I have a 1987 Raider with the KM 148(right?) and altho the trans works very well I still cannot get OD to come on.I have tried to follow the good suggestions from the forum here but to no avail, so my question is this... where do I find the OD solonoid? I thought it was located on the pass side of trans where electrical wire attaches at the cooler line. When I pulled what I thought would be the solonoid, it turned out to be more like a temp sender. It has been difficult to find a tranny shop that seems to know anything about this trans. AAmco says they will check it out at no cost so it may go there Monday. From your experience, what should I expect AAmco to find and want to fix? Does gas milage increase by very much with OD? I drive about 60 miles a day to work and back and tach about 3k alot of the trip.

When I worked for an independent transmission shop, all th guys there told me Aamco was an acronym. It stood for All Automatics Must Come Out. If this helps any. Is your temp guage working? Because it won't allow overdrive if it's not up to operating temperature, or at least off dead cold. Don't have my FSM handy, so I don't recall which of the plethora of senders/sensors gives the signal to allow OD. Make sure it's getting signal, and for some reason I was thinkin it was in the valve body??? Which requires a pan drop. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Ya know,half the cars that go to AAMCO don't need a new transmission...





















But they get one anyway <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />
I never go to AAMCO.

I'm gettin' scared now <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> .... actually, I will try and get a ATSG manual for the KM148 and switch out the OD solonoid if thats whats needed. I just thought that if AAMCO will check it out for free, I would take advantage of their hospitality <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />. I would still appreciate any feedback that any of you have on this problem.... thanks

If they'll check it out for free, that's great. The problem is that I don't trust them to actually tell you what's wrong with the tranny, and they may decide they need to tear it down to find out. Once that happens, they are in a much better position to negotiate the cost of reassembly, whether or not they fix it.

I'd go to an independant and pay before I'd ever go to AAMCO for free.

I don't mean to scare you about this, but I'm completely serious. As far as I'm concerned, AAMCO does NOT provide free diagnosis. They may say they do, but any check-out or diag that cannot be counted on to be anywhere near correct is worse than paying double for the correct diag.

When I was new to the automotive craft and naive, I visited Aamco with my 1968 Buick GS400. The old dude said that he needed to go for a test drive to determine what could be wrong. I handed him the keys, etc. I later received a speeding ticket in the mail from a camera-equipped red light, stating 95 mph!

Anyway, when my car came back to the shop and went up on the rack, the mechanics poked around writing stuff down on their noteboards. One came in and said I needed the trans overhauled, new u-joints, rear axle pinion seal, and recommended a tranny cooler...the estimate was $1900 in 1986. My car had 85K on a turbo 400. Then when I was finally asked what I brought the car in for, I said that I needed the rear axle oil changed and the air in the tires checked, according to the 'free' service flier I received in the mail. The looks of the three $$ grubbing guys was priceless and I still clearly remember it. Grumble, grumble they continued...

About a week later, I was running auto parts and had a delivery to that shop. I brought in the ticket (with photo attached), the number of my folks lawyer, and their order. I'm brunette, the driver in the photo was clearly blonde and smoking. I was paid for the ticket, went to the local judge next with my service estimate, the ticket and $$, and told my story. I didn't hand over the parts during the visit.

I found out later the car waiting for the parts was the police chief's cruiser and that it wasn't fixed on time. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I got the shop owners in trouble, had the point removed from my license, and never went back to Aamco. It was another two years before that business folded. Twenty one years later, I still don't support Aamco, no matter the location.

After you identify and test the OD solenoid, if you need trans work, visit a reputable (mom & pop) parts store and get their recommendation on local trans shops or mechanics. My advice for what it's worth. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

x2 <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

And Russ, that story ROCKS <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

The o/d solenoid valve is on the driver's side, above the pan. Trace the wire down that side of the tranny.

You guys are right, AAMCO is notorious for it's smoke and mirror philosophy.I think I will pass on the "free" stuff altho it might be interesting to see what they would "suggest"...So FASTEDDY, I traced a single wire to the wrong side(passenger). Did I in fact find a temp sensor in the cooler line as it came to the transmission? I never looked for wires or electrical componants on the DRIVERS side. I hate it when I go stupid......sure glad you guys are around.. thanks <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

I had the relay for the OD quit in mine, it is under the dash on or near the left kick panel or so. I put a jumper in the relay socket from the OD switch on the shifter to the output to the trans. This reverses the operation of the switch but it works. I would not think there is a problem with your trans but this is the first time I looked at your issue.