lentech vb only first gear?

superdadsc

Registered User
I had a mechanic come over today and he installed my VB. The problem is that the car only has first gear. We tried adjusting the cable but nothing seems to work To adjust the cable we had to disconnect it from the TB. Is that correct

Is it possible the VB is no good?

Any suggestions. Need the car to get to work tomorrow.
 
One more thing maybe it is the kicker.we did not hook up the 12v shift module as it was more time consuming and I did not car Abbott locking out od.I was concerned about 1 to 2ND shift. Is that the problem?
 
That overdrive solenoid only locks out od. It has nothing to do with 1st and 2nd gear. Is the shift linkage hooked up properly inside the transmission? That would certainly do it. If I remember correctly that was a bit tricky when I installed my lentech vb in my 90. If that is ok I would reinstall your old vb and see if the problem still exists. If the problem corrects itself witha the old vb I would say you have an issue with the new lentech vb. process of elimination.
 
First check the linkage and plunger position on the VB. Next check fluid level. If both of those are fine you may have a bad accumulator seal ( I had a bad one on my tranny install).

Also there may be some debris in the VB, it is possible to check but you must be very careful.

During my tranny replacement had to pull the VB many times till the issue was found.
 
Quess I will be bringing it to a tranny shop tomorrow. We exhausted our options that we could do here today at my house.

Maybe the fluid tonight will unclog something. Not my day Pats lost too!:(
 
Typically a weak accumulator spring or leaky seal causes poor shifts not lack of shifting. I am going to go with a stuck valve in the valve body. It could have fetched up from sitting etc. either the fluid will work it free overnight or the valve body may need to come apart to identify the issue.
 
Mine was a completely ripped seal not caught during installation. I couldn't get OD in my case but throwing it out there a a possibility, how ever unlikely.

Also was the slack taken out of the TV cable? On this style of VB that is all that is need adjusting to OEM specs will not be possible.

I bet there is debris in the VB, easy fix if your very careful.
 
Thanks again. Hopefully therer is debris in there that will become dislodged. I will get it to someonr in the AM.
 
Well I quess today is my lucky day.I got in the car this morning and still had only first gear.was putting down the road in first with the hazards on and stopped for coffee. Came out and started driving and she shifted into the rest of the gears MUCH better than stock.she drives a thousand times better. Just might have to stick a TC in her and drive her till I bl ow herup and then do a 5spd conversion.
 
Well I quess today is my lucky day.I got in the car this morning and still had only first gear.was putting down the road in first with the hazards on and stopped for coffee. Came out and started driving and she shifted into the rest of the gears MUCH better than stock.she drives a thousand times better. Just might have to stick a TC in her and drive her till I bl ow herup and then do a 5spd conversion.

Sounds like you had a valve hanging from sitting and it worked its way loose. Congratulations! I loved my Lentech VB i had in my 90'.
 
BTW - those hard shift sometimes wreak havoc on the 3/4 input shaft of the AOD. You may want to invest in a hardened shaft. I turned one of them into an easy-out. LOL
 
I like it so much I might stick to the auto! My 928 I can shift and that is a fun car to drive.well balanced and with 225rwhp and 3100lbs she is a lot of fun.
This car will be a lot faster though in the future.
 
Well still need to sort something out. At 50 plus mph if I floor it it won't down shift it stays in OD and is a dog. If I try to manually down shift it goes into nuetral, gear wont engage.
From a stand still it shifts fine manually or on its own.

Maybe the tv cable? It is set about 1/2 way. It is not pulled all the way tight which is what some have written. Maybe I should have a gauge put on it. I might have to have it pulled down and inspected.

It sure is fun to drive now and it does bang pretty good when you shift manually. A TC should be a nice addition and I have read that it will shave some tenth's of in the quarter.

I am going to the track in a couple weeks with Mike Puckett. I want to show the cars progress as I slowly build the car to where I want it. Nothing crazy. 300 to 320rwhp with a MPX and high 12's low 13s is what I am shooting for.

Hopefully it will run around 15.:eek:
 
Well still need to sort something out. At 50 plus mph if I floor it it won't down shift it stays in OD and is a dog. If I try to manually down shift it goes into nuetral, gear wont engage.
From a stand still it shifts fine manually or on its own.

Maybe the tv cable? It is set about 1/2 way. It is not pulled all the way tight which is what some have written. Maybe I should have a gauge put on it. I might have to have it pulled down and inspected.

It sure is fun to drive now and it does bang pretty good when you shift manually. A TC should be a nice addition and I have read that it will shave some tenth's of in the quarter.

I am going to the track in a couple weeks with Mike Puckett. I want to show the cars progress as I slowly build the car to where I want it. Nothing crazy. 300 to 320rwhp with a MPX and high 12's low 13s is what I am shooting for.

Hopefully it will run around 15.:eek:

I'm using a Lentech VB in my 91 SC and have the TV cable adjusted as tight as it will go without stopping the throttle plate from opening fully. This is what Lentech advised, and I have been driving the car that way for the past 10 years.

You will also want to install the upgraded TV cable bushing and clip on the throttle linkage to prevent the cable from popping off and turning your trans into junk. You can get them from the Ford dealer or Dirtydog Performance.

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David
 
David, thanks for pointing this out to me over on TCCOA. Money well spent. I taked to Lentech. Very nice on the phone. They felt a valve is stuck inside beside adjustment. They want me to drive the car at speeds where it will shift, 1 to 2nd then back to 1st, repeating this process and doing the same on the 2 to 3 shift and back down again.

We will see what happens.

Thanks again.
 
Well still need to sort something out. At 50 plus mph if I floor it it won't down shift it stays in OD and is a dog. If I try to manually down shift it goes into nuetral, gear wont engage.
From a stand still it shifts fine manually or on its own.

You will want to avoid flooring these cars while in OD. That OD band in the AOD is not very healthy at just 1.5" wide. These cars produce so much torque down low that they will destroy an OD band in no time if trying to accelerate hard in OD. A heavy 4,000 pound car + a ton of torque = an unhappy OD band. I would say that if you hook up the electronic OD lock out on the VB that would solve this problem for sure. Additionally it won't be a bad idea to add some Lucas transmission fluid conditioner to your tranny. You just got a sticky valve to start working and Lucas may help get the valves working mroe smoothly and may help iron out some more of your challenges.
 
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Thanks Roger.I do not usually hammer it in od I was just trying to get it to kick down which she won't. I have the cable taught but issue still persists. I will try some of that Lucas conditioner and see what happens. Thanks for all your help.
 
You will want to avoid flooring these cars while in OD. That OD band in the AOD is not very healthy at just 1.5" wide. These cars produce so much torque down low that they will destroy an OD band in no time if trying to accelerate hard in OD. A heavy 4,000 pound car + a ton of torque = an unhappy OD band. I would say that if you hook up the electronic OD lock out on the VB that would solve this problem for sure. Additionally it won't be a bad idea to add some Lucas transmission fluid conditioner to your tranny. You just got a sticky valve to start working and Lucas may help get the valves working mroe smoothly and may help iron out some more of your challenges.

Its the shifting into OD that is hard on the OD band not pushing it while in OD.
 
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