bigfoots98

Give the guys at Oldsmobile Parts & Supply a call. I see body mounts in the catalog @ $6.80 ea. 1-703-335-1935.

Your car has what's known as a "Slim-Jim" or Roto-10 Hydramatic. The shift pattern you describe is 'normal' for this tranny even after a fresh rebuild. Without getting into the quirky specifics of the trans and how many gears it has (3? 4? Depends on what literature you read), you most likely need to adjust the throttle valve linkage. It's kinda tricky but you'll find a summary of the procedure here in one of my earlier posts. Good luck!

As much trouble as I've gone through for this I wouldn't charge you a thing. Glad to help someone keep their Olds rolling. To keep it simple, take a piece of stiff wire about 6 1/2" long and bend it into an 'L' shape with the long side just a hair under 6"(I think I came up with something around 5 62/64). Now, stick the short end into the hole at the center of the manual lever so is pivots there. Hold the rod out towards the TV lever and bend the lever if needed to bring it to the end of the wire. This should get you pretty close. How'd I figure it out? A lot of math and the not-to-scale drawing in the service manual. The same tool is used to set pedal height and the book gives that dimention. 30 minutes of algebra I thought I had forgotten and I came up with the approximate overall length of the tool and of the indexes for the TV setting. Good luck!

Sounds like you've got a valve body issue. As another poster noted, the proper TV setting is critical as is a perfectly clean and sound valve body assy. Adjust the TV lever on the trans so that the pivot that the rod mounts to is a hair under 6" from the center of the manual lever. Then, adjust the turnbuckle on the top end of the TV rod so that it just fits into the bellcrank when the bellcrank is held against it's stop. Adjusting the intermediate rod is a little trickier but it's explained fairly well in the 1964 Olds Service Manual #2. From there you might have to tweak the top turnbuckle a bit to optimise but you should see some improvement. I spent over $3000 having my slim-jim rebuilt twice only to fail within' 3-5K miles. I got frustrated enough to tear it apart myself and I haven't had a problem since. (still crossing fingers)...If you've got any mechanical inclination and know how to follow a service manual you can probably knock it out yourself in about a week or less. Good Luck!!

Finally figured out the info I needed to fabricate a tool. Basically, the TV lever hole should be Just under 6"(5 61/64")from the center of the manual lever. Once that's set, you make the linkage adjustments as outlined in the Olds Service Manual #2. Having this set properly has made a TREMENDOUS difference in the smoothness of the first shift. So what's the big deal with a 'Slim Jim'? Not a dang thing...

If 'rocketraider' is correct about the application being 62-66, I may have a NOS switch buried in the garage. If you still need it, email me and I'll check it out for you. Tony thabigfooted1@hotmail.com

Thanks, but that's not gonna help. I have the '64 Factory manual. It details how to make the adjustment but a tool(BT-33-1) is needed to properly setup the relationship between the TV lever and the manual lever. I either need the tool, or someone who knows the dimentions of the tool so I can make one.

Is there anyone out there with any info on adjusting the throttle valve linkage on 61-64 Oldsmobile "Slim Jim" or Roto-hydramatic 10 transmission? Hit or miss is an exercise in frustration and the relationship between the TV lever and the manual lever is critical to proper operation. I'm sure some of you know how funkily this tranny can shift even when everything is set dead on. Borroughs made a tool (BT-33-1) which is, of course, obsolete. Does anyone have this tool laying around? If I could even get the proper dimentions I could fabricate one myself. Any info would be greatly apreciated. HELP! I have no full-throttle kick-down!!!!

Sounds like you're already halfway there. Dave Edwards at Autotrans.us has the kit you need. After going around in very costly circles trying to have my slim jim properly rebuilt, I finally picked up two boxes full of loose parts, the case, and rear bearing retainer from the shop that couldn't put it back together. Then, using my ability to follow directions(somewhat), I proceeded to inspect and reassemble the beast using the Oldsmobile Shop Manual. I replaced the broken sealing ring on the accel-a-rotor(which was the wrong size, hense the repeated failures over two years), and replaced all o-rings and seals. Well what do you know?? The yaht sails again!! I've put almost 1000 miles on it and so far so good. The only issue is that I'm STILL trying to get the throttle valve linkage properly adjusted without the proper, now obsolete tool. I'd say go for it!! If you find a shop that's not afraid of it they're gonna certainly charge you $2000 or more to touch it. Good luck!!

Try Memory Lane in Sunland, CA. You can get their contact info from google. They charge a hefty price on most items but I know for a fact that they have 2 or 3 394's on the yard right now.