The other day I was driving my daughter's 1988 and noticed that when I would push the accelerator down it would not kick down. Upon looking under the hood I noticed the kick down cable had snapped (end was just sticking out of housing).

In reading the Haynes manual it says that to replace it I have to drop the transmission pan - is this correct? Any idea of how big a job it is to replace this? Can a new section of cable be 'braided' into the existing one?

Also, for a while the shift indicator has been on (indicating the overdrive was not working?) - could this have anything to do with it? If not, I know sometimes the relay right next to the glove box goes bad. Is there a way to check it before replacing or are they cheap enough that I should just start there?

One final question - the car seems to have a thirst for transmission fluid. It is not leaking a whole lot (no puddling on the driveway) - any thoughts?

Many thanks for all the help.

Ted in Albuquerque