1974 Transmission Kickdown Question
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 891
Likes: 165
From: Oswego IL
1974 Transmission Kickdown Question
I am new to the forum and hpoing someone can help me out. I have noticed that the tansmission does not want to shift down when fully depressing the accelerator. I can manually shift in into a lower gear however. I replaced the electonic switch inside the car by the gas pedal but still no luck. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,855
Likes: 0
From: Cocoa Beach FL
Re: 1974 Transmission Kickdown Question (Ron71)
Hmmm, I had a similar problem when I swapped carburetors. Turned out the little "button" on the switch by the gas pedal was not pushed down, I got under there and pushed it down and she worked like a champ! :thumbs:
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,004
Likes: 2
From: Severna Park Md
Re: 1974 Transmission Kickdown Question (Ron71)
There is also a solonoid inside the trans. The pan must be removed to gain access. When I was still using the TH400 I had to replace my solonoid to get the kickdown working correctly. Sometimes the modulator will initiate a kick down by itself but it doesnt do the whole job. For instance, when moving along in 3rd gear at 30mph and punch it, the modulator may cause a kickdown to second. But if the electric kickdown is working properly, punching it at 30mph should cause a kickdown from 3rd to 1st. Big difference. My guess is the solonoid needs replacing, or its possible the pedal switch needs adjusting if its not getting depressed all the way when the pedal is floored.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 891
Likes: 165
From: Oswego IL
Re: 1974 Transmission Kickdown Question (Jvette73)
Thank you both for your your help. I will double check the button on the switch, and thanks for the information on the solenoid inside the trans. I was going to change the fluid and filter anyway, so hopefyully this will get the shfiting back to normal.
Glad I found the forum. This site is great!
Glad I found the forum. This site is great!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,191
Likes: 1
Re: 1974 Transmission Kickdown Question (Ron71)
Ron, one other thing to check is the electrical connection to the transmission near the rear of the pan on the driver's side. On my car, this electrical connection has room for two tabs (perpendicular to each other) but there's only one tab on the transmission to connect it to. I must have had it connected wrong for the first eight years that I owned it, because when I reconnected it after having the transmission out of the car - WOW!
As for the switch by the gas pedal, I believe that it's the same switch that opens the door for the cowl induction. An easy test would be to disconnect the cowl induction at the hood (the tan/black wire that runs up the hood). Then turn the ignition on (don't start the car) and floor the gas pedal. You should hear a click from the solenoid in the transmission. That tells you that it's hooked up correctly, and at least that the solenoid is working.
Good luck. When the transmission responds to the go pedal, my car is really fun to drive.
As for the switch by the gas pedal, I believe that it's the same switch that opens the door for the cowl induction. An easy test would be to disconnect the cowl induction at the hood (the tan/black wire that runs up the hood). Then turn the ignition on (don't start the car) and floor the gas pedal. You should hear a click from the solenoid in the transmission. That tells you that it's hooked up correctly, and at least that the solenoid is working.
Good luck. When the transmission responds to the go pedal, my car is really fun to drive.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,004
Likes: 2
From: Severna Park Md
Re: 1974 Transmission Kickdown Question (Ron71)
also to test the pedal switch and the wiring down to the trans you can unplug and connect a test light to the wire that plugs into the trans end. The turn the key to one position with enging not running and floor the pedal. If the test light lights then yur good that far. Sometines it can be as simple as a floor mat not allowing the pedal to go down all the way. My pedal switch was outa wack and wouldnt send signal. The pedal just wouldnt push the switch far enough to make contact. However when I would push it with my finger it would connect. So what I did was to wrap several layers of electrical tape around the trigger on the pedal switch thus making it fatter and taking up some of the slack. This worked and the pedal depression would then activate the juice to the solonoid.
