'86 4WD Transmission Control Box; Where is it?
Kuhnaydeein
Band Wagon
I'm looking for the control to help me troubleshoot a problem I'm having with my 4WD that won't go into 2WD mode...
I have the Chilton Honda Civic/CRX/Del Sol 1984-95 Repair Manual and on page 6-8 the term "Transmission Control Box" is referenced twice as to a place where I might find:
1) Control Solenoid Valves A & B
and
2) Opener Solenoid Valve
These two entries are special because they're the only ones that are specifically only for the 4WD model. But I can't find any other references to this "Transmission Control Box" ... Please Help!
I have the Chilton Honda Civic/CRX/Del Sol 1984-95 Repair Manual and on page 6-8 the term "Transmission Control Box" is referenced twice as to a place where I might find:
1) Control Solenoid Valves A & B
and
2) Opener Solenoid Valve
These two entries are special because they're the only ones that are specifically only for the 4WD model. But I can't find any other references to this "Transmission Control Box" ... Please Help!
Comments
Dude, i already told you where the control box is.... follow the vacuum lines from the actuator... they will go directly to the control box. If you can't see this, remove the air cleaner/box/intake tube... it will give you some room to stick you head in there.
Jesus... just looked at your other pic.... They are right there in front of your face, just to the left of the Huge black box... somebody has removed the plastic box for your controls solenoids, and they're just sitting there exposed.
See, I went over that Chilton book cover-to-cover and didn't see that particular thing even hinted at, let alone pointed to.
So this is where I find the part that may or may not need to be replaced? There seem to be 3 identical cylinders there... if the one that has the hoses that lead down to the Transfer case is replaced, would that fix my problem?
PS:
Sorry about doubling up on that subject, I was really, REALLY tired and frustrated with the Chilton book and my ignorance to anything under the hood...
I care not to reply at this point or it will come across as impatient..... i can't offer you any additional help until you actually try to figure out what component is not working. This isn't rocket science here, and frankly, i already gave you a temporary solution to put it in 2wd in the other post.
Just take this as an example of my experience under the hood of a car, and the knowledge level you may again meet. If you're not precise enough, or in some cases vague enough, you may get asked the same question multiple times. Such is the cost of being knowledgeable.
While I think humility is great and all but telling people that you're obtuse and that they will just have to deal with it...well, I know I'm less likely to spend the time in the first place.
To help in your, uh, search for less stupidity, I would highly suggest getting a Helms oem factory shop manual. If you think Chiltons/Haynes manuals helped, this will certainly impress. You can get a taste of what is offered here: http://www.honda.co.uk/car/owner/ ...navigate with the left panel to parts and servicing, workshop manuals. Then click on the 84-87 Civic. The bad news is that it won't help you with 4wd because this is for the standard Civic, not the Shuttle.
What I meant was that I may not know a lot about working on my own vehicle, but you may meet other people with even lower levels of experience. If you treat everybody like they're an idiot for not being the renaissance man you so obviously are, whoever responds to these posts with an heir of such supremacy, you may be putting people off and helping no one.
I do thank you for your time, and patience, but when you call me obtuse and/or say something is so obviously "in front of my nose" that you're not even going to justify my clarifying question with a response, then I must disagree with your practices, and I'll find an answer to my question elsewhere.
I'm not saying I'm going to leave this forum for this experience, far from it, but it tends to leave a bitter taste in my mouth and keeps me from suggesting it to other people I know who may have questions you people could answer.
You've peppered your 4wd problem across several posts/forums. Call it overexposure. Nobody likes to be asked the same question over and over again.
I'm glad you're getting some help to fix it up.
I kinda went off the handle there a little...
Back to the topic at hand:
The mechanic said that the problem lies in a broken diaphragm. When it's pulled in one direction, I've got 2WD, in the other 4WD. He said there's no way to get into it and physically take it out of 4WD mode without replacing said diaphragm.
Does this sound right to you guys?
Do you know what part it is?
Try Honda Parts Database LINK. I think what you need is under ELECTRICAL / EXHAUST / HEATER / FUEL > NO2 CONTROL BOX TUBES (or it might be NO1)to get an idea how much it should cost.
At least its a fairly easy, inexpensive fix...you don't want to know what a new 4wd transmission costs.
Actuator on the side of the rear transmission bracket/transfer case.
See, now this is where i get a bitter taste in my mouth. Fact is, i provided more than enough information to make some progress prevoiusly, and it was blatently obviously that you didn't turn a wrench or attempt any troubleshooting what so ever. So if my response comes off as a know it all dickhead, so be it. I'm always more than happy to help somebody that takes a proactive stance on repairs/troubleshooting/modifications, as opposed to expecting to be spoonfed or have their hand held the entire time.
Good luck with the repair. the actuator is held on with 2 bolts, connected to the 4x4 linkage, and has 2 vacuum lines from the control solenoids.
D, the arogant renaissance man.
You see, I think I've made it more than clear that I didn't know the difference between an Actuator and a Solenoid (I do now) or what to look for under my vehicle to change said parts.
So coming back with a response like: This just doesn't do much for me. It was great when you took the picture I linked to and showed me exactly what I was looking for. It's not that I can't be bothered to look for these things on my own, it's just that I've got other things to do with my day that don't include jacking up my wagon and rooting around under there in an effort to fix something, while I don't know what I'm looking for exactly.
I was never asking to be spoon-fed or have my hand held the entire time. I simply stated my level of knowledge, asked a question, and was given a response that would have made sense to a mechanic I'm sure, but I couldn't follow it. If that makes me the a**hole, then I'm sorry. I'm sorry you feel that way.
Well, when I took the vehicle to a mechanic he said that he couldn't even take it out of 4WD by hand anyway, so what makes you think that I could do it without some kind of *diagram* or *detailed instructions*? I'm supposed to just know what/where the 4x4 linkage is, and how to disassemble it? Like I said, if you hadn't circled the solenoids, I'd probably still be looking for them as I couldn't even find them in the Chilton's book.
Now... as kind of a pre-emptive strike here... The last thing I want to do is get to a forum and start out as some kind of flamer or have my first threads turn into some kind of pissing match. I've simply become frustrated with not only my lack of knowledge, and some of you who have no patience for someone of my experience level, but also with the vehicle itself and how I just cannot seem to figure this one thing out. So, if I come across as short-tempered, uneducated and/or a pain to deal with, for that I am sorry. Honestly. That is not who I am, I'm just stepping into some unknown territory and I fully expect to trip and stumble once in a while. I just don't want to trip and/or stumble while trying to fix my only means of transportation.
Well said... I sometimes also feel this way...
My wagon is not my only means of transportation (I also own a Tomos moped and a 20 year-old Mazda B2000) but it is the one I use to ferry my teens around the city... so I can't afford to have it out of commission too long.
Keep plugging away and I'm sure the Forum users will be patient with you... right guys and gals ??
Well, it's just that i've got other things to do with my day that don't include jacking up my wagon and taking pictures in an effort to help someone with very high expectations, little patience, and who doesn't really use any of the info provided.
Uh....... "It was great when you took the picture I linked to and showed me exactly what I was looking for." que?
I'm not sure how many times i need to say this.... If you remove the actuator from the rear tranny mount, you will then have the ability to manually put the transmission in FWD. SO........ here's your detailed instrustions.
1) Remove the 4x4 actuator from rear tranny bracket.
2) Manually select 4x4 or FWD with the linkage that was attached to the actuator.
Too late. You have reminded me why i quit posting on other forms long ago... thank you so much for the refresher.
D
Put it this way, you have the choice of posting or not... so i'd advise you not to post if your fuse remains as short as it is.
You know what, I got to thinking about it, and if I wanted to have my hand held through the whole process, and be spoon-fed the instructions, that's my choice. I take back my prior statement: I do need to be spoon-fed when it comes to this. And if you don't want to do that, you really don't have to and I never explicitly asked YOU to do it for me.
I'm sure that I'm the ONLY PERSON in the WHOLE WORLD who doesn't know what a "4x4 actuator" and a "rear tranny bracket" are, or how to "Manually select 4x4 or FWD with the linkage that was attached to the actuator." So you're right to belittle me for not immediately going out and start to tear apart my ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION in an effort to fix a problem I'm not familiar with, in a medium I'm very new to, with only a few lines of text that I barely understood to begin with. That's my fault. I should've studied how to do all that before making a POST in a FORUM.
I did appreciate the original information, the only problem was this: any 'mechanic' or person who 'worked on vehicles for a living' I mentioned that to, said they wouldn't be comfortable doing any such procedure by hand. So if you're so familiar with this particular vehicle, and the particular method, a step-by-step procedure is not all too much to ask for.
Hell, even the guy who modified a Camera Case into a Cup Holder gave detailed directions. Albeit, the ability to take a picture of a dash board is not as notable a feat as taking the same kind of picture of a 4x4 actuator, a rear tranny bracket, or the process of Manually selecting 4x4 or FWD with the linkage that was attached to the actuator, but he made an effort to familiarize his readers with the subject and didn't just assume the readers knew EXACTLY what he was talking about and assume they would glean from a sentence or two the entire width and breadth of his thought.
So, yes, when it comes to my wagon, and most things having to do with what goes on under a car, or under it's hood, I am glib, as I imagine you were too at one point. The whole point of a forum is to share ideas and information and experiences. One who posts in a forum should be well aware that people with not even a passing knowledge of the forum's subject matter will post questions in an effort to attain such knowledge.
Originally I felt bad for starting this second thread. In the first thread entitled "'84 4WD and I can't figure out how to put it into 2WD..." I got some decent information. It was a bit cryptic for my level of experience, so I dove into the Chilton's book, and in the middle of the night, after hours of looking through the book found references to a "4WD Transmission Control Box" and that didn't sound anything like the Solenoids mentioned in that first thread. I even said, in my first reply on this thread that:
So, with a mixture of frustration and overly tiredness, I started this thread. If I was thinking clearer I probably would have appended this question to that first thread. So I guess I was wrong to make two threads out of this issue. I understand D's frustrations to that point. He indeed mentioned a "4x4 control box" in the same breath as he mentioned the "solenoids" so he had every right to get peeved that another thread was being started by the same guy asking about a "4WD Transmission Control Box."
The thing is, I made it perfectly clear, with almost every post I made, my experience level. It was no secret that I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I'm not ashamed of that. I'm not ashamed of the fact that I didn't go out and start "turning wrenches" in an effort to remedy the situation after the first couple replies.
The way I work is to get ALL the pertinent information before I go and do something, especially something of this caliber. I was made to feel stupid, ignorant and obtuse for asking the questions I asked and for wanting a better explanation for the answers I received, and if you're going to respond in such a way as to make someone feel that way for asking a question, just remember what Thumper's Mom used to say.
I'm not saying that I got my feelings hurt and now I want you to feel bad for saying awful and mean things to me 'cause you're a meanie. That's not my point at all. What I've been trying to say is that there are a lot more people like me who will have Stupid questions. It's inevitable.
You can just ignore them and hope that they'll go away 'cause you don't want to hold their hand through the process or procedure they're going to have to go through to fix their problem. You can point them to another source of information they should refer to in order to understand things on a level closer to your own. Or, you can berate them for their ignorance, spout out hight-level instructions and complain when they don't follow them.
From what I've experienced, I think you've chosen the latter path, and that's you're prerogative. But don't complain to me about it, or get all uppity, twist my words, belittle my experience level and just expect me to sit back and take it. I never singled you out as a source of information, I only asked that you clarify your answers. You're the one that kept coming back like I called you up, demanded you answer my questions and ignored your replies.
I never intended to "remind [you] why [you] quit posting on other forms long ago...," but if the reason for that was that you couldn't put up with people who didn't know as much as you, and you got tired of qualifying your replies with explanations, then you're welcome, I've just saved you from having to do the same for the next guy with some other question you 'can' answer.
Thank you for your time.
My statement was intended for D, not you. I should have quoted him before typing that.
I completely understand that its just not simple for people who are new to working on cars and I was one of those noobs myself not so long ago.
I hit the "quote" button, deleted a line of text, and went on to unleash all my thoughts without looking back. Looking back now, I should've clarified why I quoted you! I originally thanked you for your support, but that got left on the cutting room floor (in the Trash Can in the Dock, actually). But your original reply is what got me thinking about what I has said and what I had originally apologized for. It was so integral that I just left it in without bothering to think of the implications.
Sorry for the confusion!
Its kinda frustrating for wagon owners alot of the time due to having little to no support and/or information, especially for the third gen which i honestly have very little knowledge of.
Take your time, make your questions as specific as possible and just don't let people get to you - it can hard to figure out someones intentions and emotions via the internet.