so if push comes to shove, I may just throw the towel in and buy a new solenoid to fix my late 4th gear engagement. tomorrow if the weather is right I'll play with the KD cable. right now I don't think it's the relay, as I still get the on/off orange arrow light with the O/D button. also I will take a look at the solenoid connector where it plugs into the white wire near the rear of the tranny. last I remember it was pretty grimey and oily. maybe this could be the culprit. thanks faq for that tip! I'm not too thrilled about spending loads on a new solenoid. I'm fairly small, with small hands, so I'm hoping I can do this without removing the center tranny support. if it's what I think, it should be a cinch: clean the area around solenoid very good, use a special wrench to remove both 12mm nuts, unplug solenoid from white wire, put in new solenoid and plug it to the white wire.

I have yet to try a new relay, play with the KD cable, and check under the shifter console and solenoid connector under car to see if these are the culprits before dealing with the solenoid. yes, I've flushed the atf and the level is up to par.

I just want my O/D to shift at the normal 40-43mph range! and not the 60mph O/D kick in I've been getting the past two days. it used to be 50-55mph.