S1 V6 Auto Kickdown Cable Adjustment And Dipstick

[Roger]

Hello folks,

I have a 1991 V6 12v with the ZF 4HP18 auto box. I want to check the kickdown cable adjustment and it is not clear to me where the cable is and how to adjust it. Can anyone help?

Also, can anyone show me a photograph of the fluid level dipstick for the auto box? Particularly the bottom end where you check the fluid level. Someone told me the bottom was broken off mine and I want to make sure I have the fluid level correct.

Thanks,
Roger

[dean]

Hi Roger

If your dipstick is the flexi type (coiled wire) it will have a black plastic insert in the end, which will have dropped out and been eaten by the gearbox, check the filter housing you should find ALL of it in there, if not, your in for an interesting game of hide and seek. Whether it has broken or not replace it, immediatly, with the newer type which looks just like an engine oil dipstick (one strip of steel).

The kickdown cable is actuated from the throttle valve, the throttle cable actuates from one side and the kickdown cable the other, the picture shows where the kickdown cable should be although the v6 in the picture is manual so the cable isnt actually there.

Oh and sorry David for pinching your photo

Hope this helps, and good luck

D

This post has been edited by dean on September 23, 2008 04:24 pm

[robertmnorton]

Hi Roger, hope this uploads!

[robertmnorton]

plus the pages from the xm manual (don't be put off by the overhaul manual reference to saab, it also covers other vehicles)

[Roger]

Thanks both of you. It sounds as though I do need a new dipstick. Dean, the plastic bits won't be floating around in the box because I suspect it was rebuilt after they fell off.

I found the kickdown cable and its adjustment was correct. Can anyone tell me what the ferrule on the cable does? I think the transmission is changing up too quickly and at low speeds around town it sometimes flips from gear to gear. A local auto transmission specialist suggested that I try adjusting the cable, to fool the box into thinking that I am using higher engine revs than I really am, to make it shift at higher speeds. I have messed with the adjustment a bit but it does not seem to make much difference. I wonder if tightening the throttle cable would make a difference.

Thoughts?

Roger

[DoubleChevron]

Hi Roger,

sounds to me like the valve block is sticking at random times.... The XM's gearbox here works perfectly, yet is a clunky POS compared to the Xantia that apparantly has the same box. The Xantias changes are nice and smooth, the XM's are smooth but you can hear and feel the changes a lot more... You can hear the clutches slowing the revs as the gears change... almost like a manual.

seeya,
Shane L.

[dean]

Hi Roger

I would agree with Shane on this one, sounds like a valve block problem, is the oil nice and clean??? changing the setting of the kickdown cable will have very little affect really and certainly not enough to compensate for the problems you are experiencing.
The ferrel, as far as i can tell, is there purely to give a reference point from which to measure the cable position and determin whether adjustment is necassery.
Try giving the box a few oil changes driving a couple of miles between each change, the slightest bit of crud in there can cause massive problems, short and long term.

Good luck
D

[robertmnorton]

Hi Roger, my ZF overhauled box exhibited these symptoms after 14000 miles.Manually sequentially selecting gears was fine only in auto would it flip up and down between gears.Back to Mackies for a governor seal change.The box does not need to come out for this. All sorted and 5000 miles on gear change is improving but not the silky smooth of my other xm auto. Both 2.1td's

[robertmnorton]

Hi Roger, my ZF overhauled box exhibited these symptoms after 14000 miles.Manually sequentially selecting gears was fine only in auto would it flip up and down between gears.Back to Mackies for a governor seal change.The box does not need to come out for this. All sorted and 5000 miles on gear change is improving but not the silky smooth of my other xm auto. Both 2.1td's