[pfilean]

Have a Slim Jim question and you may be one of the very few who might have an answer. I can do a lot of searches and find others who in years past have mentioned the same problem but never received a good answer. Maybe there is no good answer. Car is a 61 Ventura.

When approaching a light or stop sign I don't get a downshift until about 5 mph. If the engine is not warm it can kill the engine. If the engine is fully warm it just drags the RPM down to about 300-400 but will recover to the set 600 after the shift. All in all it is like driving with a stick shift and forgetting to push in the clutch. If I get down to about 10 mph and accelerate it feels like it is definitely on 1:1 ratio and I never feel a 3-2 shift.

Manual says I should have a 3-2 downshift (OK - 4-3 depending on which philosophy you are using but let's not go there) at 20-15 mph and a 2-1 downshift at 16-13 mph. I don't think I am getting there. If I change to DR at about 20 mph it helps a little as it is then in 1.56:1 not 1:1. Or if I change to L at about 20mph it stops with no dropping to low RPM.

I have adjusted the TV rod per the manual and then lengthened or shortened it with little if any change. Of course the manual does not mention this as a trouble shooting problem. Am I missing something here? Seems like for whatever reason the front clutch never releases or at least releases late.

I know that any mention of Ole Jim in any forum gets a lot of passionate responses of how it should be junked in favor of a 200, 400 or 700 (pick your favorite). But I have had Ole Jim for years and know what to expect. Really I like the overall first gear ratio and know how it will shift (strangely). I probably should have changed 10 years ago when I might have been able to do it myself but those days are about gone.

[8LUG]

stevep is the guy you want to speak to. He's at the P.O.C.I. this week

[Willshire]

Originally Posted by pfilean

Have a Slim Jim question and you may be one of the very few who might have an answer. I can do a lot of searches and find others who in years past have mentioned the same problem but never received a good answer. Maybe there is no good answer. Car is a 61 Ventura.



When approaching a light or stop sign I don't get a downshift until about 5 mph. If the engine is not warm it can kill the engine. If the engine is fully warm it just drags the RPM down to about 300-400 but will recover to the set 600 after the shift. All in all it is like driving with a stick shift and forgetting to push in the clutch. If I get down to about 10 mph and accelerate it feels like it is definitely on 1:1 ratio and I never feel a 3-2 shift.



Manual says I should have a 3-2 downshift (OK - 4-3 depending on which philosophy you are using but let's not go there) at 20-15 mph and a 2-1 downshift at 16-13 mph. I don't think I am getting there. If I change to DR at about 20 mph it helps a little as it is then in 1.56:1 not 1:1. Or if I change to L at about 20mph it stops with no dropping to low RPM.



I have adjusted the TV rod per the manual and then lengthened or shortened it with little if any change. Of course the manual does not mention this as a trouble shooting problem. Am I missing something here? Seems like for whatever reason the front clutch never releases or at least releases late.



I know that any mention of Ole Jim in any forum gets a lot of passionate responses of how it should be junked in favor of a 200, 400 or 700 (pick your favorite). But I have had Ole Jim for years and know what to expect. Really I like the overall first gear ratio and know how it will shift (strangely). I probably should have changed 10 years ago when I might have been able to do it myself but those days are about gone.

Could this have anything to do with fluid draining in order to shift? I know the 1-2 upshift is dependent on how quickly the fluid drains from on spot to another in order to perform the shift. I believe this involves the torus in some capacity. I’m just not sure what fluid circuit is required for a 2-1 downshift. Line pressures? Perhaps the trans isn’t building enough pressure for the downshift


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[pfilean]

It could have something to do with the filling of the coupling but it is a little hard to follow the manual in the full sequence of changes. The coupling is filled in first speed and third speed but not second speed. So when stopping, if the trans wants to make a 3-2 shift before the 2-1 shift then coupling would have to empty and then refill. But also the front clutch is on in 2 and 3 but off in 1. So to make a 3-2 shift the clutch would still be on and then release for the 2-1 shift. As it feels like there is still a full mechanical connection (because of the way it pulls down the RPM before the shift) it still seems to me that it is the front clutch that does not release. I can cause it to release by dropping into L at about 20 mph and everything seems fine. I suppose to get it right one would need to get into the valve body and do something. But what? The manual is not much help for this problem.

[stevep]

It is 1 or 2 things.

1-throttle adjustment. Either too much or too little throttle pressure.

2-defective governor. A common Slim Jim issue, especially is it is a pre-1964 and may still have an aluminum governor in it.

[pfilean]

Thanks for jumping in here Steve. I think I have seen your name recommended in some other forums.

Getting into the governor seems pretty serious disassembly and likely very difficult to get parts. Maybe I'll have to try the TV linkage some more. I have it at the shop manual nominal starting point now. Have tried adjusting before but maybe I have been to timid in my approach. The manual says adjust about 1/2 nut turn at a time which isn't much. I have done that with no discernable change and probably never went beyond maybe 3 nut turns. I have heard horror stories about improper TV adjustment on other transmissions and maybe I'm just to conservative and afraid of going too far. Maybe I need to get to twice that much change. And the manual seems to only be trying to affect the upshifts not downshifts. Maybe both are affected.

I have also wondered if the thermostatic TV control might have some effect as my problem is worse when the engine and transmission are not warmed up. But I have written that off as not being the problem as it is still a carbureted engine and those were often a little touchy when cold. I have decided that when the rpm is forced to low that engine just won't run with the partially open choke.