kick down adjustments

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mikepasquale1

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I watched a video on youtube where holly shows how to adjust the kickdown rod for their carburetors. they say make sure you pull the kickdown rod all the way back and then adjust the screw until the throttle butterfly touches the adjusting screw on the kick down rod. weather I turn the screw IN as far as it will go or as far OUT it will go, i still achive the same goal as the video tells me. should kick down be activated early or late? I'm not sure where to set the adjustment for the screw.

how does kickdown work?

should it happe at early throttle or later throttle?

I have a 351w with FMX and holley carb. yes all of the required attachments and extensions are in place to allow the kick down to work properly. I just need to know how to adjust it, or more importantly where to set the adjustment screw.

Like i said whether the adjustment screw is turned in all the way or turned out all the way, the tab on the accelerator feed on the carb still activtes the kickdown, I just need to know where to set that's screw and when the kick down should be activated.

any help is appreciated .

 
I watched a video on youtube where holly shows how to adjust the kickdown rod for their carburetors. they say make sure you pull the kickdown rod all the way back and then adjust the screw until the throttle butterfly touches the adjusting screw on the kick down rod. weather I turn the screw IN as far as it will go or as far OUT it will go, i still achive the same goal as the video tells me. should kick down be activated early or late? I'm not sure where to set the adjustment for the screw.

how does kickdown work?

should it happe at early throttle or later throttle?

I have a 351w with FMX and holley carb. yes all of the required attachments and extensions are in place to allow the kick down to work properly. I just need to know how to adjust it, or more importantly where to set the adjustment screw.

Like i said whether the adjustment screw is turned in all the way or turned out all the way, the tab on the accelerator feed on the carb still activtes the kickdown, I just need to know where to set that's screw and when the kick down should be activated.

any help is appreciated .
Click to expand...
Look on page 4. The sheet metal threaded tab that holds the adjustment screw can be pup on two ways only one is correct. Chuck

 
You were right. The metal threaded tab was on incorrectly, allowing the screw to sit farther forward. after fixing it appears to have fixed the issue but at no point is there a gap between the carb lever abd the kickdown screw. It is set to activate to WOP.

 
This thread was helpful for me as well. I just installed my kickdown rod as shown in the Holley carb manual and also in the video. I testdrove the car and only once was I briefly able to get the car to downshift when I really nailed the gas pedal. Several other attempts left me with no downshift. What could cause the car to not downshift? It doesn't seem like there is very much travel in the kickdown road at the carburetor linkage but it does resemble the amount shown in that video. I have a C6 tranny with a Holley 650 on top of the 351C. Is there an adjustment I am missing? I have the set screw set so that the lever on the carb contacts it only on WOT. What else could I have missed?

Thanks

Scott

 
This thread was helpful for me as well. I just installed my kickdown rod as shown in the Holley carb manual and also in the video. I testdrove the car and only once was I briefly able to get the car to downshift when I really nailed the gas pedal. Several other attempts left me with no downshift. What could cause the car to not downshift? It doesn't seem like there is very much travel in the kickdown road at the carburetor linkage but it does resemble the amount shown in that video. I have a C6 tranny with a Holley 650 on top of the 351C. Is there an adjustment I am missing? I have the set screw set so that the lever on the carb contacts it only on WOT. What else could I have missed?

Thanks

Scott
Click to expand...
With the crab held at WOT see if the kick down rod will still move rearward. If so, the screw needs to be brought closer to the actuating lever (adjusted). Chuck

 
With the crab held at WOT see if the kick down rod will still move rearward. If so, the screw needs to be brought closer to the actuating lever (adjusted). Chuck

With the carb held at WOT the kickdown rod was firmly planted against the stop. I am thinking that the kickdown rod I bought might be for a 2 barrel carb. When I bought my car the kickdown rod was not installed. I had to buy one on ebay. I have a 4 barrel carb. Right now the screw is set way out. If I had that extension on the kickdown road that Holley sells for this kind of application it would allow me to place the screw in a more tolerable setting. That is about the only thing I can think of.

Scott

 
Note

I am not an automatic transmission guy anymore, but I do remember messing with kickdown rods.

AT WOT the kickdown rod should be fully engaged . . . but it should never act as a "stop" to the throttle as to prevent full throttle application. Also when putting your air cleaner on run the throttle thru its full range of motion and ensure there is no interference which would potentially leave you with your throttle stuck wide open.

While you should be able to turn the key off and kill the engine, occasional wiring issues have made that a less than 100% reliable safety measure.

Just something to watch out for in your tuning

 
I have the holley ford kickdown adapter on my carby. I'll make and post a little youtube video when I get home tonight so you can see it in action.

sorry, no can do ...issues ...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Note

I am not an automatic transmission guy anymore, but I do remember messing with kickdown rods.

AT WOT the kickdown rod should be fully engaged . . . but it should never act as a "stop" to the throttle as to prevent full throttle application. Also when putting your air cleaner on run the throttle thru its full range of motion and ensure there is no interference which would potentially leave you with your throttle stuck wide open.

While you should be able to turn the key off and kill the engine, occasional wiring issues have made that a less than 100% reliable safety measure.

Just something to watch out for in your tuning
Click to expand...
I didn't mean to convey the idea that the kick down lever should act as a stop. Sorry you read it that way. Just that it needs to be moved sufficiently to activate the intended function. WOT at the carb AND kick down activation must both occur. The Holley extension may improve the situation. I've used them with success in the past. Chuck

 
I understood what you said and took it the way you meant it. It just reminded me of a few friends that overadjusted the kickdown levers so that they were binding things up and I didn't want anyone to not check that the throttle cable was still full functional in addition to the kickdown.

I think it bears reminding that carburetor's linkages, both throttle and kickdown all must work smoothly and in conjunction with one another and that any changes should always be followed by verification that there is no adverse interference or possible unintended friction or binding.

No one suggested anything wrong, nor did I mean for it to sound like a correction. Just a pointer of something to watch out for while making your adjustments

 
I have the holley ford kickdown adapter on my carby. I'll make and post a little youtube video when I get home tonight so you can see it in action.

sorry, no can do ...issues ...
Click to expand...

Would like to see the video. Thanks for taking the time. I am suspecting the actual amount of travel of my kickdown rod. When not attached to the lever on the carb it moves a lot more than it does when attached. I think the rod extension from Holley would solve this.

Scott

 

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