aod tv cable adjustment info

[Leo]

wtf?!

i just went to my mechanic, he tells me that tv cables should be loose... he then says its the lever in the tranny and an expensive operation to fix... i explain it to him how to adjust the cable. he says that he has never seen any 5.0's with a taught or adjusted tv cable..
hmm... i guess im going to have to do this operation myself. is it a hard op to myself?!

[Lincolnmania]

85's have a tv rod

[Leo]

could the rod or anything be adjusted?
my transmission is starting to shift rough when it changes into second gear. tranny fluid was changed a month ago, a bottle of lucas was also added. this rough shift started about a week ago.
-i also heard a loud click sound as well. right when the tranny changed to second gear

[Leo]

is my tv rod that long backward s metal rod connecting to the cfi unit to the tranny?

also what the hell is that black colored penis shaped plastic piece, the one with the sprirals and square metal holder? i adjusted that, i made it tighter b/c it was too loose.

i ask b/c i think i accidently adjusted my tv cable/rod.

[1987cp]

1) You have either a cable OR a rod. If it's a rod, it'll look similar to an old-style kickdown rod, and in all likelihood exactly like that "S metal rod" you describe. :smirk:

2) I'm remembering the one rod assembly I've worked on as having a screw that sets the "tension" against a lever that's basically an extension of the throttle lever. I say, do whatever you've got to do to that until the car shifts the way YOU want it.

3) It would be interesting to learn why your mechanic friend perfers seeing TV pressure so much on the low side.

[88grandmarq]

I have to say.... I have had mixed results with this method and don't like it.
at the very best is still guessing.

every transmission and TV cable seems to be different and responds differently to this adjustment.
the only accurate way to set the TV pressure is hooking up a pressure guage and adjusting the pressure that way.

If you absolutely insist on adjusting the TV pressure with out a guage... make very small adjustments at a time (1-2 teeth/notches) and make a mark on the adjuster BEFORE you start and after every adjustment.

It's also important to note that binding throttle linkage and/or sticking TV cable will cause all sorts of funky shifting, regardless of how much adjusting you do.
the TV cable on my Blue CV LX is binding internally and causes a shift delay going into O/D, more so when the outside temp is cold.

[Leo]

It Worked!

:banana: IT WORKED!! I finally adjusted the tv cable and replaced that shity plastic holder that kept the kickdown rod from flying all over the place! It wasn't that hard at all. I used was a heavy tool bag to hold the pedal to the floor and a flat head screw driver to pop the metal square holder off the plastic rod with teeth. It took some trial and error but it worked!

[Grand_Marquis_LSS]

Ok so i have a feild car the tv cable is dissconected at the tranny beacuse the little clip that holds it on the lever is broken so the cable wont stay on. i have been driving it out there a fair bit. when it dose shit i think it goes right from first to drive, but no slipping or anything like that yet. My question is, since this is just a feild car is it possable to just rig up the tv lever on the tranny so it would not be runing on 0 psi? and not burn my tranny up? its an rotted out 88 crown vic btw.

[Lincolnmania]

Ok so i have a feild car the tv cable is dissconected at the tranny beacuse the little clip that holds it on the lever is broken so the cable wont stay on. i have been driving it out there a fair bit. when it dose shit i think it goes right from first to drive, but no slipping or anything like that yet. My question is, since this is just a feild car is it possable to just rig up the tv lever on the tranny so it would not be runing on 0 psi? and not burn my tranny up? its an rotted out 88 crown vic btw.

sure you can........use some wire to put the lever to full pressure

[1987cp]

:banana: IT WORKED!! I finally adjusted the tv cable and replaced that shity plastic holder that kept the kickdown rod from flying all over the place! It wasn't that hard at all. I used was a heavy tool bag to hold the pedal to the floor and a flat head screw driver to pop the metal square holder off the plastic rod with teeth. It took some trial and error but it worked!

I like the idea of a tool bag ... I'll have to try that next time I mess with the TV cable.

Right now I'm feeling annoyed with my transmission. I'm guessing I just got used to how it responded with the cable hooked up where the Lokar people say to do it, and getting used to it not being as responsive is just feeling weird. Where I had it to start after installing the TCI adapter bracket (same as the Sonnax bracket), I got bearable part-throttle upshifts but at around 55 or 60 I found that if I dipped into the gas, it would downshift to Second for a split-second before selecting Third, but then would kind of slide back into Fourth before I wanted it to. This morning I was out for a bit and pulled it out a little farther after I got gas, and on the way home I got very harsh part-throttle shifts and it didn't want to upshift to Third below about 50! I think I'm going to check the fluid level and then try the WOT adjustment again ....

[Grand_Marquis_LSS]

sure you can........use some wire to put the lever to full pressure

ok i was thinking about doing that but was'nt shure what would happen

[Lord Iffy]

Finally I got the new bushing so I tried to adjust the TV cable. Before any adjustments the 4th gear shifted in cca 38mph under really light throttle.

First I have adjusted it according to the youtube video (and I believe the same way is described in the shop manual). By this way the TV cable was longer than it was at beginning - so the 4th gear shifted a little sooner (maybe 36mph also under really light throttle).

So then I tried some trial and error but this time the TV cable was shorter then before adjustment. Now the 4th gear shifts somewhere between 50-55mph under light throttle. And also other gears shifts notably later than before the adjustment. I have tried it only few times around the block, because I was not sure if it is OK and I did not want to broke the transmission. Is this setting correct or not?

Is the speed when 4th gear is shifted the only view point whether the length of the TV cable is adjusted correctly? Is it right that with shorter TV cable the pressure is higher? Could it be set to too much high pressure (what could happen)? I have not tried the 5/16" way yet (I was not sure how exactly to do it when I was in car, now I know so I can try it, but it is necessary when the transmission acts as described?). Thank you

[Lord Iffy]

Just one more question. You have written at which speed the 4th gear is shifted (36-55mph) but does it mean under light throttle or under no press on throttle pedal? I tried it once more (after trying the 5/16 way) and figured that under really light throttle it shifts to 4th at cca 45mph but if I release the throttle pedal completely in speeds higher than 37mph the 4th gear is also shifted and it kicks quite a lot.

I also tried the test in the link, whether it shifts 2nd in kickdown in 50mph and it did, however I would like if the 4th gear would be shifted later.

[Taterhead]

Thanks for the info everyone.

This is my first post...

I came up with a quickfix, and im quite impressed with the results.

I got irritated at the whole "pull out of bracket" and "push up tab" deal so...





The nub didnt want to come out of the bushing, the bushing came out of the bracket and couldnt seperate the two.. therefore tab would not go up. so popped it back in and pulled cable endcap away from cable, and put a ziptie on it. The bushing MAY have come off with some pliars but i was not gonna break the whole unit and end up having to replace it all. It works now, why cause more work? It took a screwdriver to get it out the first time...hopefully the bushing will stay in, i think it will.

OD went from 36(with gas) mph to 45 with feather throttle... 52-55 with light gas. I love it. I can use 2nd gear without it skipping to 3rd, and it feels like a shift kit.

[1990LTD]

I want to try this...no problems but I figure it can't hurt to just make sure it's right. I'm watching the vid but the guy doesn't say anything about having the pedal to the floor while adjusting it?

He starts in that video with the cable unattached to the TB..where should it be before I start this?

sorry for the stupid questions..