately my husband says this is the same one that looks burnt inside my transmission, although we never tested the ones when we had them out during the filter and fluid change. The guy who owns the yard knows my husband so gave him all 3 solenoids and a rear view mirror (because the tilt broke on mine) for $20, so I wont be out much if they don't work. Just would hate to have to go to all the trouble of swapping them out to have the same problem.

Trouble codes now read 62,63, 64.

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[SuperTruck]

I know I'm bringing an old thread back to life here, but since it is my thread I didn't see any harm in it.

This is where I'm at now...My transmission started shifting just fine a while after the last post. Worked great for over 3 months. Shifted great every time. Then started to "forget" to downshift when I would stop at a light or something. Now...not shifting at all. I don't see if it were a faulty solenoid how it would just "start" then "stop" working. Any ideas?

 

[SuperTruck]

Fault codes read 62 and 64 the other day if that helps

 

[silverweb]

Is this issue now resolved? What was the solution? I've got the same symptoms.

 

[SuperTruck]

I haven't resolved it yet. Just been manually shifting for the time being. I intend to replace all 3 solenoids with brand new eventually, just have been using my car so I haven't had time to have it disassembled.

 

[tedmich]

supposedly it quite important to really flush these older trannies as they develop metal flakes which will repeatedly clog the solenoids. A real flush and then the old solenoids blown clean (if reading correctly resistance wise) or a couple new Rostra solenoids off Ebay (can be had for as little as $40 each).

If the (now clean and deflaked) solenoids click distinctively with either 12v or a fresh 9v battery, there is an issue with the wires, or the ECT or ECU. You can even field test junkyard solenoids with the 9v battery trick...good luck!

 

[Dave's]

Since this is reopened let me add that putting a rubber tipped air nozzle set to less than 60psi in the end of the solenoid, the air should exhaust out the side holes when the solenoid's activated. This can not only help check it but also clean it. The solenoid should 'snap' between open and closed quickly. Be sure to protect your eyes etc. from blown fluid from the air pressure.

 

[malayan]

Fixed My Shifting 1st to 4th problem..Thanks

Drained and dropped Trans pan an my 93 Camry 4 cyl AUTO
Checked Click test with 12volt 1 Clicked, The other nothing
Checked for needed 13-17 Ohms was 55
Removed 10mm bolts tested again after cleaning..Nothing
Added 16lbs of air while testing ..nothing

Took my tester to the junk yard , dropped a pan Tested good at 15 ohms
Brought home and added air while testing and heard it switch ports like it should
Tested with a nice click off trans
Tested nicely on trans, Installed wiring
Reinstalled Screen, Pan and fluid

Drives and shifts perfect in all gears

Thanks

 

[v8440]

It may not be the place to offer this, but I have what I believe to be a complete 5 speed setup out of a '93 corolla I will sell pretty cheap. I'd let it ALL go for $350 plus shipping, and I can get a pretty good deal on shipping because I have a buddy that works at a heavy equipment repair shop that ships stuff all the time.