My son's 1993 940T tends to shift down between 40 and 55 with just a hint of gas. The kickdown cable adjustment nut is is almost at the ferrule (max slack; see picture at http://tinyurl.com/ksz76c). The cable sheath is a bit loose but stays in the ferrule. I could not hear the thunk frmm the transmission side (per FAQ procedure.)

I suspect the cable was not properly installed.

Question: Is it possible to push the cable into its recess without removing the filler tube?

Much TIA

Lih-Yen

With that adjustment I would expect the transmission to be shifting very quickly (at low engine RPM). I would also expect to see slack in the cable but I am unable to see any slack in the image.

You might try lubricating the cable. With it removed at the adjustment you will be able to tie it up vertically and drip some ATF into the sheath. Let gravity flow the ATF down the sheath. Pull and release the cable numerous times.

There is the chance that the sheath has come away from its attachment. The photo shows the upper end to be OK. You might inspect the other end at its entrance point on the passenger's side of the transmission. Try pushing the sheath in at the attachment point.

Good luck,
Randy

Hi, Randy,

Thanks for the reply.

I admit I am a little bit confused (+). I thought:

1. With more slack in the KD cable (less threads on the fire wall side; my picture is the extreme example):
- down-shifting would occur at higher RPM's (*). IOW, one would have to step on the gas pedal harder to cause down-shifts.
- up-shifting will occur earlier in the normal course of getting up to road speed.

2. When the KD cable is tighter (more threads on the fire wall side):
- exactly opposite of the above. IOW, down-shift occurs with _less_ gas pedal, and up-shifts come _late_ in the normal course of accelerating - in extreme cases it stays in lower gears, such as if she sheath came out of the ferrule crimp.

Am I missing something?

Notes:

(*) Is this referred to as "softer shifting"?

(+) I found the FAQ sections on the automatic transmission kickdown cable (description and adjustment) difficult to follow. For example,
- the length measurement references is without clarification regarding the cable clamp's location and the pre-requisite that a proper adjustment must have followed before fixing the clamp (if you want to use that as an adjustment reference later on.)
- The description of the shift point/speed map is hard to understand - whether the shift point is the x-axis or y-axis of the map makes exact opposite sense in terms of the curve moving up or down relative to cable tension.


Much TIA, and regards,
Lih-Yen

In reference to your points 1 and 2 I agree.

With the way your cable is adjusted I would think the shift points would be at a very low engine RPM ie the car would very quickly move into higher gears at slower speeds. Your adjustment as shown would provide the shortes cable length possible. Is the car shifting into 2nd,3rd and OD at low speeds?

On the otherhand if it is downshifting with minimal pressure on the accelerator I would assume it is also displaying shift points at relatively high RPM's in gears 2, 3 and OD.

So disregarding the downshifting with light pressure on the accelerator. What are the other shift points like? Quickly shifting up through the gears at low engine speed or shifts not occuring until the engine is turning at a high RPM?

Randy

Hi, Randy,

Thanks for being patient with me.

Now I think I understand and agree with you on what _should_ be with the way the adjustment is done (while in fact the shifting pattern does not match.)

Also, you are correct that there is no slack in the cable, in the picture or physically.

The up-shiftings occur somewhat normally. I did not keep records so I can't provide all details. (From memory,) For a leisurely merge into freeway from an friendly on-ramp, the up-shifting into OD occurs around 3500 rpm at around 62 mph and then it drops down to perhaps 2500 or so. Other up shifts did not seem overly early.

On a state highway with 50 or 55 mph limit is where the shifting becomes problematic and irritating: if there is a small up hill incline it down shifts into 3rd very eagerly and once the slope levels off a bit it goes up to OD.

As I attempted, the adjustment is almost already at the end of maximum slack but the behavior does not match. And this is why I ask the question initially, which really should be rephrased as:

"How involved it may be to push the KD cable on the transmission end into its right place?"

I will get back to the forum with more data after I get a chance to drive it again.

Much TIA.

Lih-Yen

"How involved it may be to push the KD cable on the transmission end into its right place?"

Try Randy's earlier suggestion for lubricating the cable from under the hood. There is plenty of pulley force to "pull" it out, but only weaker (relatively speaking) spring tension to retract it.

I was able to free up a stuck cable by patiently working at it with pliers till some back and forth movement was possible. At that point I took the cable and sheath out of the pulley and adjuster bracket and began to apply ATF to the exposed cable, so it ran down and seeped into the sheath. (See Photo, a different car but same principle.)

Periodically the ATF drip was interrupted to repeat the range-of-motion exercise with pliers, and eventually (a few hours) the cable was totally free to retract on its own and could be adjusted.

ATF Drip


--
Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

Thanks, Bruce.

I like the picture-it has all the element to show this cable lube setup. Nicely done! It will be very helpful when I do some PM on the car.

The kickdown cable on my son's car snaps back crisply, though. It does not seem there is any resistance at all, and from the outside it looks that it is well lubricated. That's why I suspect the problem is due to the other end is not seated properly.

Just curious:
Did I see a small cable tie just past the tip of the funnel? It looks like you had a few ounces of ATF sitting in the funnel. Did it really need that much?

Regards,
Lih-Yen

"How involved it may be to push the KD cable on the transmission end into its right place?"

It is hard to determine your shift points from a description but it sounds like it is shifting at higher RPM's than it should and certainly so based on the adjustment photo.

You will not know what is involved to replace the transmission end of the cable (if that is the problme)until you get down there and see what is going on.

Randy

Hi, Randy,

Thanks again. You may be right that it is shifting at higher RPM but I will have to find time to drive it to take notes.

I will try to report back to the forum when this is eventually solved.

Lih-Yen