Re: 164 trans

["Eric H" <ejham@domain.elided>]

These messages reminded me of some 'wisdom' I meant to share with Digesti
regarding the a/t in the 164. My bud Bill Harkel wrote:

"Has anyone ever heard the trans cooling fan come on in a 164? Perhaps they
just cook to death...."

Well...if you hear one come on, you'll think a hover craft is firing up
beneath your car. They are loud! As I recall, an improbably high temperature
must be reached before the fan kicks in. WAY higher than was required to
prevent my sick transmission slip trying to climb a 2% grade.

So, being an engineer and the son of an engineer, I noted that heat was a
huge factor with failure on these slush-boxes and set out to try to make it
run cooler. My tweaks allowed the transmission to function in the face of my
aggressive driving for an additional half year before it got so bad as to be
undriveable.

Those of you with these cars and have transmissions which are still good
might want to consider these steps...it might lengthen the a/t's life.
Especially here in the sunny South.

Here's what I did:

- Using something -- I can't remember what -- that I found in a parts box, I
blocked open the thermostatically-controlled valve which controls the flow
of fluid to the a/t fluid radiator.

- Again memory fails, but if you can read the 164 wiring diagram, it will be
obvious...but of this I'm sure: with a simple swap of cable plugs, I set the
fan on the a/t cooler to run full time. It was loud but helped the a/t keep
going for another 15K miles to a final 114K miles.

The car is now being parted out, it retired mainly due to the failing a/t
and an accident which damaged the front, drivers side fender. Couple those
factors with a very pitted/scratched windshield and a hemorrhaging valve
gasket, you may understand my decision.

- Eric Hambleton, Marietta, GA

Search for eBay seller ejham_2001 for some auctions closing tonight!
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