I wanted to say thanks to all the folks who have posted here regarding the infernal overdrive system in the automatic transmission. I was having intermittent problems with mine that didn't point clearly (not to me at least) to any single point of trouble. So, since I live in Texas and the nearest mountains (where I might need to keep the tranny in 3rd gear for long descents) are several hundred miles away I opted to forgo any more diagnostic effort and do the Dremel "fix" to the solenoid.

It took me 1 1/2 hours and I was being VERY methodical. I had acquired all the right materials the day before and the whole job went smoothly without a single hiccup or unexpected step. Then I took it for a 40 mile test drive and nothing went wrong. Surprised the heck out of me! I was just waiting for that moment when it would drop back into third and I would go home crestfallen. Well, like I said it was an intermittent problem so I'm not considering myself out of the woods yet, but I am indeed optimistic.

This was the first time I had done any work under an automobile.

The point here is that I wouldn't have known where to start this repair job without everyone here on the 'Board. I wouldn't have known how this overdrive system functions, how it's parts are related, what the different fixes are for the individual parts and all the other information that went together to allow me to make an informed decision about how to go about repairing my car in the way that best suits my needs. You rock.

-Chris Throop

1990 245 (quasi expendable)
1993 245 (gonna last many years to come)