After a Saturday full of dense fog and chill, today looked to be a much better opportunity to do some work on the car. After running to the store to get snacks for the Superb Owl later tonight, I wasted no time in changing into work clothes and getting to it. Next on my list of things to do was the overdrive solenoid. That required jacking the car up so I could get underneath the transmission.
With the car sufficiently raised I scooted underneath with a set of combination wrenches to see what I could see. It was a tight fit, and the entire underside was quite greasy, but I soon found the solenoid on the driver’s side of the transmission housing. Theoretically all that needed to be done was to remove the two 12mm bolts on either end of the solenoid.
But theory isn’t always the same as practice. I then spent the next hour or so in a vain attempt to get either bolt to budge. I sprayed it with Kroil, tried various types of wrenches, and even swore at it a little bit. Nothing helped. The bolts themselves are not easy to access and space around them in limited. My wrenches kept bumping into the underside of the body’s transmission hump. Sensing that further effort would only worsen the situation, I came out from under the car and called it a day. Anyway a cold drizzle had begun and my legs had gotten cold and wet.
So that’s where I stand for now. I’ll have to think on the best method to get a good hold on those bolts. Since they’re so oily a good degreasing may help. I’m also going to ask around to see if anyone I know has a ratcheting box-end wrench, preferably one with a flexible head.