Just took the maiden voyage in my 68 satellitte and Im puzzled. the trans shifts from 1st to 2nd no problem but doesnt want to shift into third. Tranny is a was rebuilt by a local guy with a good reputation. On a side note I havent installed the kickdown linkage yet. Could the lack of kickdown cause my problem?

Good Lord. DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT THE KICKDOWN LINKAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you've only driven a little you may be ok. You WILL destroy the tranny if you continue. Does this guy with a"GOOD REPUTATION" know you're driving it without? Cuz if so his rep is KRAPPPPPP

only driven down the street and back......maybe a quarter mile or so...Tranny guy told me it wouldnt hurt it for a quick trip.....Guess I should have asked the experts first.......Back to the garage for me.

Yes, install the throttle pressure linkage (aka. kickdown). This input to the transmission does much more than just tell the trans when to drop into a lower gear. Its nickname has made it seem simpler than it really is.

With the throttle wide open, you want about 1/8" of extra play in the throttle pressure linkage.

Said another way, if you hold the carb at WOT, the kickdown is adjusted properly when you can push the kickdown back another 1/8 of an inch before it completely stops.

Hope this helps.

thanks for the replies......guess I know what Im doing tomorrow night.

There are a couple of ways to do what I just suggested (set the kickdown). You may get a few more suggestions. This is what has worked for me.

Since the trans has been out, I don't know if you've kept track of parts or not but you need something (a spring) to hold the kickdown forward (toward the radiator) until the throttle pin pushes it back. It is a really light spring.

Also you can "drive" a car without the kickdown but "drive" more or less means move it around some. Some people have gone rather long distances without a kickdown setup properly. Unless you were out doing burnouts, I don't think I'd worry too much about that 1/4 mile or so around your hose.

IF you drive it EZ ... you can drive it IF you tie the TOP lever to-the-rear ... 30%(or so).

no burnouts just down the steet and back........thinking about ordering a lokar kickdown kit. anybody used one?

Boucillons, (spelling?) is a much better setup. Lokar is difficult.

I thought about using an aftermarket deal for my setup. I'm really not all that comfortable with what I had to do, which is extend my kickdown to the very last two thread and rebend it by hand to get the correct angle. I'm running a Performer RPM intake (a very tall 2-plane) with a 1" carb spacer.

It is working for now but I'll likely take a piece of all thread, cut the kickdown part that is at the carb, and make my own linkage with the right geometry.

I've also heard the Lokar is a PITA but do not have personal experience.

What these folks do:
http://www.bouchillonperformance.com/
looks like one heck of a product but is out of my redneck/grass roots/phd student price range (yeah, I know those things don't normally go together, but...).

you can rob most of that bosh set up from a 93 5.2 magnum Dak

its all the same thing but the bosh kit comes with a intake bracket and throttle lever adaptor

thats all thats need after getting the dak set up from a jy

IIRC they will sell just the bracket and lever

I read that you can use a Dak cable from a dealer as a replacement


that got me to thinking and was looking at the whole set up fro a dak

it looks all the same to me,just need the bracket and throttle adaptor for the holley/eddy carbs

its set up to give the correct lever ratio for the older 727/904 trannys which the new od units are based on

Driving short distances at light throttle with the TP linkage inop isn't that big of a deal.

If the trans won't shift from 2nd to 3rd with the TP linkage removed, the linkage isn't the problem; with the TP linkage removed the trans should shift 1-2-3 almost immediately.

So....any ideas what the problem might be then......I need to get this thing working and really dont want to pull the trans if I dont have to.....thanks in advance

Well, John is pretty much THE expert, so what he says goes. About the only thing I can think is maybe it is shifting 1-2-3 so fast you might be missing one??

I would swear though that I've read where the kickdown can be adjusted in such a way that it won't upshift to 3rd.

I have a newer model one piece kickdown off a late 70's new yorker with a 440 that I installed a couple days ago..... With that installed the trans will shift to drive, but, I have to be going about 50 mph or so to do it. Also as soon as I take my foot off the gas and start slowing down it downshifts back into second.

Late upshifts and uncommanded downshifts mean the linkage is too long, shorten it up and it should shift at the proper road speeds.

Chilort mentioned something that I hadn't thought of, the original problem might have been soft shifts masking one of the shifts, it was actually shifting to 3rd but one of the shifts wasn't felt.

trans definately wasnt shifting into 3rd without the kickdown linkage installed, but, I didnt realize that there was supposed to be a spring on the kickdown lever on the trans. Been out of town all weekend so I'll get back to adjusting on it tomorrow evening after I install that spring.

I shortened my kickdown up as short as possible and thought I had this fixed. Until today took the car out to get my historic plates before work and trans worked ok. The shift from 2nd to third seemed a little lazy but it shifted so I was happy. Trip to the liscense office is maybe 5 miles or so. Car sat for about 20 minutes while I did my paperwork and when I went to come home it wont shift out of 2nd gear again. Any ideas where to look? Would this seem lke something sticking in the valve body? I really need to get this straightened out its driving me nuts.....Thanks in advance

Did you install and ADJUST the linkage properly ? what car did you install this one piece linkage in ? that linkage will not work in certain body styles .