I have some tranny concerns on my xploder before my trip next weekend - any input

[withoutfear33]

okay i have a 92 ford explorer on 33s.. it has v6 with a auto tranny..

the transmission in my truck act really weird sometimes. It will get where when you first get in the truck every now and then it will wind out really long before it shifts and then it will shift back and fourth through the gears ect ect.. it didnt bother me to much until i put it in reverse yesterday and it started shuttering really bad and had barely no pick up in reverse... but i let the truck set for a little and came back and the reverse was fine... Now here is the weird thing the transmission went out in it last november when my buddy owned the truck and he took it out and had it rebuilt and bought a new flywheel..... The tranny prolly doesnt have more then 5000 or so miles since the rebuild BUT like i said my buddy re installed it himself so i wonder if he did anything wrong... i checked the lines and they dont appear to be bent or crimped anywhere and i checked the fluid and its still clear as can be with no weird smells.... i mean if you are driving it normal it does fine but when you get into it to pass or somthing it just acts weird and shifts back and fourth through the gears and winds out then shifts hard... im just worried about it because im about to take a long trip in it next weekend.

 

[withoutfear33]

could it be the kickdown cable out of adjustment? that wouldnt explain the missing or shuttering in reverse... i did do new plugs and wires just incase thats what the missing was but i dont think it was coming from that because it did fine in drive

 

[arco777]

Here's some diagnostic routines.

 

[arco777]

It will get where when you first get in the truck every now and then it will wind out really long before it shifts and then it will shift back and fourth through the gears

A delayed 1-2 shift when cold (and sometimes trans falls back into 1st) is generally due to a sticking governor. It won't hurt things but is more of an annoyance. If the problem goes away once warm, probably a sticking governor.

 

[arco777]

could it be the kickdown cable out of adjustment?

Could be - but the kickdown cable setup is pretty simple. Check it by getting a good look at your accelerator pedal where the kickdown and throttle cables attach to it. The kickdown cable should have a lot of slack in it - the accelerator should only tug the cable when it's close to floored. You can tug the kickdown cable yourself and it should pull about 1/2" or so and spring back.

The kickdown cable is adjustable if it is out of spec. There's an adjuster on the firewall for the purpose. It has a D-shaped button. Attached is how to adjust it. Real easy.

 

[withoutfear33]

okay the shifting was due to the kick down cable for somereason under the dash on the pedal the cable had zip ties around it to get rid of the slack in the line???? but after driving around for say 30 miuntes or more it happens everytime i put it in reverse now it shutters but yet drives foward just fine.

 

[arco777]

Zip ties to adjust the throttle cable are normal - I don't know of a better way to fix that. But zip ties on the kickdown cable would be wrong - there's an adjustment for that.