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c4 kick down issues

8K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Driveway 
#1 ·
Greetings,
I have looked for others with a similar issue with installing the kick down cable for a C4 automatic trans. So far all my attempts have failed, meaning the kick down never kicks in. If anyone can provide me with insight I would be most grateful. It appears that my 65 coupe is in fact made up of components of many other years. For example the engine is a 302, and I can not locate any ID tag. It would be nice if I could find some info for it but right I am stuck on the kick down issue.

1) I have a new kick down kit and do I install the bracket onto the shaft coming out of the transmission pointing up or down. Should the bracket movement be clock wise or counter clock wise?
2) What does it mean if when the kick down cable is taut and no kick down happens? Is there something missing inside the transmission?
3) I have an 500 cfm Edelbrock carb and right now the kick down cable attaches to the accelerator linkage. Please see photo. Should there be some linkage from the carb directly to the trans?
 

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#3 ·
There were also different variations of transmission and linkage from year to year. I am pretty sure that the accelerator pedal arm you show would not have any direct connection from the carb to the C4; the third arm on the pedal linkage had a wire cable at the bottom that connected directly to the transmission arm. The small arm on the C4 will only rotate one direction. It is attached pointing up and rotated about 45 degrees to the rear. A forward pull on the cable will rotate the transmission arm to somewhere near straight up. The cable should pull the arm fully forward when the accelerator pedal is in the wide open throttle position.

You need to determine that your assembly of parts is complete and actually going to work together before you try adjusting it. Unfortunately, the illustrations in the shop manual were not always accurate. The accelerator pedal arm arrangement I described above was used for '66 Mustangs but the '66 shop manual does not show that it was ever done that way.

The parts manual says that 66-67-68 289 and 302s Mustangs used the same accelerator linkage arm for a C4; the '65s were different.
 
#4 ·
First, according to the Mustangs Unlimited book and site, you have the wrong part. A '65 with AT should have only two arms, not three. There was one note referring to early '65s had a different set up. But since you think you have a mixed bag of parts, you might be better off to see if what you have now will work. Going with that short cable is easier than trying to get a long rod to work.

So it seems that you need a linkage with a place to attach a cable end or long bent rod that would go from the carb to the trans. Maybe ask the local club if anyone has a '65 you can look at.

The book also has little info on the early cars. It makes it sound like these are the steps for adjusting:
- disconnect the linkage at carb
- get the correct travel and height for the pedal
- hook up kick down cable and move throttle linkage to engage trans kickdown
- rotate carb bellcrank to max travel
- adjust carb linkage to accommodate both at max travel.
 
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