My car has been shifting a little late, and I think it's from my messing with the brass insert on the end of the TV cable. If I cut away slack in the cable, will it lower the shift point? The brass insert has a screw in it to hold its adjustment.

The car shifted horribly on the way home... almost like the torque converter was in full unlock... I really hope my tranny isn't messed up... :(

-Steve

 

Steve,
Is this the TV Made EZ kit you're talking about??? The TV cable adjustment is crucial for normal trans operation. If it's out of adjustment in either direction then your shifts will be really hard & at the wrong time, or they can be really sloppy. To set up the cable in a 200-4r you need a pressure guage hooked up to the tranny (I think the 700 is set up the same way????). The TV cable has to be backed off until the pressure reading at idle doesn't change if the cable is slackened any more. Then you need to adjust the cable so that the pressure is about 2psi above the minimum reading (at idle) & then check that the pressure rises immediately the throttle is depressed slightly. That's the BTO recommended way of doing it.
The "normal" way of slackening the TV adjustment right off & then flooring the throttle pedal may/may not work depending if the cable geometry is set correctly, etc, etc.
:cheers:

 

The geometry was set by the shop way back when, so the plunger should be exhibiting the appropriate behavior at WOT. Or at least it was at some point.

Is there a way I can ballpark it without using a pressure guage? Just to get it to the shop...

I'm not using the TV made EZ setup. I have a universal bracket that attaches to the q-jet's linkage and gives the proper geometry once it's set right. I plan to go to the "EZ" setup if I ever have to change my transmission.

 

You can set the cable by feel. It just takes a few attempts and short drives to get it right. (Wear gloves to adjust!) If the cable is too slack, it won't downshift properly. If it's too tight, shifts happen too late and tend to be headbangers!

It's kinda like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You'll know when it's "just right." :yesnod:

 

Thanks Page and Paul.

Page- How do I adjust the cable? What do I want to "feel?" I have the universal style cable and couldn't figure out how to release the slider. When the 700R4 was installed, I had a shop do it and they left the whole experience in the dark for me.

-Steve

 

Steve,
Where the cable outer fits into the TV bracket is there a large "lump" (about the thickness of a thumb) which has a thin part coming out towards the front, which the inner cable comes out of & goes to the throttle bracket. How's that for a bad description?!!!! On the thick part there should be a "D" shaped metal part, or maybe a rectangular plastic piece) which can be pressed down (in the case of the "D") or pulled up, to release the adjusting mechanism. When it's released you should be able to slide the thin part in or out to adjust the cable free play. For normal adjustment you release the lock, slide the adjuster to the limit of it's movement, lock the adjuster & then, with the throttle pedal, go to WOT. There's a ratchet mechanism in the TV adjuster which will let the adjuster slide out the required amount of "clicks" when you do this. That will get it set up correctly at WOT, but what BTO say is that with any kits fitted for the TV cable (ie non GM setup), it probably won't be correct at idle. If you go to the BTO site there should be a good description of TV cable adjustment (better than mine!) & why it's crucial to get it correct.

Doing it as Page suggested by loosening the adjuster lock & adjusting it one "click" at a time should get you in the correct ballpark so that you can run it to somebody to set up with a pressure guage, which is a very quick & easy job (hold the adjuster in place when you release the lock as it may otherwise move & you'll have no idea where it was set).

Here's a pic of mine:

The small bracket with "BTO" stamped in it is holding the TV cable. On the front (left) is the thin adjuster part (hidden behind the spring) & on the rear of the bracket is the part with the locking tab built into it (partially hidden by the chrome valve cover thingy).

Adjusting it the normal way of going to WOT on the throttle with the adjuster backed right off may not work as the amount of TV cable travel over the throttle travel range may be slightly more or less than ideal. This means that setting it correctly at WOT doesn't guarantee that it's set correctly at idle. BTO say that the most important thing is to ensure that it's set up so that the fluid pressure increases from the minimum value immediately that the throttle is moved off idle. If, due to incorrect TV cable adjustment, the fluid pressure is too high at idle you'll get fierce shifts at the wrong times. If the cable is too slack at idle the pressure won't start to rise immediately the throttle starts to open, but will start to rise some time later as the throttle continues to open. This will cause low fluid pressure, leading to slippage & a lot of heat generation, both of which are real bad for auto box's.
:cheers:

[Modified by UKPaul, 11:47 AM 12/2/2003]


[Modified by UKPaul, 11:48 AM 12/2/2003]