5.0 Idle issues

[gadget73]

I don't remember each shift honestly, I don't pay much attention to it. OD in the Towncar is about 45 though and the Mark VII is closer to 40. The Towncar is probably a wee bit late if I'm being honest. When I got both of them the Towncar was OD about 32, and the Mark VII was around 35. Neither were thrilled about it, the engine was obviously lugging and downshifts were slow.

[monotonorobo]

That sounds about where I was. I’ll test drive it and see how it does. If it’s too tight then I’ll as just a bit of slack to see how it acts.

[monotonorobo]

Pulled it to WOT and there’s about a 1inch of space. And last guy most definitely fucked with the throttle plate, pretty evident because obviously the screw is broken and how much it is open compared to the one I pulled…

Edit: had the throttle cable unhooked when I put the cable on and corrected my mistake

[monotonorobo]

Shifts pretty soft now, goes into 2nd around 15, 3rd around 35 and I don’t think I got into OD yet, I’ll see when I get on the highway to work today. Anything sound off so far?

[Arquemann]

If you can still feel the shifts and it's not complete mush, it ought to be fine if you don't push it hard. 1-2 shift is always a bit soft and earlier.
The AOD is governed at 4500rpm, basically if you adjust it to WOT 2-3 shift right around there, it's pretty good too.

Having the TV adjusted a bit too tight doesn't hurt the trans, it'll only shift harder.

[monotonorobo]

So I’ve heard. It’s just that you really don’t want it to be too loose and that’s all Im watching out for. I pushed it hard a bit to see what would happen and the shifts were still softer than before. I’ll also check my trans fluid after my drive to see if I smell anything burnt.

[monotonorobo]

OD is like 55-60

[gadget73]

thats reasonable.

The throttle blade on these should be just barely open enough to not stick in the bore. The one off your car is way too far open. Probably why the TPS was not reading properly.

[DerekTheGreat]

...Having the TV adjusted a bit too tight doesn't hurt the trans, it'll only shift harder.

Which will put too much stress on old parts. You shouldn't make it shift like it's got a shift kit in it unless the other necessary-to-upgrade parts have been upgraded, or you want it to blow up prematurely.

I adjusted the trans on my '88 exactly as that video demonstrated. With very minimal throttle input, I believe my '88 will shift into OD around 41 or 42mph. I tend to leave the shift lever in "D" unless I know I'll be doing over 45 or 50 for a stretch. For what it's worth, I've put over 40k miles and ten years on that trans with it adjusted that way. The gauge method gadget mentioned would be the most accurate way to do it.

Backstory: Once upon a time I had a 1991 Mark VII with an AOD that shifted into OD around 50 and did so harshly by comparison to the trans in my '88. I resisted the urge to make it shift right and left it as it was for experimental purposes. That trans lost OD about six months later. Coincidence? I don't think so.

[Arquemann]

I'm not saying way too tight, but generally speaking a bit too tight is way better than a bit too soft. If it's too soft it means the trans slips way more during high rpm shifts. And OD will engage/disengage often.

When I installed the Lokar TV cable on mine, I set it as instructed, with the gauge block and a pressure gauge. That resulted in very soft and sloppy shifts. I had to tighten it significantly to get good feeling shifts.
After the engine rebuild and mounting the carb end of the cable differently, I totally eyeballed the whole initial setting, which resulted in a bit harder shifts, but eyeballing it was still way closer to acceptable shifts than the instructed method.
Mine shifts into OD at about 35 if I lift off the pedal, but with throttle its anywhere from ~45 and beyond. I like my shifts smoooth, but I still want to notice them happening, so it's not all schloppy. My trans has 113k miles and highly likely the original fluid in it (subject to change soon).

[monotonorobo]

Like you mentioned earlier, the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts are pretty soft but you can still feel it a bit. OD is probably the hardest shift but still softer than the clunks I got before. You can feel all the downshifts the same. I put it at WOT but I might tighten it a bit just to ensure it isn’t loose. There’s probably about a little less than 1/2 an inch of space between the black clip and the end of the cable.

And isn’t there some sort of metal plate missing from the top of this TB? I reckon it would read the tps fine without it but just asking.

[sly]

There's no plate there, just the position sensor goes there.