904 kickdown problems

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mark_68_dart

mark_68_dart

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hey everybody,i have been having some issues with my 904 kickdown. If i punch it,and it downshifts to 1st,the tranny wont want to shift into 2nd unless i lift off the the throttle.so I will lift off slightly,shifts to 2nd ,but almost instantly goes to 3rd way before it should.

what should i do?

thanks
 
Have you set the kickdown adjustment by the book or just screwed around with it. It is possible to goof it up pretty bad. Remember anything over about 45 mph is 3rd gear. You could manually shift it or install a shift kit to get different behaviors like more 2nd gear.
 
Has anybody been into it? Adjusting the detent cable will let it shift sooner into 2nd but it'll also make it shift sooner into 3rd. By your description it sounds like something has happened in the 2-3 shift valve circuit such as a broken 2-3 shift spring or it just lost tension. Also could be somebody was in the valve body and screwed something up in the shift valves.
 
i just set the adjustment so that at full throttle that the kickdown is all the way down.

what is the proper way to set it?

and yes,the transmission has been rebuilt and has a shift kit
 
That's a good starting point for the adjustment. Since it's not shifting until you let off back off the adjustment a little at a time until it shifts into 2nd at the speed you like. That should correct the delayed shift into 2nd but it's probably going to compound the early shift into 3rd problem. That sounds like a problem in the 2 to 3 shift valve circuit. Possibly a weak or broken spring. To fix it you'll have to take the valve body apart and find out what happened and repair it. Or if it shifts good and firm into 2nd and 3rd you can leave it the way it is (after you get the kickdown adjusted where you like it) and just manually shift it into 3rd at the speed you want. Do you know what brand shift kit was installed? I ask because I've seen problems with some shift kits actually causing improper shift speeds like yours has. I once used a Mopar perf. kit (made for Mopar by Turbo-Action) that caused that to happen. I then took it out and put in a Trans-go kit and it worked great. Since then I only use Trans-go kits.
 
i put some slack in the kick down and it works great now.

even chirps going into 2nd : )
 
hey mark, would you mind sending me a pic of what your kickdown linkage, and throttle set up are to me. I have been having alot of problems with my 904 trans in my Duster that sound almost exactly like what yours were. And Im in the dark with anything that has to do with Transmissions. Im trying to learn but I can only learn by what others show me. And also this may sound dumb but like I said I dont know. The kickdown arm that attaches to the carb. In that big oval opening there where it attaches to the carb on the stud. Is the stud supposed to move freely back an forth in that oval, or should it me clamped stationary. Please help me! If I cant get this thing fixed I'm liable to miss Cruise Week in Ocean City Maryland. Or pay some guy way to much for something I could do if someone just helped me on a few things. if you could e mail me at [email protected], that would help so much.
 
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