One of my throttle cables is really stretched. I think it's the cause of my car not shifting into 3rd gear. It's a 91 Z-28 350. The cable that goes from the throttle bracket to the transmission is loose. I was told I needed to get a new one but didn't and now my car will not go into 3rd gear. Are these related? I think it's called the kickdown cable? Not sure. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

call autozone and get a price, if its cheap, replace it!! see what happens.. i had transmission problems early in '04 and after investigating, i found it was a bad Torque Converter, so i unplugged the POS, and its been running fine every since, i get **** for gas mileage but at least i got all 4 gears now!!

if you do the cable replacement and the transmission is still acting goofy you can wire a switch to the top left and top right of the ALDL port under the dash and while driving at low speed, flip the switch (it should disconnect the TC, you should feel this happen) if u feel nothing, your TC is probably a goner. another tip is to get AAMCO Type F trans fluid, its for ford's but its thinner so it lubricates better, it helps the trans shift harder if its had slippage problems in the past.

im currently running the car w/ the TC unplugged and type F trans fluid and as far as shifting goes, she's nice and stiff.

 

woa dude, i'm not sure if you researched this at all but you have a few misconceptions.

1. what you did was unplug the connector that controls you Torque Convertor Clutch (TCC) which helps in providing better rotory or cruise flow. if you were to disconnect your torque convertor somehow you would be a fish out of water and go nowhere. the loss in gas mileage is from you not getting a full 1:1 impeller/turbine lockup.

2. while thinner fluid may lubricate better when it is cold, it tends to get real runny when it heats up. therefore thinner fluid can be considered to lubricate less and thats why most people who are serious in racing run 50 weight oil amd thats why in some automatics we run oil up to 90 weight. and thinner fluid only does less to help the trans shift harder and prevent slippage, while most of it is your line pressure (psi) a thicker fluid would resist flow more and create a higher psi while sticking to the clutch packs alot better when hot than a thinner fluid. thats why lucas oil trans fix is a real thick oil since it resists flow and being moved and can put just enough extra force on the clutch's and bands to help extend the life of the tranny just a bit.

and as for ridthekid: i don't think your throttle cable being loose is affecting your ability to shift into third since the kickdown cable controls throttle pressure and a loose cable would cause early shifting while a tight cable would cause late shifting since the govenor pressure takes longer to overcome throttle pressure. as for not shifting into third it might be one of your your shift valves.

 

okay Inspector Gadget... i understand the mechanics behind disconnecting the TC plug, i knew already why I got **** for gas mileage, and BTW- had 2 bad experiences w/ Lucas products in the past and will never use it again!

 

well what you understand and what you're trying to relay to someone else are two different things, you said you unplugged your torque convertor when you really just unplugged the computer's control of of TCC. and i never supported lucas oil and it does nothing but give you maybe an extra couple hundred miles on a tranny that needs to be rebuilt and will prolly cause more damage in the long run. and as far as inspector gadget, i'll take that as a compliment because i spend 9 hours a day mon-fri in a classroom/shop learning this stuff and currently have a 93% everage in my class. i'm not saying i know everything but there are certain things i do know. and you don't have to get all butt-hurt when someone tries to correct you, i make mistakes all the time and if i'm corrected or whatever i just take in the knowledge and don't get all defensive like you obviously are.

back to ridthekid b/c this was his thread: have you ever tried getting the rpms up enough to get it to go into 4th (i know mine goes into 4th at 40pmh or higher). i'll have to go look up the 700R4 scematics b/c i'm used to the electronic solenoids the use in the 4L60E (same transmission just computer controlled). i;m not sure if the 2-3 shift valve is need for the 3-4 shift valve but i'll find that out for ya. again i don't think it is a torque convertor problem unless your noticing really sluggish accel or bad cruise or stalling when you come to a stop. have you checked your fluid levels to make sure they are correct and that your tranny fluid are not burned.

 

so you are in school for this stuff and you're suggesting he just power through second gear and skip 3rd all together and hope 4th catches when he's turning 6K in second? dude, 9 hours isnt enough!!!

honestly, when my trans went out the first time I had no second gear and since I was in traffic holding everyone up i got nervous and decided to just 'skip' 2nd gear... i floored it, revs hit the damn ceiling and BLAM!!!... SKEEEECH!!!.. caught 3rd gear rubber @ around 20mph and 5500rpm and as soon as i slacked on the gas it dropped back to 1st gear... DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS UNLESS U LIKE BREAKING THINGS.

 

also, you do know that rear end gear has a lot to do with speed/rpm @ which point his trans shifts.... just cause yours goes into 4th at 40mph doesnt mean his will.. just cruisin im in 4th gear @ 30mph probably

best advice i can give, take it to a trans shop and have them look it over, worst case scenario they tell u its screwed and offer to rebuild it for $1200 (this happened to me) i told them to bite me, paid $40 for service fee and took the car home. found a used trans for $150 and did the install in the driveway over a weekend. i do believe the TV cable can be adjusted to determine when the trans will shift if its too early/too late. mine's outta whack i know that.

 

The cable is called the "throttle valve" cable. It does a lot more than the old "kickdown" cable on TH350's. If it isn't working properly, the trans won't be sending proper pressures under certain conditions, and it could very well burn out the 3-4 clutch pack - therefore, no 3rd gear. Changing the adjustment of the TV cable to change the shift point is a good way to burn out your tranny.

Type F ATF is not a good idea in an unmodified GM transmission. Ford doesn't even use it anymore. It does not have the friction modifiers (same thing as posi additive) that Dexron has. Use the proper fluid and don't try to fix a mechanical problem with some elixir.

 

wow, who said anything about flooring the car with a messed up tranny? and if you did then your the one with problems. and i all well know how differential gears affect you speed. you are trying to take what i say and turn it against me but sorry that chit ain't happening. i'm currently working on the 4T60E and 4L60E where you have shift solenoids and no throttle or govenor pressure where if you have a bad solenoid you can end up skipping certain gears. i was in no way suggesting him to smoke his tranny, thats just stupid. he mentioned nothing of anything slipping so i believe it could be a spool valve or check ball problem, because if he were slipping the tranny would try to engage third but slip and rev high. he never said that happened. it may acutally be his vacuum modulator valve, if the vacuum hose gets knocked off it will cause extremely late or not shift to the next gear no matter how high you take it. either that or there could be a problem with the govenor pressure.