Do you think the following means the Overdrive is not functioning correctly? When accelerating from rest the gears approximately change from 1st to 2nd at 5 to 10 mph 1800revs 2nd to 3rd 20-25mph 2200-2800 then that’s it at 60mph the revs are 4000 – 4200 which as a manual 5 speed gearbox person seems about 1000revs too high. On each of three occasions when travelling on the motorway at a steady 60mph for just over an hour the car has jolted and the revs have dropped by 1200 is this the o/d suddenly kicking in? An answer given to someone else asking about the o/d was “Turning the o/d off locks it into 3rd. Overdrive is just 4th gear, but it also locks the torque converter, which increases efficiency. Try accelerating gently from around 35- 45 mph. At a certain speed, you will notice the revs drop, and if you accelerate more, they will only rise in time with the road speed (about 38mph on mine) That's the converter locking up” . Please can anyone confirm my suspicions and suggest an answer? Please note I have had the kickdown cable adjusted as suggested on this page without any improvement. - (#335) John Hardman, 21 Jun 01

Your overdrive is definitely not kicking in for the first while. Try a fluid and filter change, after that, you'll need to see an auto tranny specialist. That drop in revs you are seeing should be happening at around 40mph, after which, no converter slip is evident (if you add throttle, the revs only rise in time with speed increase, rather than rising with throttle application)
HTH - (#336) David Miller, 22 Jun 01

I know this sounds dumb but have you tried the obvious checks like, does clicking the o/d switch turn the light on and off on the dash? Has the console been stripped down and the connections not been put back properly, or have been caught and are shorting?
FWIW
Ian - (#337) Ian Dunse, 22 Jun 01

Ian the o/d light does go out when the button is pressed, and I did have a play pushing it in and out. As for the rest I do not no yet? but it is going into the dealers garage on Tuesday for them to sort it out, being still under the 3 months warrenty. They are convinced it is just the solanoid sticking. Do you think this is possible? - (#340) John Hardman, 22 Jun 01

Yes, that is very possible, other than if the solenoid sticks or fails, you only get three gears, not four... - (#343) David Miller, 23 Jun 01