Cut-to-fit kickdown cable with stainless bracket for the GM TH350 so full-throttle downshifts work on any intake manifold or engine swap.
If your TH350 will not drop a gear when you floor it, or the old kickdown cable came off when you changed the carburetor, intake or engine, this is the part that fixes it. The Lokar KD-2350U is a black-housing kickdown cable with a stainless steel bracket for the GM Turbo 350, made for C10 and square-body trucks, Chevelles, Novas, Camaros and street rods where the factory cable no longer lines up with the throttle linkage.
The TH350 has no computer. Its shift points come from governor pressure, which rises with road speed, and modulator pressure, which rises with engine load through the vacuum modulator on the right rear of the case. The kickdown cable is a separate, simple job: at wide-open throttle it pulls the detent valve in the valve body, and the detent valve forces the shift valves back down for a passing-gear downshift. That is the whole job. On a TH350 this cable is not a throttle valve cable like the one on a 700R4, so tightening it will not firm up a soft part-throttle shift. If your shifts are soft or harsh at light throttle, look at the modulator and line pressure instead.
Have a helper floor the pedal with the engine off and watch the carburetor end. The throttle should reach wide open, and the inner wire should pull to the end of its travel right at wide open, not halfway through the pedal. If the wire is slack at wide open, binds, or is missing, the cable is your problem. If the cable pulls fully and you still get no downshift, the detent valve may be stuck in its bore. Our TH350 valve body testing guide covers how to check the detent downshift, line pressure and the modulator before you take anything apart.
This kit is for the GM TH350 three-speed automatic, the transmission behind most 1969-1986 Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick cars and light trucks, plus countless hot rod swaps. It will not fit a TH400, which uses an electric kickdown switch, or a 700R4, which needs a throttle valve cable. Lokar's instruction sheet for this TH350 stainless bracket and cable mounts the bracket under the two rear driver-side intake manifold bolts, so confirm your intake has bolts there. The same sheet also covers some TH200 cases with a larger cable opening using an adapter seal; if you are fitting a TH200, send us your case details first. Not sure which transmission you have? Check the pan shape and look for a cable on the case, or send us the year and VIN. Everything for this unit is on our TH350 parts page.
A cable will not bring back a transmission that is already slipping. If you are going into the unit, a TH350 overhaul kit covers the seals and frictions, and a replacement TH350 valve body fixes a sticking detent valve. For the other leaks and wear points on this unit, read our TH350 common problems guide.
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Doing this repair right usually means replacing these at the same time. Same transmission, ships together.
No. On a TH350 the cable only pulls the detent valve for a wide-open-throttle downshift. Part-throttle shift timing and firmness come from the vacuum modulator and governor. A soft or harsh shift points to the modulator, vacuum supply or line pressure, not this cable.
No. The TH400 uses an electric kickdown switch on the case, and the 700R4 needs a throttle valve cable that sets line pressure. This kit is for the TH350 cable-operated detent.
Lokar's instructions mount the stainless bracket under the two rear intake manifold bolts on the driver side, against the manifold and under any washers. Retorque the bolts to your engine maker's spec.
Release the latch on the cable housing, hold the throttle wide open, and push the latch back down. With the throttle still open, pull the slack out of the inner wire and set the cable stop. It is right when the throttle reaches wide open without interference and the wire cannot be pulled any further at wide open.
Use the new seal on the cable, coat it with clean ATF, and make sure the old seal came out of the case. Tighten the hold-down bolt to GM's 75 in-lb; overtightening crushes the seal and it will weep.
Dexron automatic transmission fluid. A cable swap does not normally lose fluid, but check the level after the road test.
