94 Camry - Transmission will not shift properly

[Ventura HiWay]

Hello all,

94 Camry with a 4 Cyl. A140E Automatic trans. 175000 miles.

Transmission will not shift properly. I thought it was running in fail safe. It immediately shifts to 3rd. It won't hardly pull itself starting out unless I manually put it in 1st, then shift it to 2nd, then to drive.

Fluid is not burnt & it does not slip. It just won't shift normally.

Code 63 on the Trans. O/D light flashed a 6 3. According to the manual that is a malfunction with the #2 shift solenoid. After clearing the code it has not come back.

I have run all the diagnostic test & everything checks out. Sensors, solenoids, voltage from the ECM and the wiring all check out ok.
I took the pan down & removed the solenoids. They checked out ok electrically. Opened & closed ok when energized & ohmed out Ok. Put them back in & still no good.
I am confident the trans is not fried because it does not slip when shifted manually, the fluid was not burnt, & there was no debris in the pan. When I disconnect the connector from the shift solenoid and do the manual shift test as described in the manual it does ok.

I went ahead with hesitation & replaced the shift solenoids, because I was told by several auto techs that sometimes they just will not work in the vehicle, even if they bench test ok. Still no good.

I made up a switch box with 2 switches & connected it directly to the shift solenoids. This completely separated the trans from the computer inputs. It still would not shift properly when I energized the shift solenoids according to the matrix I found in the diagnostic manual.

So now I am going to pull the Valve body. I was told by a Trans tech that sometimes the check balls between the valve body & the separator plate can deteriorate & and block a passage.

Does anybody have any other Ideas or input?

Also I am looking for a diagram or drawing that shows how many & where the check balls should be. Can any body help with where I can find this info?

Thanks & I’ll post when I succeed with this problem!

BTW the Camry manuals that are posted are a great resource!

Ventura HiWay

[Ventura HiWay]

I am looking for a diagram or drawing of the Transmission Valve Body that shows how many & where the check balls (under the seperator plate) should be. Can any body help with where I can find this info?

I need to pull the Valve body and plan to work on it this w/e. I was told by a Trans tech that sometimes the check balls between the valve body & the separator plate can deteriorate & and block a passage.

Thanks

[davemac2]

You should be able to pull that info from the toyota service manuals that used to be avail online. Otherwise buy the atsg a140e trans manual from their site or maybe check a public library.

Be careful when you pull the valve body. Use a camera to take pictures as you go because there can be engineering changes that differ from the manual. Keep everything as clean as possible.

The checkballs can potentially blow thru the separator plates when they wear, but only the older transmissions are susceptible with plastic balls because I think Toyota changed to steel ones for later years.

I would check your trans hydraulic pressure to make sure it is within spec. As well, make sure the throttle kickdown cable hasn't broken going into the trans valve body. When you get the valve body apart, inspect the little mini filter screens in there. As well, check for any bad accumulator springs or valve springs that may have broken. If you see a lot of gunk buildup in the body, you will either need to get a new one or attempt to disassemble yours. You should be able to check the operation of most of the valves by manually trying to push them. Just be careful not to scratch their polished surfaces. Just a warning though, it can be fairly difficult to remove some of the little shims that are used to secure the valves and their springs in the valve body. If you do decide to overhaul the whole body, you can clean the valves by polishing them with a rouge impregnated lint-free cloth or something similar. Don't use sandpaper or even emery cloth since it will damage the valve surfaces. Just make sure you rinse them well with alcohol or some other light solvent afterwards and keep lint and dust off of them. Also, make sure you are able to keep the parts organized. There are lots of them.

good luck

dave mc