zoltan944

searches lead me to kick down cable on the linkage. My questions are, the cables all seem there and seem to be fine. There are alot of switches and what not down there as well. Which cable is the kick down? how to i adjust it? is there another thing to look at as well why it wouldn't downshift anymore?

zoltan944

no kickdown help? i would dive right into this myself, but it looks like i have to remove my whole plenum to get to the linkage just for an adjusment im not sure will work :'(

zoltan944

by the way if i start from a stop and press the petal to WOT, the car still up shifts at about 3k or so. i think its teh same cable that keepis it in gear longer as well, correct??

Garth S

First, check the throttle cable(s) to assure that the throttle body butterfly valve is wide open with the pedal closing the kickdown switch ..... then adjust the control cable to have no slack when at closed throttle.

jpitman2

3 or 4 speed?? Important differences. Sounds like the TV (Throttle valve) cable has gone. Check in engine bay for a cable running towards the rear down the torque tube area - should have a little slack in the inner part, but not lots. It attaches to a lever on RHS of 3 speed box, something different on LHS of 4 speed box. Adjustment is sensitive on 3 speed, dont know 4 speed.
jp 83 Euro S AT 50k

zoltan944

k, ill pull the intake and look at the linkage. ill clean out the thing while its off, so maybe this is a good thing...lol
btw. im not sure if its 3 or 4 speed. its an 82 US with 1/2/D/R/P. kinda feels like 4 gears, but since it wont go into 'sport' mode its hard to tell

John Struthers

3spd, don't think the 4spd arrived till the 4.7L motor arrived in 83'.
At the risk of stating the obvious...
Check to see if your mat and, or, carpet hasn't bunched up under the pedal.

zoltan944

Yes i jsut drove around and made sure i paid attention. it is a 3-speed. LOL i checked the mat, that is the first thing i did... I gotta pull this damn plenum and trace this wire this weekend
i did manual shift around tonight and its nice to see a little bit of the power band over 4k!

zoltan944

jacked the back up of the 928 before bed to trace that wire back. Where is connects to the tranny, it wont budge. I hit it with some PB Blaster, but im not sure if its supposed to be able to move in park? do i have to try in N? do i need to bust out the super pliers and get that thing loose?
thanks guys

jpitman2

The cable on 3 speed is attached to a lever (~6" long IIRC) on RHS of box, which should move EASILY when cable is pulled. Detach cable from lever and see if the lever can move or not, or can cable be pulled or not...There is a procedure in WSM for adjustment of this cable - warning too about how to undo/do up the lock nut! I found the front casing of the cable in engine bay on mine outside spider legs, going to LHS of firewall and down. The attachment to the throttle parts is reachable between the inlet tubes without dismantling much IIRC. There was a fitting on the front end that might allow you to put some pb blaster in from there and work its way back. Dont want to think about how to replace that whole cable...
jp 83 Euro S AT 50k

Garth S

Have someone move the throttle while you are underneath: then you can see the full range of movement and how it is coordinated with throttle position ... or not. ie, slackness, sticking, ....
Keep the pliers in your pocket until you test out the linkage and adjustment. BTW, you shouldn't have to take the intake off to see the linkage - on my '80 (5-sp), you can easily see and get a hand on the throttle body linkage.

Also, does your kickdown work? From what you have said, I suspect not. With the key on and the throttle pushed down hard, you should hear a 'click' from the solenoid in the trans - do this test with a helper when checking out the cable. Also, check that the gas pedal is actually closing the switch when pressed fully down.

aircooler

Hey Garth,

I got those pics for you yesterday, and should be able to e-mail them to you tonight.

In the interim, here is a dog joke for a dog lover…..

A guy is driving around Newfoundland and he sees a sign in front of a house: "Talking Dog For Sale".

He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the back yard.

The guy goes into the backyard and sees a Labrador retriever sitting there.

"You talk?" he asks.

"Yes, I do," the Lab replies.

"So, what's your story?"

The Lab looks up and says, "Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the Premier about my gift, and in no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running.

"But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security wandering near suspicious characters and listening in."

"I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals. I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired."

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.

"Ten dollars," the guy says.

"Ten dollars? This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?"

"Because he's a friggin’ liar. He never did half of that ****."

P928Drvr

1981 928 114k miles (original 3 speed Mercedez tranny)

I just put my '81 in the tranny shop because I was having the same problem. When in drive, I would stop at a light then proceed once the light changed. To get the car to down shift I would have to throttle the car to about 2k rpm. It would then kick in and down shift. I suspected that I was low on fluid (I've had a small leak for some time now). So I took it in and they discovered that I had a broken press ring in the oil pump gears and a broken (but half functional) kick down cable. I don't know if this info helps, but I am glad I got it into the shop.

Garth S

Never could stand a BS'n, liar of a dog either .. $10 is too much!

zoltan944

i will get a helper tonight, and check it out. Also it looks like there is a small leak and i ordered a service kit from 928INT, so i will be putting some fresh fluid in there too this weekend or so.
to P928Drvr- my car will down shift its self like normal. so at a stop light it will go back to 1st and what not. But if you floor it, it will not drop a gear, and will not stay in your currect gear past 3k