If the regular pressure is high will that cause
the shift points to be high.. I think it does being
that the governor has to match that pressure plus
this has the throttle pressure added on to the regulator
pressure ... also being this is a stock VB but with the
shift improver kit for the 518 it doesnt like to down shift
even when I come to a full stop.. I have to manually pull
it into low then push the shifter up into drive... thanks
for any help....anyone want to BUY a car

When you raise the line pressure the throttle pressure also rises. Since the governor pressure has to overcome throttle pressure in order for the upshift to occur, raising the line pressure will raise the shift points (all else being the same).

Failure to downshift at a complete stop can be either a stuck shift valve or a faulty governor....only to tell is to hook up a test gauge to the governor pressure test port; anything over 2 psi at a standstill is a faulty governor.

Thanks John.. I figure as much on the line pressure..
as to the governor.. I thought for sure its clean and
not stuck.. but that might be on the other trans I have..
if the governor is stuck why is it shifting.. but I do
have to lift off the throttle to shift..I will put the
gauges on it tomorrow

The governor may not be fully retracting and is letting some pressure bleed through.

As a funny FYI - a local trans shops fix for a sticky 518 governor was to put one of the snake oils in the fluid, and "rattle" the governor by tossing it into park at about 10MPH. I'm guessing that particular step wasn't included in the shift kit instructions.

All Ive ever had by stuffing any trans into park
at low speed was the ratcheting of the parking paw
till it locked into park.. I dont understand what
would be accomplished by that.. other than ripping
the park gear or the paw apart.. I might try the
snake oil if I do show 2+ psi at the port... I had
this trans gone over by a shop AFTER I went through
it.. just to be safe since I've had so much of a issue
with these.. this was the first one I did myself.. the
guy said everything looked great but he felt the regulator
spring was way high.. he guessed it would be about 200#
as a guess.. all that went into the trans was a shift
improvement kit from trans-go.. I do remember a spring change
but didnt think it was the regulator pressure spring.. so
I'm not sure since I myself didnt put it in

Mike is this the 2nd trans? Same valve body, different trans, same problem?

If so points to the valve body doesn't it?

I'm loosing track of whats what.. 3 trans from you
and then I bought another.. it didnt have drive(if I remember
right) then this one I did and had it checked.. this one is
the one that was the original but I went through so its
the same VB... I can swap in the other stock VB.. but I
have a couple of things to try first... when you changed
the stuff in the VB.. what spring did you change.. was that
the regulator spring or ?.. if it was then I might just
change the spring from the stock VB or change the whole VB

That would be very high for line pressure in a forward gear. Although the Griner valve bodies I used allowed over 200 psi, I ran mine at 165 psi. For what you are doing, I would think 120-140 would be high enough?

Thanks Jim.. I'm gonna put the gauges on it

Yup. Think of where the park gear and the governor body is located. Both the parking pawl gear and the governor body are a part of the output shaft. The vibration from the ratcheting of the pawl teeth is what "rattles" the sticky governor, along with the snake oil. You don't let it grind to a stop - it's a quick in and out. I'm not blaming anybody for not wanting to try it - just saying I've seen it done, and it worked. Like I said - I doubt if you will see that tip in any manual, but I know of several techs that swear by it. Sure is easier to try than ripping out a t/case and the O/D extension housing. If it doesn't work, it had to come apart, anyways.

Glad somebody finally brought up the "park trick". I'm guilty as charged and have seen it work more times than I care to think about. Trans tech showed me in my early years.

I did the park thing YEARS ago as a young wrench BUT it was
more of a OH damn.. then pulled it out.. but there wasnt
anything wrong with the trans... I guess its worth a try
if it is stuck for a last chance before pulling it... but
I am looking elsewhere right now.. I think I'm gonna pull
the whole VB today and put in my other one and try that

I have heard from a trans guy that if you have
the car (on the hoist) running in forward gear
then hit reverse it will spike the pressure and
free up a stuck governor... any true to this or
has anyone tried it...(about 20-30 MPH in forward)
EDIT
I am giving thought to cutting the chassis in the
drive shaft loop area so I can pull the tailshaft
off to get at the governor... then I will set it
up so I can pin it back on... but I'll leave it off
till I have it all figured out then put it back on

That is one of those "tech tips" you post, knowing that you will probably get beaten up over. Sorta like the old dumping water down the carb to get rid of cylinder carbon deposits - some people cringe at it, others swear by it.

Mike, as to the "rattling" of the governor - about 10MPH, toss in park for a quick one thousand one count, then back into a forward gear. Too fast and the pawl just skims over the teeth, too slow and it will engage and lock the tires.

I have the Rampage up on the hoist... I was thinking
about cutting some tubes to get the tail shaft off...
thats not gonna happen.. there isnt enough room to
slide it back to get it off.. so I'll have to try the
park or reverse thing to see if it'll free up... if
it doesnt... I pull the engine/trans AGAIN... this is
getting REAL OLD.. I am gonna change valve bodies
tomorrow to see if it helps the up shift... this thing
is getting closer to the burn pile
EDIT
does anyone know of a trans dyno in the Detroit area

If you need to pull the motor/trans again I would be done with the OD deal. Put a 727 in it and don't sweat the RPM.

My junk knocks down 13-14MPG spinning 3500RPM on drag week for 4 years now. Its quieter and feels more "happy" then it does at lower RPM. If I put an overdrive in I would just have to drive faster lol(not that it would be a bad thing).

Too late for that.. I would have to cut out a bunch of
tubes to relocate the trans mount... I have all the gears
its just the upshift and downshift.. if I want to down
shift I can pull the shifter... the upshift I think is
the valve body but way too high of rpms

You need to assess your situation from outside of the box you're stuck in. First, yes. Try the valve body. But if you need to pull the trans again, change what needs to be changed to get the trans out on its own. You have the skill, the equipment and the time to do it.
You can't tell me that after all you've been through, that it would not be worth some extra time to make things easier on yourself.
Sorry for the tough love, but damn...

That ISNT gonna happen.. I would have to cut the WHOLE interior
out and start over.. plus I would have to cut part of the
dash(lower part) then cut out my seat mounts and the drive
shaft loop and the X-bracing on the chassis... I built this
thinking I wouldnt be pulling the trans... IF I could move
the whole interior I wouldnt have room for myself.. hell I
had to move the engine/trans over 1" to the right to give me
just a bit of room..... so NOPE none of that is gonna happen..
if needed I'll pull the engine/trans one again.. but I
will find a trans dyno to test it before it goes back in..
I can see you have never built a SMALL car... I deal in
.010" for clearance on a lot of the stuff

I put a gauge on the governor port today.. it shows
zero pressure in gear at zero speed... as I increased
the speed it shows the pressure going up.. I brought
it back to zero speed.. showed zero pressure.. as I
brought it up in speed again it showed zero pressure this
time... whats going on here.. also what port can I
read the regulator pressure.... thanks for any help