Scorched1984

So the other night on the way home, I noticed that my transmission suddenly won't shift out of first leaving a light. Thought I lost second gear but when I shift manually second gear engages. So I tried manually shifting to second from 1st then shift to Drive after that and noticed it also won't shift to 3rd. Thing is, once I'm on the highway, it would shift from 3rd to 4th and downshift as necessary. My fluid levels are topped off so that can't be it. I also noticed that the shift kit is not letting it bang into the gears anymore like it used to. I was told to check the transmission TV cable. Could that be it? All the gears seem to be fine it just won't shift on it's own. If it is, can anyone point to me where it would be? I'm hoping it's something small like it popping off I hope someone can point me in the right direction. Any ideas?

Scorched1984

UPDATE: I did a quick peek this morning under the hood. The TV cable still seems to be connected to the carb. I'm guessing something happened underneath. Didn't really have the time to go under since I had to go to work. Anyone had a similar issue with their 700R4?

someone972

iTrader: (2)

If it shifts fine manually it could be an issue with the governor. It tells the transmission how fast you're going so if it's sticking it wouldn't know it needs to shift. Just a thought. (Disclaimer: I'm still a transmission newb.)

IROCZman15

iTrader: (25)

I had a somewhat similar issue. literally just 6 days ago I lost all gears aside from reverse and first. did a bunch of research here on TGO and online and figured to check the governor gear. sure enough.. the governor gear was stripped and destroyed. put a new plastic gear in and now the trans is back. i have all 4 gears but my trans is still having wacky slipping/overrevving shifts. (separate problem from the governor gear)

Scorched1984

All this sounds like it involves dropping my transmission....I've never cracked open a transmission before.

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

Nope. 5-10 min job from under the car.

Scorched1984

I just sourced out a governor. How hard is it to access it from under the car? I hope it's not against the tunnel or anywhere obscure where it turns out to be a pain in the a$$ to get to. That vid makes it look easy because the transmission is out of the car.

someone972

iTrader: (2)

You'll probably have to lower the end of the transmission down in order to fully pull it out of the bore. Getting it out isn't too bad, however I had some trouble getting the cap back on (may be easier depending on how low you can get it, watch the distributor doesn't hit though).

Scorched1984

That's what I was afraid of. I'll be doing this at my apartment's parking complex and I didn't want to spend too much time underneath. Figure if it was going to take 5-10 minutes I might be able to get away with it. I got yelled at one time for checking my oil so I figure they might not be ok with any work being done on the car on their property.

someone972

iTrader: (2)

Always fun having to deal with fussy apartment management. You may be able to check if there's any TGO members or other third gen enthusiasts in your area, most people would be happy to lend some space and a hand. It is pretty easy once you get enough access, there's nothing holding it in besides the cover. It's just getting the cover to go back on that's tricky sometimes. You really need to get it started straight and be careful where you whack it. It can take a couple dent's on the edge but since it's what keeps the governor in denting the middle in significantly could be bad. Someone else might be able to chime in with their experience, I may have just made it difficult on myself.

Scorched1984

Well I might know some friends who might be willing to help out and loan their driveway. I would just have to manually shift and limp over to their place about 15 minutes away....or depending which friend, 30 minutes away. I would do that if I have to, but I don't know if manually shifting would cause excess wear on the transmission. What bolts would I have to undo to drop the transmission a bit to allow enough clearance?

someone972

iTrader: (2)

There's 4 bolts holding the transmission cross member to the frame, and one nut holding the tail shaft to the cross-member. All 15 mm if I remember correctly, although you might need a deep socket or a wrench for the nut if you feel inclined to remove the crossmember completely. You can probably get away with leaving it attached to the tailshaft besides it being an annoyance. Ideally you'll have a jack under the end of the transmission. I assume you have a jack and jackstands?

Scorched1984

Yeah I can call a buddy who has them. He might also have a soft mallet for the cover. I try not to collect too many tools...don't have a lot of space at the moment lol