no 3-2 kickdown th350

[chefk85]

Im finally chasing down my kickdown problem. Ever since i bought the truck I have no 3-2 kickdown. Ill be going 55 and mash it to the floor and it does nothing. I have adjusted the kickdown cable but it doesnt seem to fix it. Its really annoying goling up a hill I have to drive everyday and it wont shift down until im going 45mph or less. Any ideas? Its an OEM type cable with the tab you pull and push. Its driving me nuts. TH350

Thanks
chefk85

[Boog]

I don't have the answer to why yours is not working but you can drop the shifter into 2nd for those hard pulls then bump it back into drive when ready until you find a fix.

[geezer#99]

Originally Posted by chefk85

Im finally chasing down my kickdown problem. Ever since i bought the truck I have no 3-2 kickdown. Ill be going 55 and mash it to the floor and it does nothing. I have adjusted the kickdown cable but it doesnt seem to fix it. Its really annoying goling up a hill I have to drive everyday and it wont shift down until im going 45mph or less. Any ideas? Its an OEM type cable with the tab you pull and push. Its driving me nuts. TH350

Thanks
chefk85

Maybe you're adjusting it wrong!
Describe exactly how you do it!

[chefk85]

Yeah I drop the shifter and that does work but I'd like it to work how it's supposed to. I'll have to investigate the trans side of the cable and make sure it's hooked to the plunger. As for adjusting it I do it like I've been taught. Have someone sit in drivers seat. Pull up lock tab on cable. have your buddy push gas pedal to the floor. Push down lock tab. It's hooked up to a 500 cfm summit carb I bought last fall but it did this with the qjets I have had on it as well. I'm thinking it's either not hooked up. I.e. broken linkage or cable, or has come unhooked. Another possibility is its not getting full travel for some reason. Maybe carb bracket or something. Dropping the pan might be in order.

[geezer#99]

I've had better success by not mashing the pedal to the floor and adjusting it by stroking the throttle open on the carb manually. You could even adjust it short. Not at wide open throttle.

[kwmech]

Originally Posted by chefk85

Im finally chasing down my kickdown problem. Ever since i bought the truck I have no 3-2 kickdown. Ill be going 55 and mash it to the floor and it does nothing. I have adjusted the kickdown cable but it doesnt seem to fix it. Its really annoying goling up a hill I have to drive everyday and it wont shift down until im going 45mph or less. Any ideas? Its an OEM type cable with the tab you pull and push. Its driving me nuts. TH350

Thanks
chefk85

Will it kick down at 45?

[webfoot]

How old is the transmission? Make sure the cable is adjusted properly first, but those governors in the transmission get worn and do not work like they are supposed to.

[chefk85]

Yes 45 and below it will kick down but I'll have to drive it and see if that's the 2 to 1 shift. The trans is original from 70. Not sure about any details as far as rebuilds or anything.

[chefk85]

Yes it shifts 3 to 2 below around 45mph or less. Any speed above that and no downshift unless manually with the shift lever. How hard is it to deal with goVerner springs? I will check the cable more closely this afternoon and make sure it pulls back when I pull it out. I could get pictures to if it will help

[kingNothing]

I had similar trouble with my trans. I had a small crack in the vacuum hose. It was not enough to hear it.

[kwmech]

At 55 the governor may not allow the trans to kick down because of the RPM. You cannot always get a kickdown/passing gear whenever you want. What rpm is the engine at 55?

[kwmech]

Originally Posted by chefk85

Yes it shifts 3 to 2 below around 45mph or less. Any speed above that and no downshift unless manually with the shift lever. How hard is it to deal with goVerner springs? I will check the cable more closely this afternoon and make sure it pulls back when I pull it out. I could get pictures to if it will help

If it kicks down at 45 there is nothing wrong with the cable

[randy500]

I don't think your adjustment procedure is correct but I also don't think that's your problem either.

I thought the procedure was push the cable tab in, cable gets as short as it will get. Go in car and floor throttle, cable adjusts to mas throttle including cable tension and stretch. Your eliminating stretch and tension.

I would bet its the wrong governor for vehicle, those transmission have been rebuilt so many times that most governors have been interchanged with other vehicles. The governors were vehicle and gear ratio specific within a range of a set number of governors.
Try a new governor, it could be wrong for the vehicle weight and gear ratio and they do wear.

[chefk85]

Problem solved sort of. I just wanted to get back to this as there are way too many unresolved threads which helps noone. I ended up adjusting it and adjusting and adjusting. More beer. Adjusting. I think what we ended up with was 1/2 to 3/4 and now it kicks down at full throttle. Lol. Tell me how that makes sense and I will buy YOU a beer. Maybe cable stretch or we just happened to hit the spot. I have to put my foot all the way down to get it to kick down but now it does it at any speed. Seems more right than its ever been.