Yes that is what tells the transmission your throttle position... When you tromp the throttle, the transmission will down shift for passing. New cables are available and not too difficult to change.
Rgds
David[/QUOTE]

I will see if I can adjust the cable so there is a little more Slack. Otherwise I'll just replace the cable to the transmission.

regarding the cooling system issue, I drained the water that I put in the other day and I filled up the cooling system with white vinegar. It's only a 6% solution so it's not too strong but should be strong enough to dissolve some of the rust and clogging. I was starting to feel confident about the heating system and so I drove the car further than I had driven before, maybe about 7 or 8 miles but the temperature gauge went to the O of NORMAL and then it severely overflowed. When I got home, the vinegar was pouring out of the expansion tank very violently. I checked the head temperature and it was only about 210 degrees F. I believe the vinegar was hitting hotspots and boiling. My plan is to remove the thermostat and hook the thermostat cover back up and then power flush the block from the top to the bottom to see if I can clear out any clog. The right way to do it would probably be to remove the head and clean all the coolant passages but I'm trying to avoid that because removing the head can itself create more problems such as breaking bolts or head studs or something like that. I'm going to get some more vinegar and top off the system and only drive it short distances to circulate it to try to dissolve the clogged areas.

 

Have you watched the coolant tank opening while running and look cor bubbles? I know you've done a lot. Bubbles would be head gasket. Do any of the hoses collapse while running? Does the thermostat have the bleed hole? Does your heater work. I have never had stock system cooling problems in my XK blocks even from sitting. Used to drive on vacation in them, now in restoration. Some thermostat housings have reducers to slow down the coolant flow. You are on the right track but I believe you are getting air somewhere that causes this. Big area of concern of a car siting so long would be the area of the block just under the head below the the intake maniflod. They used to weld this area in the 60s for cracks in water line inside block which cracked before the core plugs popped. Might check the core plugs for tiny leaks too. Seeps enough to get air and just enough to evaporate before dripping.

 

I did have the expansion tank open and looked down in there as it was running. I do see some bubbles coming out but they aren't coming out very forcefully. I tested the vapor coming out of the expansion tank and the radiator itself with a block tester and the results were negative, which means there is no head gasket leak.

The hoses are brand new as of a year ago but I don't know if they are collapsing. Does anyone put in a metal coil in the lower hose or hoses to prevent collapsing? The thermostat does have the bleed hole. My heater core is bypassed because there were interior leaks when it was hooked up. I haven't seen leaks anywhere but it's certainly possible with all the hose connections. Perhaps I can try to tighten all the hose clamps. The system is pressurizing but I could probably test to see if it holds pressure. Today I'm going to drive short distances to circulate the vinegar solution in the cooling system. My plan is to drain and flush the cooling system tomorrow. I may pull the radiator tomorrow also and flush it on its own.

 

I did have the expansion tank open and looked down in there as it was running. I do see some bubbles coming out but they aren't coming out very forcefully. I tested the vapor coming out of the expansion tank and the radiator itself with a block tester and the results were negative, which means there is no head gasket leak.

The hoses are brand new as of a year ago but I don't know if they are collapsing. Does anyone put in a metal coil in the lower hose or hoses to prevent collapsing? The thermostat does have the bleed hole. My heater core is bypassed because there were interior leaks when it was hooked up. I haven't seen leaks anywhere but it's certainly possible with all the hose connections. Perhaps I can try to tighten all the hose clamps. The system is pressurizing but I could probably test to see if it holds pressure. Today I'm going to drive short distances to circulate the vinegar solution in the cooling system. My plan is to drain and flush the cooling system tomorrow. I may pull the radiator tomorrow also and flush it on its own.

 

I drained and removed my heater bypass hose and stuck a power nozzle in the hose and flushed right into the block. Then I filled up the cooling system with about a 50/50 mix of Prestone coolant and distilled water. I drove the car about 6 miles in slow City driving for about 16 minutes. The temperature gauge was not even in the normal range yet but in the top part of the white section. Then it boiled over again. My thought is to have the radiator checked for flow and if it shows that it is good then I don't think I have a choice but to remove the head to see if the engine block or head is plugged up or something. I don't know what else to do. This is just terribly frustrating and one reason why I stopped working on it last year.

I checked the timing and it was 10 degrees before top dead center. I'm wondering if the exhaust system could be plugged up and would that cause overheating? The exhaust manifolds got up to about 450 to 500 Degrees. Any other thoughts or questions would be appreciated. My other option is to just make this and around town car but I really would prefer to have a properly functioning cooling system

 

I removed the radiator to have it rodded and repaired. I noticed the last little bit of coolant in the radiator was dark and sludgy and I saw quite a few bits. I'm hoping that the sludge from the engine got caught in the radiator and it just needed to be cleaned out. That way I will know that it's not the coolant passages in the engine or block. Radiator shop will let me know tomorrow and I will keep you posted.

 

I got a message from the radiator shop saying that the radiator was 80% plugged. Even though I had the radiator cleaned out last year, enough sludge was left inside to plug up the radiator again. This is cautiously good news as the block/head could still be plugged up. While the rad was in the shop, I devised my own pressure cleaner for the block using some caps to plug off the radiator hose openings. In the top hose, I drill a 10mm (or so) hole so I could press my power nozzle in there.. I removed the block drain and blasted the water inside the engine for a few minutes.

I installed the radiator, but left th thermostat out. I filled the system with water because I wanted to see if it would stay cool and not boil over, even with water in it. I drove around in city traffic, and the temp gauge needle barely moved into the white zone. Upon shut down, there was no boil over, no sound, ...nothing. I noticed I even forgot to hook up one of the fans in my haste to get the car on the road.

Later in the evening I did the real test. I drove up in the local mountains for 18 miles, and 30 minutes. The needle barely got in the white zone again and no boil over. Today, I drained the water and installed the thermostat and poured in fresh Prestone coolant and distilled water. In the short drive to work, the needle didnt really move from rest....maybe just to the edge of the white zone. I deem the cooling problem solved. I am soooo happy. I can drive the car and not worry too much about overheating..

The next critical issue is the transmission not shifting into 3rd gear (automatic tranny). We discussed it a bit here and it seems the throttle valve cable needs adjustment or replacement. Can anyone give me some insight on this? I have tried to research this issue online and I think I have an idea of how to approach this issue.

The other issue I want to tackle is bleeding the rear brakes. Iwill replace them at some point, but they just seem to need bleeding as of now.

My father owned this car and drove it to work from 1969 (it was a year old when he bought it from Ron Levitt in Philly, PA) until 1985 when my brother and I rebuilt the engine. It sat since then until late 2018. My father is 94 1/2 years old and in very ill health. My goal is to get the car so I can drive in from southern California to the San Francisco Bay area, to surprise my dad. He could use an uplift as his quality of life is poor now. I believe if the brakes are in good order, and the car shifts into 3rd gear, that it will be fit to make the 400 mile journey there (plus another 400 back home).

 

Be sure to check the shift linkage to make sure it's actually going all the way into Drive. Also check the engine and transmission mounts as if those are bad it may prevent the shift from going all the way into Drive. I mention this because my Series 3 with a 4 speed started popping out of first and third gears once in a while and I eventually discovered it was due to bad/soft engine mounts allowing the engine to shift forward just enough so the shift level hit the console surround and pushed it out of gear.

 

Borg-Warner Automatic Transmission Kick Down Cable C26756/3 Borg-Warner 8 Transmission. $76.99 ( #6 )

The adjustment for the cable is where it attaches to the throttle brackets behind carbs. To Remove: With all linkage to carb throttle levers hooked up, measure the exposed cable between end fitting and cable housing ( I just cut length of 1/8"vacuum tubing to exact length, then slit length-wise and slip on the new cable). Remove clevis pin, remove nut holding cable housing to bracket and pull cable out. From the side of transmission un-screw cable assembly pull cable end out ... install new cable into transmission, route new cable up to throttle brackets insert cable housing into bracket and install nut. With all linkage to carb throttle levers hooked up, adjust nut and housing to get a slip fit with the clevis pin thru the cable end fitting and the linkage lever (then remove rubber tubing from cable), Carbs should be on idle stops.
This should give you 3 gear... There is a road test in the Maintenance Manual to see at what speed first to second and second to third shifts occur with light throttle... if these are off, then they tell you to adjust the cable in or out to get the shift points correct.

If you are still getting stiff throttle with the new cable, then problem could be in transmission....at this point, I would just add custom return springs to the throttle linkage to over come stiffness.
Rgds
David
PS: Congratulations on solving the cooling problem!!!!

 

Thanks David. And thanks for the information. When I went out to check my kickdown cable this morning I saw that it is now broken. So it looks like I'll be getting a new one. The interior is a part 2 disconnect the cable from the transmission and also to do the speedometer cable while I'm doing all that. I can't believe both cables broke within a couple days of each other. Anyway I'm having some difficulties. I got the 3/16 in Allen bolt off the transmission. Does the housing pull off from there or does it unscrew? At the carburetor end where it is broken, I can't find the set screw that holds the cable to the bracket. There is a small bolt that I can barely get a wrench on that underneath the cable that looks like it connects the bracket that holds the cable on to the larger bracket but it seems that there is a nut behind it or something because it doesn't seem to be loosening much. Any help there?

 

This picture is ~~ clearer:
The cable assy housing grove for mounting in the small bracket that fits to bigger bracket. Once you have cable measurement you can remove clevis pin, then unscrew end fitting, then unscrew jamb nut and pull cable out. I know there is not much room to work. I had the whole kick-down assy removed from cylinder head when I fiddled with this. Took me three road tests to get kick-down speeds correct, half turn at a time. Once you have new cable it will be easier to figure how best to work in the small area.

 

The cable broke at the carburetor end of the cable. The end piece of the cable is still attached but I'm trying to figure out how to remove the cable from the bracket which is attached to the Head. The cable looks like it has a Groove in it but it can't go up because of the shape of the bracket I don't know how to remove that cable housing from the bracket. Also at the other end of the cable, I removed the nut that holds down that part of the cable housing but does the cable housing just lift out of the transmission. There doesn't seem to be any clearer instructions. My brother is trying to help me also although he's not here. I take pictures and he used to work on the car so we are both familiar with it

 

 

Bill,
Yes the cable housing pulls out of transmission, seal may be holding it. Angle bracket needs to be loosened from larger bracket.... my assy was off as well as manifold off, so don't remember any issue. Since cable is broken, put cable in vice and count the number of turns the forked end fitting takes to be removed, use same number of turns when re-assembling to get good stating point for correct cable length.
Rgds
David

 

What is holding the cable housing to the angle bracket? There is very very little room to get the angle bracket off as a wrench is needed to hold the nut and another wrench ro unscrew the bolt of the angle bracket

 

I got the cable out! It looks like the cable is just held in place in the bracket. I remove the bracket but it looks like I didn't need to. To get the end out of the transmission, I just tapped a small screwdriver underneath the lip of the cable and that popped it out of the transmission.

I can't imagine how it's going to go back in. By the way the new cable was redesigned to be much heavier Duty. Instead of the bicycle cable it's a solid cable inside.

 

I got the cable into the transmission but I'm having difficulty getting the lock bolt started which holds down the cable into the transmission. How are you guys doing that?

 

I got the hold down bolt on by cutting some of the sheet metal in the area so I had room to get my hand in there. How do you know if the kickdown cable is properly connected to the rod that comes out of the transmission? If you pull on the cable is it supposed to spring back?

 

I got everything put together and it was very difficult. I cut some material off the bracket that attaches to the Head near the carburetors that holds the cable. That gave me access to the little sub bracket that holds the cable on and has that bolt that it's very difficult to get to. I will test drive it tomorrow and see if the transmission shift properly. I'm going to keep the front part of the Interior taken apart because the middle part of the Interior needs to come out for the speedometer cable issue which I will attack next.

 

I disconnected the speedometer cable from the speedometer head unit and I could not turn the cable. When I pulled the center part of the cable out I found it to be intact. I believe this means that the angle drive is in good shape? Can someone confirm this for me please?

I removed the speedometer head unit, it's pretty easy to do, and I put the new cable into the speedometer but I could not turn it. I remove the cable and put a small screwdriver that fit right into the square Port of the speedometer head unit and with a little bit of force I turned it and it seemed to free up. I put the speedometer cable back in and spun it and the speedometer registered. I put a bit of three-in-one oil in the port and put the cable back in and it spun very freely.

I cleaned the inner cable and applied lithium grease to the cable and installed the inner cable into the outer cable that is still hooked up to the car. I seated the cable in the transmission and backed up the car. The cable turned about one revolution and then stopped turning even though I was still backing up. It did the same thing when I put it in forward gear and went forward, that it spun about one revolution and then stopped spinning. It seems like the angle Drive is bad.

is 3 in 1 oil a good oil to lubricate the speedometer head unit? Do you think this is what maybe cause the angle drive to go bad assuming that it is bad which I think it is?

I remove the carpeting on the rest of the center tunnel and I cannot see any access port for the angle Drive. Does anyone know how to remove the angle drive on the Borg Warner automatic transmission?