I have a 72 Skylark with a recently installed 455. I maintained the current 350 tranny for now. When the car starts out in drive it short shifts really bad. The car pulls hard when the gears are shifted manually, but shifts way to early when left in drive. Any suggestions on what I might do to correct this problem. Thanks Mike
I think that might be the problem. Is there a site that has instructions on installation and adjustment of the kickdown cable. Is there a parts place that has the replacement part?
Lokar makes a universal replacement cable, here:http://store.summitracing.com/largeimage.asp?part=LOK-KD-2350U The cable enters the trans in front of the dipstick tube.
One bolt holds the sleeve, which is sealed with an o-ring. The cable end has an eyelet that hooks onto a link. It will be obvious to you. The cable adjusts at the gas pedal. You want the cable to reach the end of it's travel, just as you reach wide open throttle.
Larry or anybody else what do you think the other possibilities are if it is not the kickdown cable. I've heard of people running a 350 transmission without a kickdown and they say their car runs fine. My transmission was shifting fine prior to the engine swap and now it shifts from 1st to second at about 2500 and 2nd to 3rd at around the same rpm range. Is there anything else I should check if it is not the kickdown causing the problem. I did have a higher stall torque converter put in but that was the only change to the tranny.
In order for a THM 350 to shift correctly, it needs 3 inputs. The modulator senses engine load through the vacuum signal. The governor supplies a road speed signal, and the kickdown cable indicates throttle position. It's like a tug of war between all 3 inputs, to determine where the shift occurs under varying conditions. You must have the kickdown cable connected and adjusted correctly. Other people say their 350 shifts fine without a kickdown cable? Mine never did. Their definition of "fine" is relative to what they expect. If your trans is shifting correctly, the shift points should go up as you give it more throttle. Check the other 2 inputs. Make sure the modulator is good. Make sure it is getting the correct vacuum supply, and that it holds vacuum. If ATF leaks out of the vacuum side, replace the modulator. Make sure the governor is not gummed up and stuck. Do you have a cable connected? There must be something there, otherwise you would have a leak.
I got the kickdown cable replaced now I'm trying to figure out how to adjust it properly. The car is shifting better but still at about 4200 rpm's at WOT. I would like that to be in the 5000 plus range. What is the adjustment to make it shift at a higher point? Thanks for any assistance. Mike
If everything is hooked up and working, you need to modify the governor. The governor controls wide open throttle shift points. By lightening the inner weights, the shift points go up. This kit makes it easy. http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=15697&prmenbr=361
