TV rod adjustment 1963 Cad

[Mark Geertsma]

I’m struggling with my TV rod adjustment. I’ve been trying to adjust it as per shop manual, but it’s still not OK. When cold, it shifts smoothly through all four gears, when hot, it hesitates (lots of revs) to make the 2-3 shift and most of the time there’s no 3-4 shift. I’ve tried and test drove time and time again yesterday, but with very limited results. Fluid level is OK, so I suspect I’m doing something wrong with the adjustment. Can someone knowledgeable in this field pls give me a simple step-by-step instruction on TV rod adjustment?

[Doug Scarrow]

  You may have the the TV rod adjustment close because it shifts fine when cold. The Fluid gets thinner when it heats up . I had a similar problem running Dexron VI which is thinner in viscosity than Type A or Dexron II or III. I ran 5 Litres of Redline High Temp High Viscosity added to 5 Quarts of Dexron 3. Flawless shifting ever since.  You may have hardened leaking internal seals causing shift flair ups especially on the 2-3 shift which is the only friction shift on these transmissions

[Russ Austin]

Its not the TV rod, the trans is in need of a rebuild. Fluid is bypassing internal seals when hot.  Try adding Lucas trans additive. 

[Mark Geertsma]

Trans was rebuilt about 2 years ago and all internal seals were replaced. The problem started when I changed the fluid (type A). It was shifting fine before but with the fresh ATF,  2-3 shift was a bit too late to my taste so I decided to reset the TV rod to factory spec as per shop manual. Checked fluid level again today (hot engine idling): and now the level appeared to be low. Don’t know how that’s possible, because yesterday all seemed fine. Anyway, ordered 2 qts of ATF A and will try again tomorrow.  Hopefully the correct fluid level will solve this issue.

[Russ Austin]

Are you setting the TV rod with the throttle rod disconnected from the carb? The vacuum dash pot hods the throttle open just a little bit.