Ah, once again the brickboard comes through. My overdrive has worked sporadically since I bought the car a year ago. If the car speed was over 50ish, it would engage most of the time. Most of my commuting was on local roads, so not a big deal. On the last long trip two weeks ago the OD worked on the way out, and 1/2 way back. Then it would just not engage.

Today I drained the old fluid and dropped the small pan. The rectangular filter exposed was perfectly clean. I removed the large plug and dropped out the round screen filter. It was totally clogged with black goop. I soaked it in some solvent and re-assembled. Also put new o-rings on the solenoid. I had bought some RedLine MTL, but decided to refill with some Type F to flush out the system. If the filter was that clogged with stuff, I figure there is more in there.

The overdrive now engages very smoothly. I have a 200 mile trip this weekend, then next week I'll drain and check the filter again, and if it is clean I'll dump the RedLine in.

This is an easy job, total time to drain and remove the filter is under an hour. See the FAQ for details. Cost was inexpensive also. $16 for the adjustable spanner wrench, $8 for the crowsfoot 1" wrench to get the solenoid out.

(and yes, I will send a donation to the brickboard when (if?) I get re-employeed!)

-David