how can i adjust the shift points in my transmission?

SPOON69

Registered User
I have an 89 sc with a brand new art carr automatic tranny. the car seems to sit in gear for a while once in 3rd gear and won't shift into overdrive until approx 57 mph. is there anything I can do to change this? I have adjusted the tv cable and it has not changed a whole lot.

plus to the 1st to 2nd gear shift seems a little hard...after that the rest of the shifts are smooth. is there anything I can do about this or is it just the tranny breaking in?
 
Aside from the changes you get by micro-adjusting the tv cable, every other behavior is totally nonadjustable. It will loosen up a little over time just from wear but it is what it is, an art carr tranny.
 
I don't have an art carr, but I've used a couple of shift kits and now use a lentech valvebody.

I must admit that the 1-2 shift has always seemed just a hair more harsh with all of em. Well 4 down to 3 was harsh at part throttle with the bauman kit...

As for adjusting the TV linkage, I would be very careful with that, it is not a shift adjustment! I've built a few AODs myself, and everything I've read anywhere advises against adjusting the TV pressure.

You might have to send the VB back for recalibration if you think its too harsh, or just take some time to get used to it. I have never noticed a difference in feel after breakin in any of the trannies I've built.

You get used to it after awhile, but if you drive the family sedan for a week or so you'll notice it again for a few minutes... I remember using the medium settings on the baumann shift kit I put in and the shifts were alot more harsh than I expected. It worked just like that for a couple of years until I snapped the input shaft with it:eek:

I'll reiterate, I would not adjust the TV pressure without a guage. There is a special ford guage and there is also an alternate method (I've used) with a standard mechanical oil pressure guage; you can find these methods on the baumann engineering site becontrols.com I think it is.

If you adjusted for softer shifting, you have probably reduced the lubrication and heat transfer of the transmission; which is not good. The first tranny I built was out of an emmaculate low miles lincoln towncar where the TV linkage fell off the throttle, (which was a factory recall for many fords including some tbirds). Not 40K miles on it and it needed a reubild from a burnt OD band. So make sure you have the metal bushing and cotterpin, and not the rubber grommet as well.

Good luck!
 
If you aren't getting overdrive until 57mph and the shifts are harsh, I would bet your TV pressure is too high. High pressure will cause delayed shifts. You should shift into OD somewhere around 45mph at "normal throttle pressure". There are several methods for setting the pressure without a guage, but they will only get you close to the correct setting. I've seen all sorts of discussions on the subject, but any method other than using a guage is risky and should be a temporary fix. If you don't want to invest in the pressure guage and test plug to do it yourself, check with a local tranny shop to see how much they would charge to set it. Make sure they use a guage and not just use the "no-slack" method. Also, don't adjust the pressure to change how the shifts "feel". Depending on who built the tranny, the shift firmness will vary. I have a TCI Streetfighter in my '92 and it is a lot firmer than the original AOD. If you want to change the shift firmness, it is probably better to have someone swap out some of the little springs that control the little pistons in the valve body (my highly technical description of the innerworkings of the VB). Basically, any aftermarket "performance" tranny should shift more firm than the soft-sliding OEM, but harsh banging shifts are as bad for the tranny in the long run as loose slipping shifts. Get the pressure set properly and then see what you have...
Here's a great site for Ford tranny info:
http://www.network54.com/Forum
 
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