Toyota Camry: 87 Camry Tranny Problem

i don't want to scare you, but....

i had an 87 camry(sedan), and in spring 02 it began doing that. she had
216K miles on her.
she drove that way for about 2 weeks. i was super busy with a job that
required me 24/7 and didn't have time to get her to the shop. one afternoon
i pulled into my driveway and she never did work again. the tranny was shot.

i was 19 and didn't have the money for a new transmission at the time but
need transportation immediately. i had to sell her to a mechanic friend and
purchase an 89 camry sedan.

I'd give anything to have her back. she was a great car. i hope you have
better luck, sorry i couldn't really pinpoint a problem. but those were her
exact symptoms before the tranny kicked. lemme know what turns up.
-daniel

"Medora2" <net> wrote in message
news:GgRqb.3479$starband.net... 
sure 
power. 

"scott" <com> wrote in message
news:vtSqb.15516$news.atl.earthlink.net... 
afternoon 
shot.

Maybe it's not quite that bad. This has been going on for around 4,000
miles and it's still running OK. We took a 2,000 mile trip during this time
and things haven't changed during that time.
I'm just not sure what's going on. There is a solenoid involved in the
transmission- torque converter lockout solenoid ( I think). This solenoid is
supposed to activate by sensor at higher speeds and save some drivetrain
effort. Maybe the solenoid or sensor has gone bad or is sticking. Not too
hard to replace or so I'm hoping.

"Medora2" <net> wrote in message
news:U4Vqb.43$Y%starband.net... 
time 
is 

That solenoid works hard. It can be diagnosed by watching the tachometer as
your car changes into 3rd (with or without OD selected). Once in top-gear
and the throttle/accelerator is steady, the tacho will drop revs as the
torque convertor goes into lock-up. If the tacho remains steady, then the
lockup solenoid maybe inoperative.

Jason

"Jason James" <com> wrote in message
news:tt9rb.2687$bigpond.net.au... 
as 

Thanks for the good response.
This car doesn't have the tachometer option. However, it sounds like it
might be worth just trying to replace that solenoid because the car is very
good running condition otherwise (powerful, good body, oil clean at 2500
miles after change). Carquest generally has good quality replacement parts.
Any other suggestions to diagnose the solenoid without tach?