Hey all- I recently posted a question about my 93 Impreza not shifting into (what I thought was) overdrive (and was corrected - really the torque converter lockup kicking in), and got a lot of helpful responses. Anyway, I took the car to the Subaru dealer because I was convinced the temperature sensor was faulty, since it was taking a good 15-20 minutes for the torque converter to lock up and put me at max fuel efficiency "cruising speed." I know that this occurrence is common in cold weather, but I vividly remember this happening when it was 60+ degrees out - still took at least 20 minutes to make that "shift." Also, if I remember correctly, it's only designed to do this until the transmission reaches 20 deg. Celsius? That's not exactly hot, and those days where it's way above 20 C it still refuses to lock right away.
I just heard back from the dealer, who charged me a gracious $94 to plug in the computer and tell me absolutely nothing was wrong with the sensor. He then recommended I flush the transmission in case there was any gunk stuck on the sensor. I wisely called up my regular mechanic, who advised me not to. The transmission fluid is synthetic.
Anyway, I'm now pretty bummed because my car is still not behaving quite normally and I'm getting incredibly crappy gas mileage. Not sure if this is safe (tell me if it isn't), but is there a way to disconnect the transmission fluid temperature sensor? Voodoo? Something? In reality, I'm driving 55-60 mph on the highway at 3000 rpm - that can't be too good for a tranny. I feel like I've covered all the bases, but it's still driving me nuts! My fuel economy is getting worse and worse. Any ideas?
Thanks!
-Kendall