Honda Repair: Hondamatic, haynes repair manual, world honda

Question
My 1987 Civic w/1300 motor & Hondamatic that I recently purchased has a weird transmission issue. It accelerates & shifts normally until it gets to about 80 km then the torque converter locks up like it should. But if I let off on the gas it will unlock. If I go faster & let off the same thing happens. The constant locking/unlocking is driving me crazy as you can imagine. Is something out of adjustment or do I need a new trans part?

Answer
sounds like the solenoid on the transmission is going out. or is already out. you should be able to see on the top of the transmission a small cylinder looking thing(pic below). depending on how many miles they have on them, those tend to go out on older cars, especially if the car has been used an abused. it should be an easy fix, if you can find the part. you might have to go to a certified Honda Parts dealer. Im not sure if you could find one at a local auto parts store. also if there are any salvage yards around town i would try them. after you find the parts, it should just be two 10mm bolts. unbolt them and put on the new one and you are ready to go. if that doesnt fix the situation, it could also be a internal problem, where the solenoid isnt holding the throttle correctly. that will probably be too much work for you to do at home without the proper tools. you will have to pull the transmission and take the case off. if you choose to do this i would purchase a Haynes Repair manual. they can walk you step by step through the process.

here is a picture of what it looks like.

this is the complicated drawing of your transmission.
http://world.honda.com/history/challenge/1968hondamatic/img/pho_04.jpg

the solenoid that could be bad.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k36/silbracing/tranny.jpg



i would recommend going to a certified transmission shop and they might be able to get the parts easier than just searching for yourself. but i would definitely get a Haynes repair manual before doing any of this. hope this helps.