Token

On the highway last night I was driving to see my girlfriend who lives about 25 miles away. I was doing my usual "race the jerk who tries to pass me" bit and I caught a few little races. One was a turbo beetle which I easilly spanked. Another was a Caddy STS Northstar... I beat him just fine, however I noticed ZERO power from 2500-5000 rpm from there on out.

I knew exactly what happened.



Long story short, I only have 1st and 2nd gears now, and even they are very limited. I drove home on the highway (yes, the highway) at about 60mph doing 4000 rpm. I don't care anymore. This car will be the death of me if I don't kill it first. I regret to inform the TGO community that I will be selling my car, details soon.




Rest in peace, 700r4. You will be loved.
zero - 137,920 miles... 1992-2005

JerseyMark

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to hear about your trans. Ive had that happen to me a few times in different cars. Now I have a T5 and I am still having problems with it. (Mabey I should stop beating on trannys)

If you are selling, you dont need those lower control arms that you have anymore. What kind are they & how much do you want for them?

Token

They're tubular Spohn adjustable poly arms, never been mounted to the car, still have all hardware (brand new bolts and nuts) also.




Steve sells them for $175+sh without the hardware kit
I'll take $150+sh with, I suppose. I can get pictures if necessary.






I'll take this all to the Classifieds forum before my thread gets locked

18inchboyds

did you burn you mouth or was the trans cool ?

SSC

Just because you blew up your transmission? I have viewed your build and many problems just seems like a waste to give up now. It happens to all of us you know.

Token

I can't take it anymore. This car is a giant money pit. New motor. New suspension. New paint on some parts. I can't keep doing this

Token

I don't get it.

jimmy_mac

Karma man, these people just wanted to be going faster than you. That's why they were passing. They weren't looking for a race with a third gen. Karma spanked your azz. Stop bullying people and parts will stop breaking. That is my official diagnosis.

91Z28

I have a perfectly good 700-r4 (92K miles)i just pulled from my vert, it's a shame you live so far away......

CrazyHawaiian

If you think you got it bad, try owning more than one 3rd gen and having the tranny's on all of them break at the same time. I recommend finding a local rebuilder, preferable an old school hot rodder kinda guy w/ a good rep that does it in his garage. Usually cheaper than shops. I've found fresh rebuilt TH350's for $275 and fresh rebuilt 700R4's for around $500. 137K miles isn't that bad, about time for it to give out unless it was ultra maintained well and had a tranny cooler. I've had them go at 112K and 135K and I maintained them good. You'll never know how well the previous owner cared for his tranny until it blows. Some people never change the fluid ... ever ...

Token

i did a fluid and filter change 6k miles ago.
also, the previous owner did it before he sold me the car at 100k

BAD91CamaroRS

Don't give up now... If this was the case then we would of all sold are cars years ago.. Stick with it man.

MKnight

When I bought my 82 TA last month I knew very well it would take lots of money to restore it. To be honest with older cars you really can't think about the money if this is your true passion. I say stick with it if you can.

82knightrider

iTrader: (1)

My tranny in my blue car leaks like a ****,i feel the same way you do sometimes but then I realized,its just a tranny.It can easily be replaced with a hard days worth of work and a good buddy.Just get get one like crazy hawaian mentioned.Thats what Im doing already.Good luck man

87zjeff

iTrader: (4)

tranny's always go out. a 3/4 clutch pack is no big deal. from what i read, the tranny had a good life. heck, i've rebuilt mine three times. once cuz i didn't like teh way i did itthe time before

CrazyHawaiian

When you do get a new 700R4 be sure to add a tranny cooler. The stock cooling setup to the radiator is better than nothing, but the aftermarket stuff is alot better, will last longer. Added plus, then you can use the tranny cooler portion of the stock radiator to cool something else (power steering maybe?). Also be sure to upkeep the new tranny w/ the fluid and filter changes. Not trying to say you didn't service your stuff properly or anything, so dont take that the wrong way. I'm a forgetfull guy so I run a log on all my cars with the milage and fluid changes, type, brand, etc. Easier to keep track. I service both my tranny and rearend at every 10K miles, engine at every 2K. The average car owner usually dosn't service their drivetrain regularly unfortunately, they take it to some shop to have the engine oil changed and skip over the drivetrain stuff because it costs so much more than changing engine oil. From what I've seen, only the enthusiasts that change their own fluids religiously remember to upkeep the drivetrain..

Token

I've had a transmission cooler for about two or three years now. I just don't get it



my buddy said he'd rebuild my 700r4 for $100 plus parts; what do I have to lose?

82knightrider

iTrader: (1)

100$ But thats nothing considering your other options,go for it

383stroker90RS

come on guy dont give up on it you want to hear a sad one check this out my turbo 350 doesnt even have 2000miles on it and 3rd and reverse is gone 7000 into the engine just bought the transmission freshly rebuilt for 650 hopped up pretty good but the engine was too much for it now i just spent 450 just on parts to rebuild a 700r4 to take the punishment of the engine and all thats with me building it if i send it out add 300 to the cost so its not just you rebuild it if you want a good sight to get parts for the 700r4 let me know

chevymetal

What's the news on this thread? I've been watching Token's stuff, and I'm curious.

Are you selling the car?
How did the buddy do with the tranny?
Did it even get that far?
Are you back cruisin' the ripped up roads of MI?

I need to know!!

Gunny Highway

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to the club. I'm on my 4th, soon to be 5th.

Token

The car is still under speculation, waiting for good interest for a sale
My buddy might do the transmission this week, we are just busy people with opposite schedules.
My car is solid in 1st and 2nd gears, but I don't leave town and drive it less than 50 miles per week


I am either going to get a beater or go right for a corvette, C4

chevymetal

No Z06?


I couldn't afford one if I tried!

To be honest, I couldn't afford your car, though I'd love to buy it!

Token

it's been quite a car, that's for sure.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Giving up after just one blown transmission? Especially an old one that was destined to fail.

Blown transmissions come with the territory with an old car. They blow all the time. Ive replaced the stock driveline multiple times.

jamon8

iTrader: (3)

bottom line is that no matter what you tell people about how bad $%# your car is if they can not drive it and feel the power your car is worth its wieght in scrap metal unless you part it out, what a mess. if you are serious about selling it get the trans done. I would almost bet my car that you will keep it untill the next thing breaks welcome to the club

mystikkal_69

iTrader: (2)

LOL sell the car because of a blown trans hehe. sh*t i've blown 8 700's they only last 10-12K miles. i drive the living **** out of my car and enjoy it. since the 6th or so trans i have began doing them myself. they aren't too bad once you start to get familar with them. i have over 25K on my second build and this time used alot of hi po parts instead of working with stock clutches which suck *** in the 3/4 pack. if you do rebuild it do install a corvette servo, a .500 boost valve, install a transgo sk-700jr at a minumum, use either a raybestos high energy max pak, or bw high energy 8 clutch pack, transgo unbreakable pump rings (comes with new high pressure priming spring), and replace the lower 3 piece 3/4 apply plates with the 96+ 4l60E one piece design gm #8685044. set 3/4 clutch pack clearance .035-.055. this apply plate will allow the clutches to wear evenly. the 3 piece design is tends to flex under high loads where as the one piece does not.

oxiderush

Third gen's are definately money pits! My first one melted, and i still bought a snd a month later. It's an addiction. Some people blow their money on drugs and hookers, i blow it on my car. Whatever makes you happy

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Another reason why I'd never put a 700r4 in my car, they don't last long enough

ZZ4 86 Z28

iTrader: (1)

you guys scared me. i just got one that im putting in this week. its a goodwrench rebuild with 15k on it. i dont know how it was driven but i know i will drive it light. although it did come with a bigger cooler and a 2400 stall. will this help? i got the new motor which is beating up the tranny pretty good. should i expect it to blow soon?

redliterunner

Not exactly true and not very encouraging. Although with these cars it's a justifiable observation.

My old Dodge made many, many 10 & 11sec passes on nitrous with a stone stock Chrysler 4-gear, power shifting all the way. Stone stock rear axle never flinched either.

Fact is that, under the styling, these are typical Chevys. "Get them into the consumers hands and let them worry about it after that." Chevy engineers were always among the best, but the beancounters almost always won out in the end, and we end up paying the price for it.

I understand Token's plight. It hard to drop a grand or 1500 on a really good replacement transmission that will take whatever you dish out, and put it in a car that is not worth more than a few grand anyway. Not attacking anybody's ride specifically, and I know that many examples fetch more $. So most of us just keep putting low buck builds into them and it just keeps on breaking and breaking and breaking.

Maybe this will be encouraging.... Hundreds of years ago, when I was in high school, 67-69 camaros stood exactly where these cars stand today. They were hitting the junkyards faster than you could say "fill 'er up, please" and decent drivers were available all day long in the $600 to $1200 range. I'm talking RS's and SS's as well.

Point is: If you love the car, stick it out. Someday you will certainly be glad you did. But just accept that you'll have to lay out some cash to keep it going. You're much better off shelling out for quality replacement parts even if you have to borrow the money to do it. It's been proven over and over that it's cheaper, in the long run, to keep a car forever. Even when upgrading the parts that crap out on you.

Just my .02

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Stick has one thing going for it, its alot less complicated. The problem with the 700's wasnt as much of an issue with the hard parts as it was with the complicated design and some of the inherent flaws that it had. Id also say that 135k for an auto is fairly good run, especially with abuse. Mine made it to the 200k mark. Even with all those flaws it still managed to make it that far. By the time most people buy these, though, the drivetrain is old and used up.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Another thing is that cars only seem to have a design life of 10 years or so. I know my ford is practically disintegrating as it rolls in on the 10 year mark. Cant keep up with it.

Like you implied Im sure they could make cars go for a million miles but noone would be able to afford one.

IROZINCO

iTrader: (1)

Now, now, if you BUILD a 700-r4 right, it'll last you. They go out around 100k, and then you take 'em to a good shop and have 'em built right. Don't give up on the car because something that was gonna go sooner or later, went! I've got way more money in my IROC than it's worth, but it's NEVER come home on a tow-truck, and i know exactly what's been done to it. To me, that's worth the peace of mind.