2004r acting funny....is it toast?

[bill]

The other day, I took the car for a ride to check out the TCI lock up that I had recently hooked up the vacuum and wiring on. Up until this point, the trans had acted fairly predictable, shifted a bit early, but was tame enough. Now, it wants to go into overdrive almost immediatly after hitting 3rd gear....and it wants to stay there. Also, when I manually shift down, sometimes nothing happens at all! And, towards the end of my ride, the car wouldnt down shift by itself as I came up to a stop sign....like it wanted to keep going...almost stalled the motor. My tv cable is hooked up, but the adjustment is sketchy, because the cable wont reach the carb, so I made an extension to go between the carb lever and the cable. It seems tight enough and looks to be functioning properly, but these cables have always been a sore spot for me, never seeming to be in the right spot, especially on my T-bird. Do ya think I might need a new cable? or could it just be an adjustment problem?....any replies are welcome. If the trans is toast, Ive got a th350 that I can install, but I was hoping for better milage with the 2004r. Thanks!

 

[G-Body_Vet]

I'm no trans expert but what you describe sounds like improper adjustment for the cable. As for the engine almost stalling at a stop, that sounds like the TCC switch isn't disengaging. I wouldn't drive it anymore until you get the cable adjusted correctly. That will surely lead to bigger problems.

I pulled this from Art Carr's site if it's of any help
http://www.cpttransmission.com/tech_tvcable.htm

 

[gp02a0083]

I'm no trans expert but what you describe sounds like improper adjustment for the cable. As for the engine almost stalling at a stop, that sounds like the TCC switch isn't disengaging. I wouldn't drive it anymore until you get the cable adjusted correctly. That will surely lead to bigger problems.

I pulled this from Art Carr's site if it's of any help
http://www.cpttransmission.com/tech_tvcable.htm

X2 on this being the TCC solenoid, my 2004r did the same thing the switch was stuck from having the car sit over the winter. A "temp" fix for this if you have to try getting home with the car is to disconnect the plug on the drivers side of the trans, this will temporally disable the TC lockup iirc

 

[bill]

I'm no trans expert but what you describe sounds like improper adjustment for the cable. As for the engine almost stalling at a stop, that sounds like the TCC switch isn't disengaging. I wouldn't drive it anymore until you get the cable adjusted correctly. That will surely lead to bigger problems.

I pulled this from Art Carr's site if it's of any help
http://www.cpttransmission.com/tech_tvcable.htm

Thanks for that link....I have seen that and have used it. I think my problem is that I had to fab up a bracket for the cable and it was set too far back from the carb, maybe an inch or so. So then I had to fab up an extension to make up for the distance. The problem with that is, when I push all the way down on the accelerator pedal, its not fully extending the cable out enough to adjust it, which according to Carr, is not ideal. So I guess the next step is to do some accurate measurements and see just how long (or short) the extension should be.

 

[bill]

I'm no trans expert but what you describe sounds like improper adjustment for the cable. As for the engine almost stalling at a stop, that sounds like the TCC switch isn't disengaging. I wouldn't drive it anymore until you get the cable adjusted correctly. That will surely lead to bigger problems.

I pulled this from Art Carr's site if it's of any help
http://www.cpttransmission.com/tech_tvcable.htm

X2 on this being the TCC solenoid, my 2004r did the same thing the switch was stuck from having the car sit over the winter. A "temp" fix for this if you have to try getting home with the car is to disconnect the plug on the drivers side of the trans, this will temporally disable the TC lockup iirc

The switch is brand new and it works on vacuum from the engine to turn it on and off. Its set from TCI at 8-10 inches, but the engine runs at almost 15 inches at 2000 rpms. so I quess I need to adjust it up a bit more cause it wants to down shift/upshift with very little pedal pressure. Website says the cure for that is to adjust up the vacuum setting so that it will only switch at a high vacuum setting, usually at just part throttle. And I may also hook it up to the manifold instead of the carb, which may be half the problem as well.

 

[bill]

I wouldn't drive it anymore until you get the cable adjusted correctly. That will surely lead to bigger problems.....

LOL...so how will I know that its adjusted correctly without driving the car? ....

 

[G-Body_Vet]

I wouldn't drive it anymore until you get the cable adjusted correctly. That will surely lead to bigger problems.....

LOL...so how will I know that its adjusted correctly without driving the car? ....

You answered that yourself Bill!

"So I guess the next step is to do some accurate measurements and see just how long (or short) the extension should be".

The fact that you had to fab a bracket and there was never a factory TV cable on a 2bbl is where your gremlins come into play....which I'm sure you already know anyway. I wish I could give better advice, but I'm no trans guru.

 

[bill]

I wouldn't drive it anymore until you get the cable adjusted correctly. That will surely lead to bigger problems.....

LOL...so how will I know that its adjusted correctly without driving the car? ....

You answered that yourself Bill!

"So I guess the next step is to do some accurate measurements and see just how long (or short) the extension should be".

The fact that you had to fab a bracket and there was never a factory TV cable on a 2bbl is where your gremlins come into play....which I'm sure you already know anyway. I wish I could give better advice, but I'm no trans guru.

Im just messin with ya!..... I knew I was getting myself into a mess with this 2bbl and I should have abandoned that idea from the start, especially since I was planning for a OD trans...but Im a glutton for punishment...lol. Thanks for the help...I'll keep ya posted. oh...and dont forget to ...."Stay Thirsty My Friends"..... :lol:

 

[bill]

Re: 2004r acting funny....updated

Update:
The trans works pretty good now....but thats with the tci unhooked. If I hook up vacuum to the tcc, the lock up happens at about 45mph...and it surges between locked up and not locked up. Then, it starts to not shift down as I come to a stop. I cannot understand how this lockup controller would cause all of this to happen. Its only suppose to work in 4th gear, right? If I start from a stop, and manually shift it, it works fine. The other dilemma is the vacuum setting to activate the switch. If I turn it up a bit, the lockup doesnt work at all, and if I turn it down, it wants to surge in and out of lockup. I have a 2000 stall converter, is that the culprit? Also, because I am running highway gears, the lockup sends the rpms down to 1800 at 70mph....which I know is too low. I think the best plan of action is to swap rear gears to a 323 or 373...then see how the lock up acts at a higher rpm, higher vacuum....ideas?