1965cutlassragtop

So I had my kickdown cable installed on the transmission but not connected to the carb linkage last summer and it shifted perfectly, nice firm shifts, perfect shift points. I noticed I had a SLOW MINOR leak in the kickdown cable last summer, but the fluid loss was minor and thought maybe I could identify the problem when I eventually connected the carb linkage to the kickdown. Well...I connected the cable to the carb today, checked the tranny fluid level, and took it for a 5 mile ride. First thing I noticed, it wasn't shifting as hard. Second, it WAS kicking down from third to second gear when I floored it:-). Third, i could have downshifted way faster than it did on its own with the ratchet shifter. Fourth, and most importantly, I had tranny fluid pouring out of the kickdown cable!!! Probably lost about a half quart total. I have a ratchet shifter and had no issues with manual shifting last summer, and I could get a solid chirp out of second on demand. So my mind has been made up to remove the kickdown cable completely, going back to the way it was. I am thinking just using a 1/2" brass expansion plug to seal the hole where the kickdown cable would go as I have read other people have done. Any tips or pointers or suggestions from anyone? I do know that the kickdown cable on a rebuilt TH350 serves only the purpose of downshifting at WOT, it will not affect shifting or damage the transmission in any way. The shifts points are controlled by vacuum.

joe_padavano

On the TH350, the cable is a true downshift cable, not a throttle valve cable, so it only controls the downshift. Removing it only means that you must manually downshift. It will not affect shifts otherwise.

For completeness, I will point out that later transmissions like the 200-4R and the 700R4 use a TV cable and that one MUST be connected for the trans to work properly.