Kickdown cable replacement? (1 Viewer)

[forcedinductionz]

I tried doing a search on this and came up empty handed. On my 94 FZJ80, it appears my cable has stretched a good amount. The sinker won't go back into the boot at all. I've purchased a new cable from Toyota, but I'm having a hard time figuring out where the other end of the cables connects to the transmission. I've heard it rumored you must drop the pan in order to remove the cable? Anybody done this and have any tips to give me? Thanks in advance!

 

[CJF]

I tried doing a search on this and came up empty handed. On my 94 FZJ80, it appears my cable has stretched a good amount. The sinker won't go back into the boot at all. I've purchased a new cable from Toyota, but I'm having a hard time figuring out where the other end of the cables connects to the transmission. I've heard it rumored you must drop the pan in order to remove the cable? Anybody done this and have any tips to give me? Thanks in advance!

Pretty sure you have to not only drop the pan, but also remove the valve body. Supposedly not "hard", just time consuming and very very messy.

I wouldn't attempt this without a manual.

Curtis

 

[wildsmith]

Have done this job recently. You need the FSM so you know which bolts to undo on the valve body and which length bolts go back where.

In case you're put off changing it, 18 months ago I left a snapped cable (I know yours is just stretched but same basic principle) for several months because it seemed to be working normally (a little judder sometimes) and I didn't want to pull the valve body but it was killing the clutches. They eventually burnt out and the tranny had to be rebuilt just because I didn't change that cable!

The FSM pretty much covers it but there are some things I'd note:

I found a 3/8" drive 10mm socket with a nuckle on it let me get at the bolts at the rear of the oil pan where the cross member gets in the way. 1/2" drive socket was too bulky.

Every time you remove a part expect more fluid to come out, especially when you start undoing valve body bolts because you'll probably be right underneath it and will have an ATF bath if you're not careful. Don't do it outside on a windy day unless you like the taste of ATF, it just keeps dripping forever.

You can remove/re-install the valve body with 2 hands but 4 would probably make it a lot easier, especially re-install.

When you remove the valve body a spring may fall out one of the accumulators. Rodney says some have an insert that stops this, some don't. It's easy enough to put back in and obvious where it goes, just don't lose it.

The FSM says to undo the cross member and lower the gearbox so you can get at the cable clamp on top of the casing. When I tried this I still couldn't get to that bolt. Watch the selector linkage when you're doing this, it seemed to bind and prevent the gearbox coming down very far. If you can't get the transmission low enough to get at the clamp consider removing the centre console, selector lever/plate and accessing it through the hole in the transmission tunnel.

If you go at it steady and know from the outset it's not a 5 minute job you should be ok. It's not hard, just not as simple as the FSM makes it look (not for me anyway!).

One final warning - both in my case and a friends, the gasket on the valve body was brittle and important parts of it stayed stuck to the transmission casing. You'd have to split the valve body to replace that gasket which is not a simple undertaking. I tried doing no gasket repair first and then instant gasket but both gave poor gear changes. Ended up getting an Extreme valve body as the simplest way around it. You might be ok and have no gasket issue.

Sorry this answer is so wordy, I just removed and re-installed my valve body 4 times and then eventually had to remove and re-install the whole transmission (all for a different problem) so it's all still very fresh!

 

[forcedinductionz]

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like a fun job I may go the route you did and get an extreme valve body. Thanks again!

 

[C6H12O6]

Can you explain the symptoms you were having a little more?

 

[wildsmith]

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like a fun job I may go the route you did and get an extreme valve body. Thanks again!

In my experience Rodney is a great guy to deal with. He went to a lot of trouble to help me out with a torque converter problem I had. Good luck.

Can you explain the symptoms you were having a little more?

Which one of us?

 

[zambiamud]

Thanks to mudders for the body of knowlege (which I printed and took to the mechanic in Ethiopia)

Here's my experience:

Just replaced the kick down cable on the HDJ81 (JDM) yesterday here in Addis Ethiopia. Took about 4 hours with an experienced mechanic - eventhough he spoke no english. At least in my case, there were a few shortcuts that the mechanic took, which seemed to have the same results.

1. FSM indicates the prop shaft should be removed (this was not done, he just worked around it, like elastic man.)

2. Only the tranny oil pan was dropped, along with the funnel shaped oil filter. The kick down cable can then be accessed from the side. It's bit of a brain surgeon job, but he managed - with his old nokia phone as a flashlight and a bent rusty screw driver.

3. He used a sealant as opposed to gaskets "(not sure how long this will last)

4. Tranny took 7 liters ATF not 6 liters, which is in the FSM.

It's now shifting 100%!

 

[crtx]

Can confirm that the valve body does NOT need to be removed to replace the cable. The throttle cable can be removed and installed with the small gap on the right side of the valve body.

It helps a ton if you use a flat long object to lock the pivot to allow for easy access. I used the drive shaft to hold the counter pressure. A clean chainsaw file works flawless as holding mechanism. The file provides plenty of friction to hold the pivot secure.

The plastic faster that goes into the top of the trans is brutal to get out. I had to use a punch from the inside of the trans to knock it out of place.

Context for photo: on left is the drive shaft. Red arrow is pointing to the insert location of the cable. Flat holding mechanism in place, placing pressure on the drive shaft. Small dental picks are mandatory for this job.