Hey everyone I recently purchased a 84 xj6 for 2000 knowing it needed a smog pump and had a coolant leak, replaced the water pump so the leak is fixed the smog pump just came in so I'll be throwing that in this weekend. The guy I bought it from said he had the timing turned down just a little to pass emissions without the smog pump (don't know if that works) and that he had to tighten the shift linkage (inside where the shifter is) now that the background of the car is known here's my problem-

Ok so P is park, R is reverse, N is neutral but when I put it in drive it act just like neutral. If I put it half way between D and 2 it will drive and it will drive in first gear I have to let off the gas to shift to 2nd and it won't shift in to 3rd it just goes up to est. 3500rpm and sounds like its hitting the rev limiter so I let off obviously.

I've asked some friends and searched the forum but haven't seen or heard anything about it so any advice would be very helpful! Thank you!

 

Here's some pictures to make it interesting.

 

 

Assuming the fluid is topped-up ?


My gut feeling is that you have a valve body or servo problem but I'd be tempted to adjust the bands before doing anything else. Doing so isn't difficult and has been known to resolve a variety of weird shifting issues.

Post back if you need info on band adjustment

Cheers
DD

 

I also wonder of the shift cable itself is out of adjustment so that selecting "D" with the gearshift isn't allowing full, actual engagement at the transmission itself?

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks for the quick response! I found a DIY of adjusting the bands that will be something I do today. How would I adjust the shift cable to make sure it is in the correct spot? Thank you

 

New update! Can anyone tell me what this is? I'm 75% sure it is a contributing factor if not the entire reason of my problem. It has 2 of those plastic "lock in place things" lol and one is broken off so it spins freely in the Passenger side of the trans and I was able to just pull it out.

Almost dead center attached to the hose with the hose clamp on it


Close up

 

I'm pretty sure that's the vent nipple and hose. If I'm right the hose connects to a pipe that heads upward and than comes back down alongside the starter.

If it IS the vent then just stick the nipple back into the hole. It wouldn't cause a shifting problem in and of itself. If the hole has been open long enough, though, water/dirt may have gotten into the trans. That would be a bad thing.

Cheers
DD

 

It's been years so the "Ser III XJ6 specifics" are a bit foggy. It's all very intuitive once you get started, though

You'll need to safely be under the car and a helper in the driver's seat will ease the job.

The shaft cable attaches to a lever arm on the transmission "selector shaft". Have your helper run the gear up and back while you observe the corresponding action of the selector shaft.

Disconnect the cable from the selector shaft.

Manually operate the selector shaft lever to definitively select neutral....two detents away from "P", obviously.

Now select neutral with the gearshift.

Now adjust the cable length so the cable can be reattached to the lever arm without moving the lever arm at all.

Now try selecting the various gears and see how it feels. It might take a couple tries to get the exact "sweet spot" on the adjustment.

As I recall fine adjustments can be made at the transmission end of the cable. Coarse adjustments can be made at the gearshift end of the cable.

There's a bracket welded to the underbody of the car. It holds the cable. If the bracket is broken you'll never get correct gear selection.

Sometimes the shift cable is stretched. Might not be able to adjust it properly.

Cheers
DD

 

It was in there so nothing would have got in the hole I was just thinking because it was just sitting in there it could have been some sort of vacuum leak. I made sure to put it back in but like I said it's just sitting there with no pressure.

 

I'll give this a try to be sure it's lined up correctly. I have to find some jack stands because I don't have a garage with tools just my tool bag. Thank you for the info. Ill report back to let you know if it worked!

 

Just make sure you use those jack stands on concrete, not the parking lot asphalt where the photo above was taken. We had a guy killed here a few years back as the jack stand sank into hot asphalt and then tipped over...

 

Well I've yet to fine someone to let me borrow jack stands so I suppose I'll go buy them and figure where to store them afterwards. Ill post the results later today!