Svenska Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 My friend has a 1991 240. He thinks he has a problem with the kick down cable. I just looked at it and it appears that the cable comes off the spool and then gets hung up on a nut below the accelerator spool. It seems the cable doesn't have enough "spring" to it to make it retreat backwards towards the transmission. My question is, is there a return spring inside the transmission at the other end of this cable that pulls it back? It tends to snag on this nut and causes a retarded shift at around 55 mph. Do I replace the cable? An internal spring? The accelerator spool? The car accelerates OK with the accelerator cable and the spool, it's just this kick-down cable problem, there's too much slack in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Fat Tigers Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 There is some adjustment in the cable housing to adjust the slack in the cable, as long as the cable isn't sticking with the result of the trans shifting too late, then adjust the cable housing. Otherwise if the cable is sticking and not fully returning to the rest position when you close the throttle, you might try working some kind of spray lube/oil down inside the cable, maybe detach the cable from the throttle and hold it straight up so it will run down inside, while working the cable.Normally your symptoms indicate that the cable is failing and will require replacement, not really hard to DIY but you do have to drop the trans sump pan, so it is very messy. The cable is attached to a cam inside the trans that has a spring to rotate the cam and retract the cable, it's very unlikely that the fault is with the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svenska Posted March 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Thanks, I'm not too familiar with the rear wheel drive Volvos. I did notice though that (I think) his car is missing a small two-prong/finger metal piece that straddles this particular cable and keeps it in place at the accelerator spool. It looks like that is broken off. That would make sense if that is missing, then the adjustment would be off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Fat Tigers Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 That missing metal clip acts to hold the cable housing into the support bracket, and assuming the cable were in normal operating condition, and adjusted properly, I would speculate that it is possible, if not likely, that the normal tension on the cable would encourage the cable housing to remain in it's normal position, and thus function without issue. However should the cable go slack enough, it might allow the cable housing to shift out of position in the metal bracket and affect the adjustment, and or more readily allow the cable to come off the throttle spool. It might also allow the cable housing to slip out of the transmission at that end of the cable, again allowing for problems with the adjustment or operation. I would at least use a plastic tie strap around the bracket and cable housing to secure the cable housing in position. Also the routing of the cable between the trans and the support bracket at the throttle can have an affect on the cable function where the cable may bind inside it's housing, or alter the adjustment. So if at some point in time the cable had been rerouted improperly, that may be a contributing factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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