Dennis,

Thanks for the quick reply.  I would expect the cable to be original at
74,000 miles, so I haven't touched it yet.  The adjustment piece that
attached the rod to the throttle body had been broken of by the PO's
mechanic.  It had about 3 mm. of thread left & no lock nut.  I tried to
buy a new one, but they are NLA.  I repaired the old one by drilling out
the larger diameter part, tapping & adding in a piece of 6mm X 1.0
hardened all-thread.  I had to estimate the length, but think that I got
it pretty close.  There is plenty of adjustment available.

That said, I can feel the kick down & feel the detent.  And, the car
does "kick down" very properly.  I made the adjustment according to the
proceedure in the Bently manual after identifing the transmission.  I
believe I am ok with all of that.

I was mostly curious about the speedo face.  Thanks for clarifying.

Do you know what the maximum speeds are for a given gear?

Walt

Dennis Haynes wrote:

> The 805 on the speedo face indicates the tire revolutions per mile. The
> speedo cable is directly connected to the left front wheel.
> The shift point markings on the speedo are for a 4 speed. They did not
> cahge
> the speedo face for automatic.
> Yes, Vanagon automatics tend to up shift early. The linkage between the
> throttle and the trans throttle lever has an adjustment and the cable
> has to
> be properly adjusted. The governor can also be modified. There is a kick
> down mechanism in the throttle lever. Can you push the accelerator to the
> floor and feel the detent in the tranny? If not, then throttle
> adjustment s
> needed.
>
> Dennis
>
>
>> From: Walt Spak <b20swalt@CITY-NET.COM>
>> Reply-To: Walt Spak <b20swalt@CITY-NET.COM>
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: questions about automatics
>> Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:34:33 -0400
>>
>> As I wrote recently, my 19th Vanagon, a 1984 GL, is my first automatic.
>>
>> I have had the feeling that it up shifts very quickly, even when pulling
>> hills.  It kicks down just fine and I can hold it in any gear by moving
>> the shift lever.  It just seems to up shift way sooner that my Mercedes
>> does.
>>
>> Secondly, I an a little confused about the speedometer markings.The
>> speedometer has the number "805" on the face.  I am used to the shift
>> points marked on the face of the standard tranny 83.5 - 84c models, one
>> dot, two dots, three dots.  This one also has 3 shift points marked even
>> though it is only a 3 speed and only shifts twice.  The points are:  one
>> dot @ 21 mph, two dots @ 38 mph, and three dots @ 65 mph.  If i nail the
>> accelerator pedal from a dead stop, the bus far exceeds these points
>> before it shifts on its own.  Anyone know what this is about?
>>
>> Walt
>
>
>