So after blowing out the 3rd set of rod bearings in my PT Cruiser in 10 years I put it in the back 40 to help keep the sod from blowing away.

In my hunt for a new source of transportation I ran across a 1992 Camry LE with a V6 for $500. It ran OK and the engine sounded strong as well is it lacked that rod knock the old ride had. And for the price I figured anything that moved down the road had to be worth at least $500. I am a disabled vet so $ don't come easy to me and I figured I could iron out the issues and have a nice older car that would get me around and eventually tune it. An option that is very limited on the old PT. So I will cut to the down and dirty.

1st I have a 1992 Camry Wagon with a V6 and from reading around I believe an A540E tranny. It will drive fine except when taking off from a stop in 1st gear it will max out @ ~2500 rpm and accelerate steady and slow to ~25mph acting like it only has the power of a 3 banger Geo Metro. Just b4 the shift to 2nd it will pick up 2-300 rpm and shift. After it was out of 1st it seamed to have all the normal power and acceleration you would expect from a V6. Off to the local parts store I picked up the basic oil change fuel injector cleaner, sea foam, and some tranny fluid. Topped it off with premium gas and added the fuel treatment. sea foamed it and gave it a 100 mile trip. Cleaned up real nice and gained some power but still dragging in 1st after stopping.

Now I get up the AM and put it in drive a load (hard to explain) weeeerrrrnt sound like a hydraulic solenoid. Boom no Reverse and it moves in N. Also when in P it is like it locks but still in D. I drove it and the same lack of power is there but now no R, and it moves in N like its in drive. in P if to rev it up it acts like I am power breaking but no movement. The cable is ok and all the indicator lights show propper gear in relationship to the NSS position. But you can tell it is not shifting from P to R or N and D. lacking the usual auto tranny engagement sound most car have.

So I lack power in 1st and seam capped @ 2500rpm till it shifts
Possible timing issue? maybe related to the tranny issue?

The tranny seams to be stuck in D after a load odd sound when shifting into D.
Possible shift solenoid?

I am assuming the tranny is in generaly good shape since it seams to not be slipping or lacking power and pickup once it is in 2nd gear.

 

The trans has a valve body containing the hydraulic valving and solenoids. The shift cable connects to an arm/shift on the trans. Rotation of arm moves linkage to pull or push a hydraulic piston inside the valve body. This action aligns the various hydraulic ports to the location needed for the gear selected.

Manual operation of the valve body should override any electric solenoid operation.

If you think the trans is stuck in Drive, manually shifting to 1st should put the trans in 1st. If the trans is working correctly.

The linkage also engage or disengages the Parking prawl (locks the trans in park).

If the trans is engaged when in shows being in Neutral, obviously something is wrong.

Suggest you examine the shift cable/lever on trans for damage or cable issues. Engine off, remove the cable and manually determine the levers positions for the gears.

The shift lever setup has an cam and detent system that stops the shift arm rotation at each gear. Rotate the lever to Park, then to each gear (same number gears as shown on dash lights).

Make sure when the lever is in Park, the shift cable is also in the park position. Meaning the timing of the shift cable and gear shifter in car is the same as on the trans.

To find the Park location on trans. Watch the shift lever operation as someone moves the gear shifter from Park to 1st and back.

Might also drop the trans pan and take a look at the debris in the pan. It is possible something broke.

What does the trans fluid look like color wise and is it up the proper level?

 

It was dark and brown that is why I drained what I could from the pan drain plug and added some fresh fluid. I assumed that the cable was good as the lever and position device with the plug connected to it on the thranny moved when the shift level was moved. I suspect that something in the Valve body it damaged / bad. The issue happened while I was driving the car acted like it dropped to N after giving it some pedal it shuttered a little and then started to move again.


I will be dropping the pan in the AM and poke around the Vbody and checking the solenoids. I do not think there is anything major in the tranny except possibly a band as it still drives and shifts less the 2500 rpm max in 1st and I think that could be a timing issue. I don't have a lot of $ to throw an entire trans full of new fluid until next month. I will double check the shift level and cable again when I am under it and post back my findings.


I have read a lot about this same exact issue al over and get the blanket BLOWN TRANS answer. I don't think one needs to par up a $1000 rebuild answer. Has to be something going on in there and I will get to the bottom of it.

 

Perhaps a complete fluid change may help.

Is the car moving when in Park or dropping out of drive?

Could be a failing torque converter one-way clutch.

 

The Car on P is not in neutral because when you give it throttle it feels like it is under a load.

In R nothing Happens

In N, D, and low gears the car will move as is it is in drive.

When driving it will not rev past ~2500-2800 RPM no matter how much pedal you give it. UNTIL just around 25-30mph it will shift to the 2nd gear and once in 2rd+ gear all seams normal with good acceleration and pick up. Then if I stop fully back to the limited puckup untill it shifts again. Rain yeasterday prevented me for looking @ the Vbody and snow and wet cold keeping me from it today.

Also it does not slip out of Drive it is more like it is stuck in drive no matter what gear you shift it to. The cable and arm @ the trans is moving and the lights on the shifter and dash change.

 

It appears the gear selector mechanism is OK.

Put the gear selector in 1st, drive a steady 15 mph and let off gas. Then check for engine braking. Engine braking is the trans still being engaged, allowing the engine (now with gas off) to slow the car. Like letting off the gas on a vehicle having a manual clutch. If no braking the low/reverse clutch can be bad.

If you drop the pan, check for debris. If lots of debris there is an problem.

 

Well Cleaning it and changing the fluid seams to have made it worse. I fear that the tans is trashed. There was a lot of crap in the pan. I was told by someone the all the grit in the fluid could have been helping the worn parts catch and now that I have flush it all out everything is slipping.


after the cleaning of the pan and changing the fluid Rev. started to work but going forward it would shuttle and not catch until high RPM ~ 4,000 then it was a sudden jerk and I could maintain speed and all was well until I had to stop. Then back to the slipping, shuttering and jerking until it caught again. Then it seamed to clean up back to its old attitude. and when I stopped again back to the same no "R" and moving in "N"


Sad :-(

 

Ouch! It sounds like your friend is right. Sorry to gear this. I would start calling junk yards...

 

Appears to be the clutch plates. The debris lading fluid allowing them to grip better.

Might try Craigslist for cars being parted out. This trans was used in other vehicles. Wikipedia may have which models and if the gearing was the same.

The drivers side door may have a label with trans model which should be A540E.