My tranny shifts up way to early, and its buggin me. It shift from 1st to 2nd real quick and then from 2nd to 3rd really quick and into OD pretty quick. When it shifts from 2nd to 3rd its only at like 25ish mph, and it'll shift into OD early as 35mph! I hate it because it feels like it just shifts up and then lugs the motor down to get it goin and it takes forever for it to get up to speed this way. I have started manually shifting it sometimes now and its better but I'd rather not have to do that all the time. I have adjusted my TV cable and it helped a bit but not much. Its just about as tight as it will go so I won't be able to tighten it much more making it shift later. And with my POT controller I have it set to the latest it will shift into OD and it still shifts in early around 35mph. Once I get up to speed at 65 or 70, it cruises down the road great, but it hates getting there. I adjusted my bands, turned up the line pressure and put fresh fluid and filter and some lucas stop slip in it back in March. Whats causing this to happen? and how can i adjust it? or is it new tranny time?(I'm still kinda savin up for one) Would it have anything to do with the flexplate cuz when i just shut it off it sounded different and made a small clank and stopped dead, I think I'll pull the cover again one of these and check it just to be safe? Any ideas?

 

I'm a noob to the here, but just had a similar problem dodge. Where the kick down cable slides over the ball on the transmission, the ball was worn and the cable was just setting there. After it was put back on, it started to shift normally again. We had tried adjusting the cable, but it made no difference. After the cable was put back on, it shifted great and the cable was able to be adjusted. Just my .02, but hope it might help you a bit.

 

mine does the same thing.
From what i've read in two different places is that when you put the 3200 spring in, it seems to throw off the governer in the trans and for some reason makes it shift sooner. Especially if your able to get a high rev in first it will basically skip second but run through it anyways.
I haven't been able to find much about tuning it. Although i think if the weights were changed(don't know which way) it should alter the shift points. Maybe something out of a gasser trans will let it shift later.
I am not a transmission expert in any way. This is my slightly edge-a-medicated guess.

 

When you install a "366" 3200 rpm gov spring it effectively gives you more RPM with LESS Pedal/Mechanical input. So the kickdown cable and TPS (in your case with OD) is way out of tune because the Engine now hits a much higher RPM at selected pedal inputs. (I cringe at saying "throttle" because these engines do not have Throttle Bodies or throttle/butterfly valves like a carb on a gasser)

This effectively makes your shift points much lower and hurts your Automatic transmission by putting way too much power through it with very little throw on the Kick Down Cable and line pressure. I found that on my '89 I was unable to adjust out the amount of increased RPM the 3200 Gov spring gave me. I had to push the adjustment forward so far, that it would bottom out before actually letting the injection pump hit full throttle.

Also, I find that with the fuel screw turned in a lot (esp with large injectors and stock non-i/c trucks) the gov spring makes the IP flare up in RPM with one constant pedal setting like a gasser instead of being a true "rpm" setting device like these motors come stock or like a tractor.

I prefer to be able to drive the truck without dealing with "rpm flare" I like to push the pedal to set a desired rpm. Makes the cruise control work per design as well... My preferred fuel screw setting was to turn it up to the point I could free rev the thing to max rpm with static/no load without having the RPM rise in an uncommanded fashion

 

Not to mention the little hole switch on the fuel lever, plus 366 spring and fuel screw adjusted... no wonder we have problems.

Although, one would think there should be some way of tuning the shift points other than the tv cable. (i know of the screw in the pan that adjusts the effectiveness of the TV) That would be very difficult to adjust without modifying the trans with some access holes and plugs...just drop the pan 5 or 6 times until you get it...just...right.

Another though, is a vacuum adjustment, like on the gass jobbers. Except how would you control it with a diesel?

 

have you figured out a way to make it shift later with the 3200 rpm spring without making the T.V. cable bottom out before the throttle?

I am in the same boat. I have my T.V. cable set to the point that it bottoms out the throttle when it reaches about 3/4.

 

sorry no! I ended up putting a Getrag 5 Speed in the truck.

 

Thats what i want to do is a manual, but to hold me over i made a long sloted adjustable rod and installed it on the trany where the tv cable goes, i can adjust where it shifts, (BUT) it also down shifts there to so when your stoping it's kinda like your pulling the shifter down to early. don't know if it hurts the trany or not, it shifts 1 to 2 at 19mph 2 to 3 30mph and overdrive is according to how much your pushin it, if you hold it in the carpet it won't go into O/D till you let up alittle.

Dar

 

Mine shifts 1-2 at around 10/12mph, 2-3 around 20mph and like yours Dar, will go to 55mph without shifting in to O/D unless I let off a bit. Which really sucks if I want to get up to highway speeds quickly! When I had it rebuilt the guy did some mods to the valvebody, but for some reason I don't think he quite got it right. I can't point to any one thing, just a feeling I get. There's no one down here that I know of that knows anything about A518's.

 

Mine will shift into O/D anywhere from 38-?????? acording to the peddle, with that said if your just giving it half or a little more it will hit O/D at 50-60, but WOT is a different story. mine shifted in the exact same places as yours befor i made my little slide rod, if you want get under there and zip tie the leaver back in 1 inch increments and see what happens. here are some crappy pics of what i did. you can't see in the pic but the other end of the rod is threded with a bracket and two nuts to adjust it.



Dar

 

using vacuum from the vacuum pump...

 

Okay this all makes a little more sense to me now. I have the 366 spring and have my full power screw turned up a lot. If i rev it up slowly from an idle in Park, I can gently push in the pedal very slowly and it slowly climbs in RPM til it gets just above 1000 rpm and then it jumps up to 1800 to 2000 RPM fast with me just barely easin on the throttle still. When i did my trans service a while back I did turn that one adjustment down so it would shift later, but I'm wishin I woulda turned it down a lot more and turned my line pressure up a lot more. Like Nick said, it sucks ya gotta pull the pan everytime to adjust that, I wish they had a window or at least a drain plug on those pans! I'll look into makin a bracket or somethin like 1stgenfarmboy has. This is just driving me nuts now cuz i hate loadin the motor down and I know its not good for the tranny and I'm afraid it will go sooner than i thought it would. I'm just manually shifting it most of the time right now.

 

Mine does it too. It's annoying. I have to lock OD out when driving in the 30-45 mph range in town.

 

is it variable? and load specific?
A gasoline motor had more vacuum when you stick more of a load on the motor and at full throttle positions.
The diesel vacuum pump should either be static or increase with rpm.
I do not know how they work so cannot be much help with solving the problem... just give different ideas lol

 

smokin i feel even more strongly about my previous idea, regardless of the little weakening of the case it self.

I plan on opening up the trans pan and punching center holes in the most accurate places i can to be able to adjust all the screws with fluid in the pan...heck even with the truck running in neutral so nothing spills out.

Also if i remember, there are 4 screws to adjust? two are allenkeys and 2 are flat heads? Then there is the rear band adjustment, which i think can be adjusted tighter than we have "been told" and done so. If we don't back it off 2.5 or 2 times i know for a fact it would grab more, and it also give more of an engine brake to the trans(did this the first time)
Biggest problem with that is that it will push through your brakes until the TV cable says your off the throttle, or until pressure drops and the band releases.

bounce back some more ideas