Kickdown Cable??

[PmL69]

I have a 69 holiday with the orginal 350 moter & th350 trans. There is a leak coming from the trans that took me a while to track down. When i realized that it was only leaking when the car was parked (not running), it led me to the kickdown cable. Seems the kdcable was rubbing against 1 of the tranny cooler lines & rubbed a hole in the plastic coating of the cable. This sucks cause the cable still functions great.

The kdcable im guessing is like this on alot of the A bodies runs right out of the tranny up to the Accelerator pedal. I dont have alot of experience with stuff like this, my brother(rip) always helped me.

How do i change this cable? I think i have to do something with the valve body??
How do i adjust this when i install?
Any answers would be very helpfull
Thanks
PML

[jensenracing77]

if i remember correctly all you have to do is take off the pan. some of them all you have to do is take the cable loose and it just hooks right there without taking the pan off. someone will give you better advice. has ben a while since i done that.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by jensenracing77

if i remember correctly all you have to do is take off the pan. some of them all you have to do is take the cable loose and it just hooks right there without taking the pan off. someone will give you better advice. has ben a while since i done that.

You don't even need to take off the pan. There's one bolt that holds the cable sheath to the trans housing. Remove it, pull up a little, and you'll see the "S" link that you simply unhook.

Are you sure the fluid is coming from the cable? There should not be any fluid in the cable to start with. Is it possible the cable also rubbed a hole in the trans cooler line?

[PmL69]

Thanks for all the advice!! Im positive its coming out of the cable, i laid under it & watched for about a half hr. its leaking about a 1/4 inch above the coupling. Im guessing when the motor is shut off & all the tranny fluid settles in to the pan thats when its starts leaking. Like i said b4 it does not leak when the car is running.
What about adjustmen? How do i adjust. Im guessing at the pedal
Thanks again for all the help
PML

[Yellowstatue]

Although it might appear that tranny oil is leaking from the KD cable, it is not really possible...If you remove that cable and hide it in your bedroom for a week you will still have your tranny leak where the hole is in the cooler line...

[oldoldss]

If it is like the cable in my '71 Cutlass, it is easy to adjust.
At the pedal linkage, there will be two cables: The top-most one is to the carb, the other is to the tranny.
At the end of the tranny line, there will be a solid rod with either a metal clip (original) or ball (service replacement). Slide the clip or ball on the rod toward the firewall, then press the pedal to the floor (probably best with the engine off). The clip is SUPPOSED to automatically slide to the proper place to be adjusted. I had to move mine out slightly further than that by hand because it kicked down too fast and held on too long before upshifting for my taste.
In theory, the cable can stretch over time and would need readjusted.
Only the THM350's had this cable; the 400's had a switch.
Another possible leak source is the o-ring on the tranny end of the cable. The o-ring is what holds the fluid in, not the bolt. If you have a leak there, replace the o-ring but do not over-tighten the bolt -- they strip very easy -- then you've got two problems...