Elmo

Mine shifts into reverse every time as long as it's cold. As soon as the transmission warms up, we have to push the car backwards and hope reverse engages. I think the po cranked up the line pressure to get reverse to engage, which gives us such harsh forward shifts. Somebody suggested that the '95 transmission be replaced with a newer one, but I can't find the post, or remember which year(s) to look for. I know that it was post 2000 to look for, and I think it was for either the 3.3 engine, or the 3.5 The transmission wiring harness has to be extended to reach the newer transmission, which sure beats installing a rebuild kit into this thing. Anybody know which year to look for?

Well, here's a good explanation of the egr operation in our engines: http://www.tuneruniversity.com/blog/2012/05/dont-block-or-remove-the-egr-valve-its-saving-you-money/ The guy does a far better job explaining how it effects the engine than I could. Note that he is in agreement with everyone else I've read with expert engine tuning knowledge.

Terranovation, many thanks for the info I have 9 flashes, and a space followed by one flash. That would mean #10.Line pressure solenoid valve circuit. Does anybody have any experience with this problem showing up as bone jarring 1-2 and 2-3 shifts?

I had the same problem in my Suzuki Sidekick. I was on a trail in low range, 1st and 2nd gear on a very hot day, and cooked my thermostat (had to stop to let things cool down). After that, it always took a long time to come up to temp. When I pulled the thermostat, I found that it would no longer close completely, which lengthened the normal warmup time. Not a big deal in the summer, but a pain in the butt in the winter (windshield fogged up, ice on wipers, etc.). Be aware that there seems to be two types of thermostat produced. Some brands start to open well before rated temp., and that's ok if you are running a 5 or 7 litre engine. Others don't open until almost at rated temp., when they suddenly pop open. Great for 1.6 to 3 litres. Stant seems to be the brand of choice for the smaller engines, or else you buy oem from the dealer... $$$ Remember that low temps aren't just a comfort deal. The engine management computer wants to see a target temperature, and if it doesn't, will run the mixture richer than normal. That impacts the life of the cat, vehicle mileage, etc. When skiing out of our Sidekick in sub zero temperatures, we completely blocked off the rad with cardboard, and the heater core was big enough to cool the engine.

As our moderator said: It is not normal for a castle nut to shear its cotter pin and come free, so something else is going on. I worked as a millwright, and can tell you that it's a big deal for a castle nut to shear it's cotter pin. Something is applying a rotational torgue to that nut with enough force to shear the pin, and that should never happen. Even if the pin is undersized, and/or rusted, it will hold against normal loads. The application of Neversieze or Loctite will not affect the locking ability of the cotter pin. "Loctite" is an anerobic setting plastic that stays soft untill you keep oxygen away from it by assembling your fastener. Blue grade seems to have the torque release of the average lock washer. Red grade will tear your stud/bolt in half if you try to release it without heat. Be aware that if you use red grade, you must use heat (propane or acetalyne) to break the bond. We did a test with red grade on a 1/2" fastener, and sheared the bolt in half trying to remove the nut. The nut stayed locked to the stub of the bolt. One of the biggest benefits of loctite is that it is gap filling, and once set, it will not allow water/salt solution to penetrate the thread spaces of the fastener. Because it degrades with heat, it does not work on exhaust components. For those applications, we always used "Neversieze". It comes in different formulations to handle different degrees of heat. When working in the boiler room, I always used "Felpro" high temp nickle formulation (2400* f). The rest of the time, I used the regular grade "Bostic Neversieze". We tried "Coppercote" because it was cheaper, and found it didn't work nearly as well as the neversieze. If you are going to buy any of these products, DON'T CHEAP OUT and buy off brand. The cost savings are not worth the misery of a rusted solid fastener at the side of the trail.

Downloaded the factory a/t manual, and am grunting my way through the diagnostics to figure out why my line pressure is so high. On dry or wet pavement, it's not a big deal, but if I get into packed snow/ice this winter, that 1-2 shift will send me sideways. Even the 2-3 shift will rattle your fillings.