Kickdown lever

[charge1]

I just got my car back and installed a lokar kickdown cable and believe I adusted it correctly but cant tell if the car kicks down upo heavy pedal. is there another way to tell i dont want to ruin my tranny

440 motor with a 727 trans

[RD]

if you cannot feel the car shift down into second, then either you have no horsepower OR it aint shifting down.  if you stomp the pedal while in drive, you will feel it, hear it, and see it shift down if the throttle pressure is adjusted appropriately.  if it does not, you need to adjust it so that it does.

[mauve66]

all of the above plus the rpms will jump up also

if you have any doubts do this

drive like regular, pull the tranny back into second while mashing the gas and watching the tach
now do it with the tranny still in drive, should be a similar result

there are also auto upshift settings to determine if its adjusted properly while under part throttle
your  service manual will have it unless someone posts it here
1-2 part throttle will probably be around 10-20 mph
2-3 part throttle will probably be around 30-40 mph

[John_Kunkel]

The service manual spec for light throttle upshifts is pretty low, depending on engine/axle ratio, but all combos will be in high gear before 20 mph.

The problem with the Lokar is that it's advertised as being for Mopars but it's actually generic because of the various carburetor and transmission levers available. If the lever travels don't match there's no amount of adjustment that will make it right.  

To make the Lokar work correctly you need to install a spring at the trans lever to pull the lever forward. Next measure the total travel of the carb lever (where the cable attaches) from idle to WOT, then find a location on the trans lever that has the same amount of travel from full forward to full back and attach the cable there. This usually requires redrilling the trans lever.

[charge1]

Auto upshifts appear to be fine, I'm into third (drive ) by 30 mph.  and it shifts down  normal as I come to a stop. But I'm still unsure about it under heavy acceleration. I had the motor build by indy and it has a dual quad eddy setup on it. Does it only down shift uder wide open throttle or should it down shift under part throttle? what the sensitivity of the lever?

[John_Kunkel]

It should kickdown to 2nd at WOT depending on the road speed, part throttle kickdown depends on the year.

Have someone sit in the car and hold the throttle pedal on the floor, push back on the top of the carb lever to make sure the carb is fully opening; if it is, pull on the Lokar cable to see how much transmission lever travel is left at WOT. It the lever has lots of remaining travel at WOT the trans won't kickdown at WOT.

[charge1]

Ok i will try that tomorrow.  If it is not working properly will it definately ruin my trans,,, and if so how fast?

[John_Kunkel]

The TP adjustment has to be pretty far off or the linkage/cable totally missing before it will harm the trans.

[charge1]

well thanks for the help.  one last question  does it only shift down from drive to 2nd or wil it also do 2nd to 1st.
I plan on buying a new tranny over the winter i just want to drive it a little now and not ruin anything.  thanks again for all the help

[RD]

does it for both.