tranny help needed

hi. i have an 86 accord lxi hatchback. tranny was rebuilt 10,000 miles ago. it was not shifting correctly and was stuck in 1st gear. i took it to shop and they tightened kickdown cable as tight as it could go. now it shifts from 1-3rd gear a little too fast in my opinion but now when i get to 50miles and above the car will not stay in gear. it downshifts and up shifts even as the gas is being depressed steadily. without me changing the pressure on the gas it shifts on it's own.
could the cable be too tight or do i need a new tranny?

I will leave the adjustment explanation to someone who has messed with it, but I do know that an improperly adjusted TV cable will result in messed up shifting as you are describing. Adjusting it is not as simple as just cranking it down. From what I learned you need to adjust it just tight enough so that the lever on the transmission moves in synchronicity with the throttle. The others on here who have messed with it state that even slight adjustments can make a difference.

You are controling it with your foot, so yes the cable is likely the issue.
With someone inside the car holding the pedal to the floor there should be 8mm off freeplay before bottoming out the tv lever on the transmission. That is where you start.
Then with no pressure on the pedal the cable shouldnt be pulling up on the lever more than 8mm.

There can be variations to that depending on the amount of throttle needed to accelerate the car (mods and or weber carbs) but this is a good baseline to start with.
It sounds like yours is pulling on it too much if its not wanting to go to 2nd without letting off.

^^See, this is why I leave it to those with experience. When I had my tranny replaced in 2009 my mechanic must have known all this because the shift performance is perfect. It is amazing how well a properly rebuilt unit for these cars can perform.

thank you for the reply. now if i could just find a mechanic that could do it. i know my way around cars but feel as though i will mess it up if i fool with it. is it in an accessible location?

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Originally Posted by hatch2thefuture

thank you for the reply. now if i could just find a mechanic that could do it. i know my way around cars but feel as though i will mess it up if i fool with it. is it in an accessible location?

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yes it isn't bad, about like adjusting a throttle on a lawnmower or adjusting a clutch cable, or bicycle cables.
It is much easier when you have an assistant press the gas (car off of course) so you can see the range of travel.
One thing you can do though first is make sure the cable is free moving. Watch it moving the little lever on the side of the transmission on right side of the car underneath the battery you can see it, and you can also see it if you remove the plastic splash guard inside the wheel well.