I did some searches and talked to a few locals. I don't have the kickdown and bracket I need for my v8 swap. What I'm wondering is, will it affect anything other than my need to drop to 2nd to pass? Some of the GM guys say that it will affect line pressure and burn up the trans, but they're not sure about Fords, go figure.
Well I might learn sumthin new here, but Bruce I have always been told that the kickdown is important to the life of our auto trans. But, I know nuttin bout auto trans and have just heard that over the years. Dan
I have heard... ....the same thing about tranny life. On the other side, I have known plenty of people to toss them and not have problems... at least to my knowledge. I do know that it is out of adjustment, or not set correctly, it will make the tranny shift abnormally-but that is a no brainer. Seth
Also, Lokar sells an adjustable kickdown for situations like this. My Spoiler does not have one and it does not seem to shift funny. It is a C6, have heard they are different, Maybe Mavericknutt will chime in here with his knowledge? But,the Spoiler is now stowed into a corner of my garage for bad behaviour.and may never see the light of day in my lifetime. Dan
Never put one in my 77. I have a couple of 302 kick down rods, but am leaving for the Roundup in the morning and wont have time to ship it out. If your coming to the Roundup I can bring one or I believe you live near Dan, dont you? PM me if interested.
I don't have one in my '72. Just turned over 8,700 miles since I started driving it daily back in January. Transmission still shifts and works just as good as the day I put it in.
Won't hurt it,only one it'll hurt is an AOD and then it's called a TV cable.If you need 2nd,just shift it manual.
Don't need one! Have been running for over 16(since the V8 swap) years without it and never had any trouble whatsoever. Asked a tranny shop years ago and they told me that it not required on C4's..but if you want it to kick down on the highway just put it into gear yourself.
I can't see how y'all can say it won't hurt it. I put a rebuilt C4 in mine about 10 years ago without the linkage and it lasted about 1000 miles. Since I'm no Auto trans expert I took it to a profesional, he said it was the downshift linkage missing. 6 trannies later I said @#$% it and went to a stick. ...Fast Driver, Slow Learner. Who knows could of been all the bangin it down into first and sliding corners.
The downshift linkage puts pressure on the downshift valve. Under most normal or under extreme driving conditions the effect is minimal if you don't have one. However the downshift valve is connected hydraulically to three valves. It sends a pressure signal to the throttle boost valve which adds presure to main regulated pressure under heavy throttle before the downshift occurs.It also sends pressure to the 2-3 shift, backout and cutback valves. These pressure signals are modified by the governor secondary valve circuitry. If the downshift valve is not in use and you run a stock main pressure then under intermediate and heavy throttle pressure you can cheat yourself of some of the pressure that would delay shifting to a point where the engine would be producing enough speed to make it easier on the transmission. The kick-down linkage is not a throttle pressure regulator like the Chrysler transmissions have (or the newer AOD and AODE) but it does influence the shift timing along with the vacuum modulator. It also supplies pressure to keep the main regulator valve from dumping pressure as quickly as it will without it in use. Overall you probably will not notice anything under normal travel to and from the grocery store unless you have a steep hill on the way to the store. If you drive your car like you are on a NASCAR track you probably won't notice it either but if your driving is in downtown Seattle where you start on a hill and accellerate through the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts while climbing that hill in traffic you will not only notice a lack of performance and early shifts but it will cause premature wear and heat that will cause plate warpage of (typically) the forward clutches and the high/reverse clutches. These are the places where the effects will show first.
