tough82
Newbie
Like the title says, my trans won't upshift, stays in 1st. It's an 82 k-25 with th400. Any ideas?
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
My trans will not upshift
- Thread starter tough82
- Start date
Shouldn't prevent the trans from upshifting, mainly firmness, but is the vacuum line hooked up to the modulator and not leaking?
trailblazr81
1/2 ton status
Ive had the vavuum modulater and line cause my TH350's to not want to shift. Can you manually shift it through the gears?
if theres not the tranny cant build enough pressure to shift into second & third
BadBob
1/2 ton status
governer might be stuck, they tend to do that once in a while. Yank it out and spray it down with carb cleaner.
Govenor ....
It could be the modulator,but doubtful..usually it will eventually upshift when the truck gets going fast enough,or you can pull it into low manually and upshift it by hand..if thats the case,its the modulator or vacuum hose..
I've had the nylon govenor gears strip out--or they crack where the roll pin holds them to the govenor itself..once the govenor stops turnng,it'll never come out of first..I bought my van cheap because the previous owner thought it "needed a tranny",when in fact it was just the govenor gear..
Other than that I'd guess something went awry in the valve body,one of the sleeve valves might have stuck..or perhaps the detent (downshift) switch is stuck in the "passing gear" mode..
It could be the modulator,but doubtful..usually it will eventually upshift when the truck gets going fast enough,or you can pull it into low manually and upshift it by hand..if thats the case,its the modulator or vacuum hose..
I've had the nylon govenor gears strip out--or they crack where the roll pin holds them to the govenor itself..once the govenor stops turnng,it'll never come out of first..I bought my van cheap because the previous owner thought it "needed a tranny",when in fact it was just the govenor gear..
Other than that I'd guess something went awry in the valve body,one of the sleeve valves might have stuck..or perhaps the detent (downshift) switch is stuck in the "passing gear" mode..
Electric downshift on the TH400 is 3-2 only, no downshift 2-1 by the switch, that'll save some diagnostic time. 
Really??
Thats a suprise,my TH400 I have in my 82 K20 diesel I ran with the modulator vacuum hose off and shifted it manually,to see if the switch controlling the modulator's vacuum was causing it to shift weird(and it was!--I found a way to bypass it)..I could floor it in 3rd gear at 25mph,and it would downshift right into first gear!
causing the injector pump govenor to kick in and kill the motor momentarily!..
..so if the electric detent solenoid won't downshift it into first,what did??--couldn't have been the modulator,its hose was unplugged!..maybe something internal in the valve body takes over?.(it coudn't be the govenor either,it only did this when I floored it!).
Is it like the thing in the valve body,that makes a TH400 upshift into 2nd automatically at 5200 rpm,even if the shifter is in "low"??..
I'm not arguing,just curious what DOES make it shift into first,if the detent or modulator doesn't?...
Thats a suprise,my TH400 I have in my 82 K20 diesel I ran with the modulator vacuum hose off and shifted it manually,to see if the switch controlling the modulator's vacuum was causing it to shift weird(and it was!--I found a way to bypass it)..I could floor it in 3rd gear at 25mph,and it would downshift right into first gear!
causing the injector pump govenor to kick in and kill the motor momentarily!....so if the electric detent solenoid won't downshift it into first,what did??--couldn't have been the modulator,its hose was unplugged!..maybe something internal in the valve body takes over?.(it coudn't be the govenor either,it only did this when I floored it!).
Is it like the thing in the valve body,that makes a TH400 upshift into 2nd automatically at 5200 rpm,even if the shifter is in "low"??..
I'm not arguing,just curious what DOES make it shift into first,if the detent or modulator doesn't?...
tough82
Newbie
Thank you all for the info. I finally got some time today to work on my truck. Pulled out the governor and the gear is perfectly fine. The line from the modulator is connected. It finally upshifted into 2nd when I floored it. I unplugged a wire coming from the drivers side of the trans which goes inside the cab, and it shifts at normal rpm. Seems to be driving fine with it disconnected. What the heck is that wire for?
