I've searched around and haven't found anything, but if I overlooked it I apologize.


Main problem is that if my kickdown cable is connected to the throttle pulley, the throttle pulley can't even make it halfway to the full throttle stop. If I disconnect the kickdown cable then it travels to the full throttle stop without a problem. The kickdown cable can be pulled out and when I let go it retracts ok. I've tried adjusting the kickdown both directions all the way and it still won't make it to the stop. Any suggestions or should I drop the trans pan and pull the cable and check it?


As for background, my car was shifting a little off, and it was due for a transmission flush, so I did the normal flush, then changed the filter. I put it all back together and filled it up with new fluid and checked all the levels. The lower shifting seemed much better, but overdrive stopped working. The relay checked out fine, but the car wouldn't shift to overdrive. I tried adjusting the kickdown cable then and got the shifting to adjust some, but I couldn't get it to engage overdrive. I checked the wiring going to the solenoid on the trans and found the shielding was gone, so I was hoping the issue was that it was just shorting out. Replaced the wiring, and went to test it, at which point the end of the throttle cable on the accelerator broke off.
I replaced the throttle cable, and went through adjusting everything. Got the throttle position sensor set and went to adjust the throttle linkage as per the instructions in the Bentley manual. That's when I discovered the throttle pulley couldn't travel to the full throttle stop. I pulled the air hose off and checked and the butterfly wasn't even close to opening up all the way.
I'm a bit at a loss what it could be. Is it possible that I pinched part of the kickdown cable when I had the pan off and didn't notice it? Or is the cable bad or something else? Thanks for any suggestions/thoughts.

 

I measured the kickdown cable from the crimped stop on it to the end when its extended out as far as it will go. According to the book its supposed to be about 2 inches. Mine is just over one inch, so unless anyone else has any other thoughts I'm going to drop the pan in the morning and see if the cable is hung up somewhere.

 

I have herd of the kick down cables needing to be lubed up. Your problem does sound like something more complex. If you had the kick down cable disconnected when you were changing the tranny filter (Im assuming it was the OD filter)? then it seems plausible that it could have gotten stuck somewhere along the way when you went to re-connect it.

Also all the write ups i have seen encourage folks to clean out the O/D units completely, take out the little solenoids and clean them also.

The best solution, take out the crappy AW, and swap in a m46 and do away with the kick down cable~ IMHO

Hope this helps

 

the AW70/71 is a sturdier transmission than the M46 manual. but it sounds like something is wrong with the kickdown mechanism in the transmission... there's a 'cam' like notch of the pulling force before you get to the end, where you hit more resistance then it pops through that.

 

Changing the trans out right now isn't really an option, whether its a good idea or bad. So moving on from there.


I dropped the pan and checked everything out. When I had it apart when I changed the fluids previously I didn't undo or in any way touch the kick down cable. In looking at it now, I don't see any issues with it or how what I did could have caused any issues. There's no kinks I can see, and it seems to be traveling fully without issue. the cam seems to be opening all the way too. I can't even see how it could rotate "open" or whatever it is any more than it is. It doesn't look like the cable has any excess at the end in the trans either.


That got me to wondering if maybe at some point one of the two P/O changed the kick down and put in the wrong cable, maybe the turbo cable instead of the non turbo. I checked and they are different part numbers. I've found measurements for the turbo cable but I can't find the measurements for the non turbo. Does anyone know if the non turbo cable is longer than the turbo? I also took a closer look at the cable, and the end in the engine compartment is not crimped on, and can be pulled out of the metal cap. Where the sleeve meets the cap looks rather hacked, so I'm wondering if someone tried cutting back the sleeve to make the cable longer.


I also noticed that the idle stop on the throttle pulley has marks where its contacted. I can't see any such marks on the wide open throttle stop. Now granted I'm not out there flooring it everyday, but I would think that it should have at least a few marks. So I'm really wondering if this has been an issue since before I got the car and I just didn't notice it. Any thoughts?

 

I didn't think they were different, at least not on the 740/940.... 240 turbos were dropped a long time ago. the turbo 7/9 uses an AW71 transmission, whihc is nearly indentical to the AW70 on non-turbos, just heavier duty innards to better handle the heavier torque of the turbocharged engine. the intake manifold and throttle assemblies are identical.

wait, maybe those turbo 240's were a older engine, like a B21FT, vs a B230F... thats before I started playing with volvos (I was firmly in the VW camp back then).

 

Well IPD lists two different part numbers- one for my B23F non turbo and another one for the 21 Turbo, and so did several other sites I checked. FCP Euro also does and flat out states that the two aren't interchangeable. But I can't get ahold a human to try and get details until Monday.


Can the shift pattern be set so that it will shift even if it can't reach wide open throttle? I'm wondering if this is the incorrect cable if it just got adjusted to kinda work even thought the throttle wasn't opening up all the way.

 

I wonder what transmission the B21FT's used... your B23F, is that a AW70, or is it a BW55, or what? oh, I guess the '55 was a 3-spd, so it MUST be a AW7x, 3+OD.

anyways, a shorter vs longer cable would still have the same pull distance.

on the AW7x transmissions, the cable modulates the shift points and the pressure applied to the transmission clutches so at low throttle settings, the tranny shifts early and softly, while at higher throttle settings it shifts at higher RPMs and harder. at full extension (pedal to the floor), it hits that 'cam' notch I talked about, and that forces a downshift unless you're really over-revving.

 

Yes, I have an aw70. What I can't figure out is how the cable is somehow not traveling enough for the throttle to open all the way. It seems like that cam is traveling as far as it can, and yet its still 3/4 of an inch too short to allow the throttle to open all the way. So what am I missing here? I know its the kick down cable or cam in the trans that's hanging it up. If I disconnect the kick down cable from the throttle pulley it opens up all the way, no problem. Is it possible that the OD solenoid is binding up the cam? I guess I'll try pulling the solenoid since its all apart right now and see.

 

Just had a thought- is it possible that the stop that is crimped on the cable is not in the right place?

 

I was just looking at it and it looks like even when the cable stop is all the way back the cam isn't touching the stop in the transmission. I'm beginning to think that the stop is too far back and is not letting the cable retract all the way back. That's why it doesn't have the full range of travel.

 

the crimp should be about 1/8th inch from the end of the ferrule when the cable is completely retracted AND has some slack

afaik, the OD solenoid couldn't possibly affect this.

 

Sorry for the delay in responding, its been busy. So, what I figured out was that whatever cable was in there was the wrong cable. I removed the stop on the cable and it was finally able to retract all the way and the cam was able to go all the way to the stop. So then I took the cable out of the mount, hooked it up to the throttle pulley and checked, and it was able to open up the throttle all the way. The end of the sheath was way past (forward) of the mounting bracket. I measured the distance between the mounting bracket and the end of the sheath, and found the missing .8 inch. So in other words, the sheath was too long.


I trimmed back the sheath and now it seems to be working right. I'm planning on ordering the correct one and replacing it, but this at least works now. My over all shifting is much better, although it still isn't shifting into overdrive. I haven't adjusted the kickdown cable yet, so that may fix it still. I'll post the results. Thanks for the help so far!