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Pat,
This is a really common problem - basically your tranny is dropping out of overdrive (exactly what would happen if you pressed the overdrive button on the shifter). There are several things that can cause it:
1. The overdrive relay - located behind the glovebox. When you press the overdrive (henceforth OD) button on the shifter, does the arrow light go on and off?
2. The OD switch on the shifter. Same test as above. If the arrow light does not go on/off when you press the button, either the relay or the switch is shot.
3. The OD solenoid: This is under the car on the transmission. If the above tests passed (ie the arrow light goes on and off), then listen just under the driver side door under the car. Press the OD button on and off, and listen for the solenoid to click.
If you don't hear a click, it could be a bad OD solenoid or the wire to the OD solenoid.
You will want to do these tests while the car is acting up (ie. while it won't go into overdrive).
Driving with no overdrive is not great for the car (or the gas mileage), but if you keep it under 60 it won't blow anything up.
Hope that helps! The most expensive part is the OD solenoid - about $200. The rest of the stuff is pretty cheap. Good luck.
-Josh
'83 240 Wagon
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