Sluggish transmission, performance?

[70bigblockdodge]

No 4bbl on 383 so punch is never really going to be there. I understand what you are saying, but you may never get the kickdown and go from a 60s torqueflite without adding the part throttle kickdown valve body. I'm still learning toward the timing.

 

[notsosan]

The torque converter drains into the transmission when the vehicle is sitting. The pump doesn't fill the torque converter when the transmission is in park so it takes a few seconds to fill it when you put the vehicle in neutral or in gear. The 47RE transmission (based on the 727 TorqueFlyte) in my 2001 Ram Cummins did the same thing from new. In other words, it is normal.

 

[JIM ROPER]

Hello again friends,

My 67 Newport is doing great, the newly re-upholstered seat is awesome, and my ElMarko re-dyed carpet looks great. But there are some lingering problems.....

TRANSMISSION: The tranny is very sluggish when I first start the car up. I let the engine warm up, then put it into reverse, or drive, and the response is very sluggish. It's as if the brakes are sticking, which they are not. Once the car is on the highway, everything is just fine, it shifts good and runs at 80mph with no problems. It's like me, slow to get going. Any suggestions?

ENGINE: It starts nice and runs well, but it ain't got no punch. It will cruise at 80, but there just isn't any power at the pedal. Accelerator pump's bad maybe? Linkage is not adjusted right? It will throttle up just fine, but under load it's a dog, and I gotta think it isn't the engine's fault, there must be something out of adjustment. Hoping you guys will know what's wrong.

Otherwise I am loving me some Chrysler. I wish I had come to the party years ago (though I did have several Darts I liked very much). With the Newport and the 63 Riv, I am in Detroit 60s Heaven.

Tune it up and service the transmission. Problems solved.

 

[HWYCRZR]

Kick down linkage is an easy adjustment and only takes a few minutes in the engine compartment. Get the manual out.
I take offense at those saying a 383 with 2bbl will always feel sluggish. If the kick down is working properly and the engine tuned, it will comfortably push you back into the seats when you romp on it. If you are cruising at 60 and you floor it, it should drop to 2nd and you will be at 80 before you know it. I will concede that with good gripping tires you probably won’t break them loose.

 

[HWYCRZR]

Sometimes if someone has mucked around with the carburetor and linkage, it could be hooked up wrong. Also causing kick down issues.
Section 21 under throttle linkage adjustments.

 

[Scoopy G]

Crazy solution to the kickdown problem......I got the carb back from the rebuilder today, so after dinner my wife puts on the British Baking Show, and I gotta smell some gas, so out to the "compound" I went.

It turns out that that the accelerator cable was somehow twisted, and was sitting right under the kickdown linkage. As I was re-fitting the carb, something just didn't seem right, and then I realized the accelerator cable was interfering with the kickdown linkage (and probably vice-versa, thus affecting acceleration). The accelerator cable sheathing was actually worn from the kickdown linkage rubbing on it. HWYCRZR's photos in his last post verified the correct arrangement. I was able to move the accelerator cable to a better position, which was out of the kickdown's path, so now I think all is well. A road test tomorrow will see if the fix worked, but all seems to operate well, and the engine runs really great.

The choke was mal-adjusted as well, especially for Florida. Way too rich. The butterfly would snap shut tighter than Chris Christie's belt after a buffet dinner! I loosened the choke up a bit, and the car "cold" started perfectly. (There's no such thing as a cold start here in Tampa). One thing I've learned in the last 40 years of working on these old cars is this: keep studying the problem, keep looking at it, keep trying different solutions, and most importantly...ask guys who are smarter than me how to fix something!

Cheers from Tampa and thanks as always for everyone's help.

 

[jcslocum]

The butterfly would snap shut tighter than Chris Christie's belt after a buffet dinner!

What exit did you live off of? An ex NJ guy makes an obscure joke about our ex Gov...

 

[Scoopy G]

I'm an Ohio guy, just like to make fun of Christie I guess.