MarcDeSoto Posted January 23, 2023 Report Share Posted January 23, 2023 Is there any trick to assembling the kick down switch on a Ball & Ball carburetor? The kick down switch has a button that the throttle presses in when the driver pushes the pedal to the floor. After assembling the parts on the carb. the button won't push in. I tried several ways to assemble it with the same results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagoneer Posted January 23, 2023 Report Share Posted January 23, 2023 I played with the button when I took mine apart, and I stopped at some level around there I recall there was some bakelight piece in there I didn't want to forever disturb. The button itself is spring loaded from what I remember, and it connects to the electrical kick down connection to force the fluid drive to downshift (there are some aftermarket versions that do it from the column too). The pushbutton assembly will push down on its own before full reassembly. it's a clever mechanical to electrical connection. Maybe a short video or some pictures would help understand the state of yours. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug&Deb Posted January 23, 2023 Report Share Posted January 23, 2023 Try some gentle cleaning of the switch. The button should press easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcDeSoto Posted January 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2023 The button does press easily but not when I put the bakelite part that goes in vertically. Then the button gets jammed. In fact I broke the tapered part of the bakelite switch when I screwed the the horizontal pieces in. I will have to look for some directions on how to put it together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcDeSoto Posted January 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2023 I think I found out what I did wrong. When I put the bakelite piston and the metal part that fits on the bottom of the piston in the cylinder, I did not align the contact with the button. I was about 90 degs off. So when I tried to screw the button shaft in, I put pressure on the fragile bakelite piston and broke a piece off on the tapered part. Luckily, I have two spare carbs with kickdown switches. One the them is missing the air horn, so I didn't know what year it was. I removed the throttle body so I could remove the kick down mechanism. I took out the button shaft and removed the bakelite piston. This bakelite piston contact assy. had a different design without the metal keeper at the bottom. I looked in my 1949 Dodge Parts manual and saw the one piece bakelite contact. I think it would work in my 48 DeSoto carb. So I'm going to try it. The trick to putting these kick down switches together is simply facing the contact toward the button shaft. I should have known that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcDeSoto Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 I know many guys don't know what I'm talking about, so I took some pics. The first pic shows the broken 48 piston on the left and the 49 or 50 piston on the right. I put the one on the right into my carb. I think it will work. Marc. o 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgeb4ya Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 I know about them... You don't want to put that switch assembly together wrong...it's a delicate assembly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcDeSoto Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 Yes, everthing's easier the second time when you know what you're doing. I'm going to try to glue that broken piece together as these parts are not being made anymore, and I doubt if they are available in NOS Mopar kits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgeb4ya Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 I have bought a few of those parts separately over the years. Just for fixing damaged parts for customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcDeSoto Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 Were those parts used, or were they in MoPar boxes NOS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgeb4ya Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 (edited) Carter parts.NOS Edited January 26, 2023 by Dodgeb4ya 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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