Thanks to Loren and Mike for the replies.  I have tried doing this,
but my van still won't go faster than 55 in 2nd gear and 3rd gear
doesn't have enough oomph (technical term) to get me back up to 65 . .
.  This puts me in a dangerous position as most cars are blazing up
the mountain at 65-80 mph and the semis are struggling up at 45.
Trying to pass one of the semis under these conditions is taking my
life in my hands.  This feels like a poor design to me, or is there
some kind of rationale for this that I'm not aware of?

Thanks,
Marc

On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 10:04 AM, Mike Collum<collum@myfairpoint.net> wrote:
> Marc Perdue wrote:
> �The damn transmission keeps bouncing back and forth as my
>>
>> speed varies between 45 and 55, trying to haul my butt over the
>> mountain.
>
>
> When I'm driving my '84 7 pass automatic in the mountains (wasserboxer
> engine), I just manually downshift one gear and leave it there until I'm on
> more of a level plane. �It works for me and is certainly better than the
> frequent up/down shifts that the system would provide on its own.
>
> Mike
> '84 GL 7 pass auto
> '85 GL Westy 4 spd
> '84 Westy 4 spd
> '84 Westy parts
>
>