Fordomatic late shifting ('57 thunderbird)

[yblock57]

Daves55Sedan —

I should've been more clear in my original post. This setup had linkage issues due to the throttle valve being installed wrong in the valve body which limited the movement of the throttle rod. Dad drove the car before we realized what was going on and inadvertently floored the accelerator to get the trans to kick-down. This caused the throttle to become stuck in the wide-open position (or close to wide-open). He had to turn the key off. Luckily no damage to the engine or car, but it bent the threaded end of the throttle rod and unbeknown to us, the 'double-L' piece on the firewall.

Once I ascertained all my pieces were correct for a '57 D model (measured a friend's correct setup), I pulled the 'double-L' piece out of the car and proceeded to carefully bend it in the direction if needed to go. The ease at which it bent left no doubt in my mind that this was the key to all this linkage mess.

Once it went back in, the shop manual procedures were followed and this time everything went exactly as outlined.

Appreciate everyone's input here. I should be putting it all back together sometime next week and will post my results. Fingers crossed!

[bbrocksr]

Originally Posted by yblock57

Daves55Sedan —

I should've been more clear in my original post. This setup had linkage issues due to the throttle valve being installed wrong in the valve body which limited the movement of the throttle rod. Dad drove the car before we realized what was going on and inadvertently floored the accelerator to get the trans to kick-down. This caused the throttle to become stuck in the wide-open position (or close to wide-open). He had to turn the key off. Luckily no damage to the engine or car, but it bent the threaded end of the throttle rod and unbeknown to us, the 'double-L' piece on the firewall.

Once I ascertained all my pieces were correct for a '57 D model (measured a friend's correct setup), I pulled the 'double-L' piece out of the car and proceeded to carefully bend it in the direction if needed to go. The ease at which it bent left no doubt in my mind that this was the key to all this linkage mess.

Once it went back in, the shop manual procedures were followed and this time everything went exactly as outlined.

Appreciate everyone's input here. I should be putting it all back together sometime next week and will post my results. Fingers crossed!

How did it work out?
Bill

[yblock57]

Originally Posted by bbrocksr

How did it work out?
Bill

Hey Bill. Thanks for checking in. The valve body was reinstalled and trans closed back up. Was able to get all linkage adjusted correctly per the manual.

Went ahead and pulled the pinion seal to replace as it was leaking badly. Car is still on stands while I wait for parts. Addressing several other things at the same time. Seems like a never ending list!

Will update when I get it back on the ground. Fingers crossed [emoji1695]

Thanks

[Gene F]

How did the pinion seal project go? How did you do that? Seems like there are two seals. Did you order them both, or how do you know which one you need, and where did you get it?

[yblock57]

Originally Posted by Gene F

How did the pinion seal project go? How did you do that? Seems like there are two seals. Did you order them both, or how do you know which one you need, and where did you get it?

Hey Gene —

I ordered both seals — outer pinion seal and square cut pinion support O-ring. I also ordered a crush sleeve eliminator kit and new pinion nut.

Parts came from multiple places as I tend to shop around for the best deals. Outer pinion seal is an SKF neoprene #18276 that I got from of all places Home Depot for $9.24 shipped! Thunderbird suppliers are asking $86 for that same seal! The pinion support O-ring is a ford part from eBay #B7A-4669-B for $15.95 shipped. The rest of the parts came from bronco graveyard — crush sleeve eliminator kit #22293 $19 & pinion nut #22294 $4.

Hopefully get the stuff next week. Been cleaning up parts in preparation.

[KULTULZ]

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Originally Posted by yblock57

The rest of the parts came from bronco graveyard — crush sleeve eliminator kit #22293 $19 & pinion nut #22294 $4.

Did not know a commercial kit was available. Good choice.

[yblock57]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

Did not know a commercial kit was available. Good choice.

Thanks. I didn’t know of this kit either. Was pointed to it by a very knowledgeable fellow on the yblocksforever forum [emoji1303]

[Gene F]

So is this installed now? How did you make out?

[yblock57]

Originally Posted by Gene F

So is this installed now? How did you make out?

Not yet. Hopefully this coming week.

[yblock57]

Update: Success!

Just got back from test driving the 'bird. It's like driving a different car now. Everything behaves like it should. Talk about a relief!

Did the pressure test before taking it off the stands (as several of you mentioned) and had to lengthen the rod several turns to get the pressure up to specs. If you baby it down the street, it'll shift about 19 mph. If you drive lightly down a residential street, about 22-23 mph. All relative on throttle pressure — just like the book says. Feels like it's about where it needs to be.

The accelerator is so much lighter feeling and easier to hold. Before it was fatiguing after a while cruising down the highway (due to binding).

Wanted to thank everyone who answered on this thread and shared their knowledge. It is GREATLY appreciated. Everything I've learned during this fiasco is going in the vault and should hopefully help me or someone else in the future. This is a great site and the level of knowledge and helpfulness is very humbling. Thanks again for helping get this old 'bird back on the road!

[scicala]

I'm glad you got it all figured out and fixed. Enjoy the car.
Also, thanks for posting the final results.

Sal

[Gene F]

Glad it's fixed. That TV rod length is a fussy thing.

[yblock57]

Originally Posted by Gene F

Glad it's fixed. That TV rod length is a fussy thing.

It sure is. Never realized until things went haywire. Glad it ended up being fixable in the car instead of having to pull everything back out again!

Originally Posted by scicala

I'm glad you got it all figured out and fixed. Enjoy the car.
Also, thanks for posting the final results.

Sal

Appreciate it! Didn't want to leave the thread unresolved. Maybe this can help someone else out someday.