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kick down shift cable adjustment help

11K views 25 replies 9 participants last post by  Trollhättan Bil 
#1 ·
My wifes 92 900s automatic is shifting at a very high rpm. I have drained and refilled the transmission twice (type f fluid) with some noticeable improvement (mostly in fluid color). When accellerating the car will shift at a lower rpm if I take my foot off the accellerator briefly and allow the shift to take place. With a steady accelleration the shifts are at about 3K and kind of jerky. What kind of cable adjustment can I make to improve this? Make it longer or shorter? This setup looks like an old volvo that one of my children drove. Is there an internal adjustment that is possible? Is there a pan to drop and filter that should be changed. This transmission has 70K on it - original.
 
#3 ·
It sounds like you're not having any trouble with shifting between gears, only with the harshness/delayed response of the shift, causing each gear to hit kinda hard (if I understand you?) and, as jetman suggests, it could be that the downshift (DS) cable is out of adjustment.

If this is the case, then you're in need of adjusting the DS cable, which has one end located on the throttle body and the other inside of the transmission housing, just under the pan and to the side of the strainer pick up tube (which you may need to remove to open up the area for easier access), fitted into a small cam.

As jetman suggests, start with the throttle body and check to see if the stop crimp is 2mm from the cable housings' end. If it's more than 2mm, it could be that the cable is stretched or that the stop crimp has moved form usage over the years.

This sometimes occurs from too heavy of a foot/stomping down on the pedal when attempting to circumnavigate traffic or merge with oncoming highway traffic. There is suppose to be a stop located behind the accelerator pedal to limit it's travel, but sometimes they have deteriorated or have been removed by a PO.

Start there and let us know what you find.
 
#4 ·
I have just done this.

Looking at the throttle body, loosen the left hand lock nut of the kick down cable end by ONE turn only.

You may have to grip the cable sheath end bit to stop it turning.

Then tighten the right hand nut by the same amount and tighten.

This had made the box change up 3rd earlier, but still not quite right yet ....

Do this with care

Cheers
 
#6 ·
The only way to adjust the Cable properly is to use a pressure gauge to measure the rise in line pressure as the Throttle is opened. The SAAB shop manual describes the procedure in detail.
If you have enough experience, you can get very close just by feel. If you do it very wrong, you can kill the Transmission in short-order.
Most Transmission specialists (after you inform them that it's a BW37) could drive it and give you a good idea if adjustment is the problem or, more likely, a sticky Valve in the Valve Body.The charge for a test drive should be quite modest.
 
#7 ·
I have been watching this thread as i recently purchased a auto vert; sounds like this job is best left fit to the tranny shop no? as well as band adjustments..

watching, reading, and learning; I say take it to the shop and bite the bullet and pass the liability buck on this one, no?
 
#8 ·
I had an auto several years back and had quite a problem finding anyone around that would even look at it. Of course I am in a c900 black hole and most places wouldn't even look at it saying they didn't wouldn't know what to do with it. I found it odd, as the same basic principles must apply for the most part in an auto box. I personally have never even really understood how they function or had interest.
Others here have had quite a bit of success dealing with auto trans adjustments themselves. I guess it all depends on your skill set and what other options are available around you.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I had an auto several years back and had quite a problem finding anyone around that would even look at it. Of course I am in a c900 black hole and most places wouldn't even look at it saying they didn't wouldn't know what to do with it. I found it odd, as the same basic principles must apply for the most part in an auto box. I personally have never even really understood how they function or had interest.
Others here have had quite a bit of success dealing with auto trans adjustments themselves. I guess it all depends on your skill set and what other options are available around you.

well said; and I would be a bit worried but I have an indy Saab shop here that bought out the actual dealer, and one of the mechanics in the shop worked on Sesna's for decades and has been an old Saab guys for an equal amount of time. Thise guys love these cars (hate the auto boxes though) but they said they have the competence and the tools to work on the auto boxes; they charge 90 an hour so its not soooo bad. I will have a look around the threads to see what I can get accomplished before I spend a dime...

Life is funny; I just called the indy shop and the owner said "Mike we are doing one right now on a 93 auto convertible". Band adjustments, and kickdown shift cable adjustment cost $500.00. he says its a big deal job, but maybe thats the sales pitch. At least i know if I am too meek for the perfomance i got knowledge waiting at $500...
 
#10 ·
Try the suggested cable adjustment today - finally warmer in GA

Thanks for the suggestions on the high rpm shift problem. I will get out today a and try to adjust the cable and post the results later today. Right now my daughter has my 9-3 and I am trying to figure a problem with her passat. There is no comparison in the power and performance between the 1.8 vw and the 2.0 saab - saab easily outperforms the vw.
 
#11 ·
It's not a hard job to do. Just hook up a pressure gauge to the line pressure tap put it in drive, and adjust the cable to the proper pressure discribed in your Bentley manual. Pull the cable a few times just to make sure it goes up and back to the pressure you set and done. The only things you need are a cheap oil pressure gauge that goes to 100psi, a few 1/8" NPT fittings, and a few wrenches. Auto transmissions are fairly simple things to work on and keep working properly. I don't understand why people are soo scared of them.
 
#12 ·
kick down adj. - results

Adjusted the shift cable to 2 mm and the shifting was worse, higher rpm and more jolt when shifting. Went back and loosened the cable to a point where the ferrel stop was touching the housing which improve the shifting. Is in normal for the cable to have a catch when pulling on it by hand? It is a pretty heavy resistance when pulling by hand before the cable releases from the bottom of the housing? I sprayed a small amount of lube in the housing to try to free up the sticky catching of the cable. This did not help the cable move more freely. Guess that I'll just live with harsh shift and ease up on the throttle to get a lower rpm shift point.
 
#16 ·
Adjusted the shift cable to 2 mm and the shifting was worse, higher rpm and more jolt when shifting. Went back and loosened the cable to a point where the ferrel stop was touching the housing which improve the shifting. Is in normal for the cable to have a catch when pulling on it by hand? It is a pretty heavy resistance when pulling by hand before the cable releases from the bottom of the housing? I sprayed a small amount of lube in the housing to try to free up the sticky catching of the cable. This did not help the cable move more freely. Guess that I'll just live with harsh shift and ease up on the throttle to get a lower rpm shift point.
The downshift cable runs from the throttle linkage, through the guide housing, and down into the transmission where it is connected to a little cam. Perhaps the snag/'catch' you're feeling is either the lobe of the cam as it rotates along it's axis, or just the cam's stop at the end of its rotation?

Though from what you report, it sounds like the cable might have somehow fallen out of its track guide and is snagging on something until more pressure is applied to pull it loose (possibly explaining the 'catch'), maybe from a cable that has stretched over time or from over exertion, or from where the downshift cables' cam set screw has worked itself loose'?' Just a guess really.

Look, in all honesty, I'm no shop mechanic, no ASE certified ever and whatever, have no actual shop type equipment (just a box or two of mis-matched wrenches and what have you), and have received no form of automotive mechanical training at all whatsoever.

If anything, I'm just a knuckle scrapping, wrench slinging (occasionally beer swilling), weekend wrencher with an affinity for Saabs that can only impart to you the wisdom (if it can be called that) I've accrued from reading off the shelf repair manuals (like the Haynes, item# 84010) and the experience gained from spending laboriously long hours on my back under, or hunched over at some oblique angle not specifically designed for the human body, this or that model Saab.

Be that all as it may (or may not?) be, I can tell you that you can access the kick down shift cable by draining the trans fluid and dropping the pan, taking care to collect the excess fluid that will be sitting in the pan and have a new gasket on hand when you're ready to reinstall the pan.

There, on the far left rear of the valve body (if you were facing the vehicle, upper right hand corner if you're on your back and looking up) of your Borg-Warner Type 37 automatic transmission just next to the pickup tube's base where it enters the valve body (you may want to temporarily remove this to give yourself a little room to work), you will find the little 'cam' I mentioned earlier with the kick down cable resting in it's catch and threaded along it's guide around the cam. Check to make sure that the cable is in the track around the cam and that the cams' set screw is properly tightened down and not loosened or back out where it would allow the cam to wobble.

Now, using a cinder block (yes, I'm referring to an actual structural block of concrete), or some other equally heavy object, place it on the pedal to hold it on the floor. While the pedal is in this position (the "kick-down" position), look at the cam gear to see if the highest point of the cam gear (its highest point is approx. 180 degrees opposite its cable stay) is in contact with the valve point.

If it is not, then you will need to adjust the cable at the throttle body linkage until it is. Mind you though, these will be marginally incremental adjustments (if you're lucky) and, should you encounter anything else, you'll need to replace the cable and adjust it as described.

Once you have everything where everything is meant to be, reattach the pickup tube (if you've removed it), clean both mating surfaces of the trans and it's primary cover/pan, install a new gasket and attach the pan, tightening it's mounting bolts to 6 - 9lbf ft. Follow this with cleaning both mating surfaces of the oil pan, installing a new gasket, and torquing it's bolts also down to 6 - 9lbf ft., and pour in a quart of oil (the trans actually holds 1.5 quarts, but I'm assuming the the .5 is lingering somewhere in the valve body) and remove the cinder block (or what have you) from the pedal,checking to make sure it returned to it's normal resting position.

Alright, now this is where we come to the required pressure gauge adjustment. There is a plug located on the front right hand side of the transmission that you'll need to connect a pressure gauge to. Once you have, block the wheels, firmly set the parking brake and start the engine, allowing it to run until it's idle has smoothed out and is idling at the ideal 875 +/- 50 rpm.

Now shift the car into 'D'rive (you did block the wheels and set the parking brake, riiiiight?) and loosen the kick down cable at the throttle body linkage. Next, with an eye on the pressure gauge, first adjust the cable to give the lowest reading on the pressure gauge and then adjust the cable to the increase the pressure by 1.4 lbf/in^2, or 0.1 bar (depending on how your gauge reads).

Put the car back into 'P'ark and check to see if the line pressure is now between 59.0 and 69.0 lbf/in^2, or 4.2 and 4.9 bar. If you've managed to achieve these results, you may now switch off the engine, disconnect the pressure gauge and refit the line pressure plug. Take the car for a spin to test the results and, if everything's okay, return keys to your wife.

If this process doesn't fix it, we can move onto adjusting the braking bands but, since you've mentioned something about a 'catching' cable, the indications point to a loosened cam set screw or perhaps a down shift cable that has jumped it's track so, if you're lucky, you'll not have to go any further through these steps than dropping the pan and having a look to see what's what and making the necessary adjustments accordingly.

Good luck.
 
#14 ·
In addition to the TV cable adjustment, it's also important to check that the fluid is the right type, and that the level is correct. Incorrect fluid level (if it's waaay too low or too high) will cause the pressure to be wrong and that will cause unusual shifting.

My 89 900i's 3-speed auto trans suffers from a fair bit of leaking out of the bottom pan gaskets and I top up the fluid at least every two weeks. It's being replaced with a 5-speed manual trans soon (have located a good donor car with a 2.1 engine that had a busted head gasket but everything else is good) so I am no longer too concerned about the leak.

Also, the ATF filter can become blocked leading to incorrect pressure, but it's normally something that only needs dealing with if/when the pans are removed to do band adjustment or change gaskets.

Craig.
 
#17 ·
Great detail on the post

Great post on the pan drop cable adjustment. This should be within my capability. As soon as the car gets back from the body shop/paint work and weather allows I'll try it. The shifting is not really that terrible that it needs an adjustment but it would improve the overall driving experience. Thanks for taking the time to post the detailed fix for the cable adjustment. Guess there isn't a filter in the transmission since you didn't mention one.
 
#18 ·
Great post on the pan drop cable adjustment. This should be within my capability. As soon as the car gets back from the body shop/paint work and weather allows I'll try it. The shifting is not really that terrible that it needs an adjustment but it would improve the overall driving experience. Thanks for taking the time to post the detailed fix for the cable adjustment. Guess there isn't a filter in the transmission since you didn't mention one.
Don't mention it, and I didn't mention it because my attentions were focused elsewhere. Anyway, the 900s' have a strainer, not a filter like the 9000s', for that model year.

BTW, why is the car in the body shop?
 
#19 ·
Body damage repair in addition to shifting woes

My wife let my 17 year old drive the car and one of his friends backed into the rear quarter panel doing some minor damage. My son wasn't even close to the car when it happened. It was repaired but the paint was not a good match. It is back for a second spraying with a better paint match hopefully.
 
#22 ·
I've recently begun having issues with my auto. When cold, the transmission seems to shift fine. Maybe a little harsh on the 2-3 shift. Once the trans fluid warms up, the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts become hard, and the trans hangs onto 1 and especially 2 a little too long on light throttle. Heavy throttle seems to smooth out the shifts from 1-2 and 2-3. Also, the downshift from 3-2 has given me no problems. However, the downshift from 2-1 has started becoming later during deceleration and, when warm, every so often it shifts hard and clunks.

When downshifting manually using the shifter from D-2, the shift is quick with no hesitation and no clunking. The same is true for 2-1.

Any ideas? A check of the trans fluid when cold and when hot shows the fluid filled correctly, in the middle of the range. Recently drained, cleaned filter, and refilled with Type F. 150,000 miles.

Thanks.
 
#23 ·
Add the NAPA 'transmission conditioner' or whatever they call it.; it's the stuff in the red bottle. Look for that specific brand.
Then cross your fingers. If the fluid looks and smells clean, there's little chance that a fluid/filter change or adjustment would help.

Was it me, I might add two bottles of the stuff.
 
#24 ·
Sounds like a low fluid/poor circulation issue...I'd check the systems' fluid level again (or have a trusted wrench do it for you) and check for leaks, you know, just to be on the safe side.
 
#25 · (Edited)
#26 ·
I, obviously, am not "Jim", but if the product specifically says that it is NOT for use with Type F fluid, then I wouldn't use it, period!
 
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