Just exactly how much trouble can a faulty/mis-adjusted detent cable cause? I'm having serious shift problems, feels like mashed potato shifting . I was just wondering what extent of problems that a bad cable can cause. Thanks!

it can cause what you're feeling, it also cause it to overheat will cause to fail later on if not sooner depending on the mileage on it.

i have same problem in 1-2 shift, cable was not connected for at least 6 months if not longer, whats the way to adjust cable properly ?

thanks

i need tha answer to the adjustment as well......

OK! after farting around with the thing...... i got it adjusted...
with the throttle at idle position the t v cable should have about an 1/8th inch of play.... no more...... now twist the throttle lever.... you should hear the linkage engage in the tranny around 1/2 to 2/3rds throttle...... then take er for a spin n check it out........ i did n this worked good for me........:rockon:

1988 camaro 305/tbi 700r4
enki rims
open element :
...........................deathgrinder.

so if hypothetically the cable has slack in it, would putting the throttle at WOT and then releasing fix it ? is it good to have perfectly tight cable at idle position of the throttle ? whats good and whats bad ? can incorrect cable tension cause mushy 1-2 shift ? or 2-3 shift ?

thanks

To adjust the TV Cable skip the book method and do this: Press the D button on the adjuster and loosen the cable setting. Now, have someone floor the gas pedal while you check to see if the throttle plate is open all the way. Usually they are off a little and will wiggle. Do whatever you have to do to get it open solid. Now, with the pedal still floored, press the D button and pull the cable casing (the black tube) back as hard as you can and release the button. You now have the engine, tranny and gas pedal all in sync at WOT. Mark the cable so if for some reason it gets moved you can know where to put it again. The problem with the 'self adjust method' is that it bends things and puts them permanently out of whack. It is also the full TV setting, which is theoretically what the GM method does.

This is how transfixleo has us do it to get the correct adjustment.

thats the way i did it durring my attemps..... it was incorrect..... if you have to much tension on the cable it will engage prematurely...... thus you wind up too much b4 shifting..... i wont say my way will work for everyone but it worked for me.... n if ne one wants to try it it might work for them as well... or mabe not.. its worth a try........... i did it just as you... had my girlfriend hold the pedal to floor... i released the button jammed that baby towards the firewall n released the button..it was wot... and all engaged together..... but givin a test drive it was keeping it in kick down cause it was engaging even at low throttle level movement..... therefore i did it the way igot it to work proprerly........shifts up smooth.. n kicks down when you stomp it........thanks for the input tho....... both methods are good ones.......just different for different problems of the same thing.... woa.... did that make sense..lol
try it dan z28's way too one method will surely bring results.....


late...

In my case, overheat, leads to fire, leads to burning up the wiring harness leads to ending up with a oldsmobile for several years. Now I will go from my 90 RS to an 85 IROC

Does anyone know what the cable going from the shifter up to the steering column does? There's actually two cables attached to the shifter. Obviously one goes down to the trans but I had to swap in a new shifter and I noticed that the end of this cable was snapped off and it leads right up to the steering column.

If the auto is in gear, you can't put the key to the off position until the shifter is in park..

I'm sure there is a technical term for it

it so when u put ur key in the ingition and turn the key it it unlocks the shifter and when u take ur key out it lock it locks the shifter in park

Awesome, thanks Guys. Makes sense now.

Just an FYI, I did it the "by the book" way with the first cable that I set on my IROC years ago and it worked perfect. I just now set an 89 blazer that has the 466,780 mile OEM TV cable on it and couldn't get it to work how I wanted it to. I did it the way dan_z28 explanied and it is working as it should. Keep that in mind when setting these cables and components that have some wear in them, what works for brand new parts might not work the same for junkyard builds.