I tried adjusting my kickdown cable on my 96 xj and it didn't really move when I held the throttle wide open and made the shifting worse. What did I do wrong?

mark the cable position with nail polish, (so you know whats happening)


lube the entire mechanism

ensure the button is pressed in

use the accelerator pedal to max

you should hear a ratcheting sound, this means its adjusted

What is the nature of your shifting problem ?

Use the accelerator pedal
If you have not done this adjustment before, you may need to do this a few times for the ratcheting system to free up.

I did that it just adjusted it way to loose and now I cant down shift to third going up a hill

so I think I did everything correctly because I did mark it and it moved its still not down shifting going up a hill though, its to lose.

It can be "adjusted" either way, I think you have to grasp the inner with pliers and do the adjustment (with a helper to press pedal, but you can do it inside engine bay)

Be careful not to break nothing, lots of plastic about

Also get under vehicle and make sure the plastic attachment near engine/trans junction is not loose, damaged or broken

If it is the cable will move in a way it should not

Cable shouldn't be floppy, something is wrong there somewhere