Aod problem. Need help.

When i pulled my blower off to do my snout seal the plastic Grommet that attaches the TV cable to the throttle body broke. I attached it again after i was done putting it back together with a steal clip. Well i was having issues with the car not running right lately. I dumped injector cleaner and it has been running GREAT. I went to take it out for spin today and it seemed to be shifting funny. Kinda seemed to not have power and not downshift. I only drove maybe a mile total. I get it home and check the linkage. The clip popped off when i moved it and the TV cable seemed to be kinda loose. Anyway. I ordered a new grommet from Ford and it will be here tommorrow. Then Thursday i will be bringing the car to an transmission shop to have the pan flushed and filter changed. Do you guys think i will have to have the TV Cable adjusted at all ?? I don't know if i have the funds to do it though. It could be a pain to get at to adjust it the guy said. Also do you guys think that could be the reason the car felt like it was lacking power. If i barely was on the gas it shifted ok but it was REALLY soft feeling. Then if i tried punching it, it seemed to kinda lag and not want to shift. It's sitting tight until i get it to the shop though. I may put it on the dove tail trailer we have and tow it in. If i don't tow it do you guys think it could make it 5 miles without having to worry about wrecking the tranny???Idea's and input are appreciated. I just hope the damage isn't already done.Thanks ~Cole~

Since you have the means to trailer your car I recomend you do so. The way you described your tranny acting could burn up the clutch's in very short order, if you havent already. Dont let the tranny shop gouge you on setting the TV pressure with a gauge. That job is very simple and easy to do on the Tbird. The TV port they need to connect the gauge to is right above the tranny pan rail on the pass side of the car. Since they will be pulling the pan to replace the filter all they have to do is reach 2" above the pan rail and remove the 1/8" plug so they can connect the gauge.

Thank you SO much Mike. You've been a huge help. I will trailer it in tommorrow. They may let me put it on an account and pay it off totally later. They are a local shop. I will tell the guy that does the tranny work how and where the gauge needs to be hooked up. He wasn't totally sure because he has only worked on a few TBirds. Thanks again though.

Also Mike i got a question for ya. After the hot coolant flows back into the radiator i get some smoke coming from around the fan. The fan works fine but i wonder if i have a crack in the radiator. Or Could it be that some coolant got on the radiator when i filled it the other day? ANOTHER??? HOw do you adjust the TV cable and how hard is it to do that? He thinks it could take a while.

SCFan84 said:

...I went to take it out for spin today and it seemed to be shifting funny. Kinda seemed to not have power and not downshift. I only drove maybe a mile total. I get it home and check the linkage. The clip popped off when i moved it and the TV cable seemed to be kinda loose.

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If all you did was drive it for a mile or 2, reinstall it and don't give it a drop's worth of sweat. If you pounded on it for a week and drove it a couple hundred miles... then again, don't give it a drop's worth of sweat.. In the 1st case, there is likely nothing damaged.. in the 2nd case, if there is damage done, you can't do anything about it now anyway.. enjoy life until it starts to have problems.
The symptoms you described are exactly what happens when the TV cable is loose... mostly no downshift control which is not good. If you successfully reattached the cable and when you drive around the block the shifts seem normal again and in particular it downshifts, you can drive it to the shop to have it finely adjusted with a pressure guage.

SCFan84 said:

It could be a pain to get at to adjust it the guy said.... I may put it on the dove tail trailer we have and tow it in. If i don't tow it do you guys think it could make it 5 miles without having to worry about wrecking the tranny???Idea's and input are appreciated.

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Its not hard to adjust, but since you aren't that familiar with it, its probably worth the piece of mind to let the shop do it. I wouldn't recommend driving it 5 miles w/o the cable connected, but if its connected and in the same position as it was in, then its OK to drive.

Here's a basic how-to. Do a forum search on TV Adjust if you need some diagrams. A related thread on TV adjust

Thanks A TON TBirdSCFAN for the info. I got the Grommet today and i will install it and see how she shifts. Thanks alot both of you guys that helped. I just worry that i don't want to burn up the tranny. I can't afford to get that rebuilt.

Ok you guys are AOD GODS. I just hooked up the grommet and let her get up to temp to drive. Took her out and drove normal. She shift good. THen i had to punch it to see if it still did the old "NOT downshifting". SHe downshifted great and FLEW. The things has balls again. i went about 1/4 mile up the road and turned around. I'm still gonna have him check the pressure Thursday but i think i'll drive it in for the flush and filter change. She ran AWESOME. Thanks again guys. You've been a great help.