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Harsh downshift on 1990 Taurus Wagon

First things first: I am *not* a mechanic. Not even close. I know where to put the gas in the tank and everything after that is pure guesswork on my part. I *did* however manage to replace the power steering line on my wife's 1990 Taurus Wagon with the 3.0L V6.

After only three hours (the book says 2/10ths, but it lies...oh how it lies) , I got the new line in and connected. I put everything back that I had taken off, in the reverse order I took it off (I even took notes, so I wouldn't forget anything).

The problem is now the car shifts funny. When you accelerate, the shifting is a little hard, but not that bad. When you decellerate, it shifts hard. Very, very hard from 2nd into 1st.

So...what did I do? My wife is yelling at me that I should have just taken it to a repair shop and had them fix the line in the first place, now it looks like I might end up spending even more money to fix whatever I broke. In the interim, I've been sleeping on the couch, and the cushions are all lumpy.

Can anyone help?

Reply to
Robert Watson via CarKB.com
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heh, been RIGHT THERE bro..;) I'm not the worlds greatest mechanic, but I've had to tear down and put back together enough of my own crappy cars to atleast try and help with a little here.. Well the power steering line should have nothing to do with it, but, my only thought is that maybe you removed or really disturbed the kickdown cable, so that the end @ the tranny is loose, or the other end @ the throttle is out of adjustment (it is adjustable).. just follow your cables from the throttle and one will go to the tranny instead of the firewall.. have a look and see.. probably can't hurt to try and adjust the throttle end of the cable a little and see what happens if you think it may have been moved.

Reply to
Dark1

That is a good thought...but the 1990 Taurus does not have a kcickdown cable according to the NAPA catalogue.

Anyone else? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

Thanks for the advice, though.

Reply to
Robert Watson via CarKB.com

that'd be a little strange.. autozone's site has one listed for $45.99

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Reply to
Dark1

You were absolutely, utterly correct. The guy I talked to at NAPA was brand new and didn't know how to look upp the part. I did as you suggested and adjusted the cable and now the car runs fine.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I am now officially off the couch and back into my own bed.

Reply to
Robert Watson via CarKB.com

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