ChevyRacer

Well the other day i was driving my ta, and the car's 2-3 shift seemed very soft, and i started to pay more attension, 2-3 took 1000rpm at part throttle. If i gave it gas there was nothing to even hope for.

The next day i started it up and took it for a test drive to work and she shifted fine. On the way home from work, it seemed as if i was driving a single speed tranny. Constant rpm, but increased in speed. I couldn't tell when my car shifted gears.

I took a small amount of tranny fluid out of the pan, and the fluid was normal, maybe a little metal, but nothing bad. I think it was from the small amount the clutch packs burnt.

I had a solid tranny built for $900. Alto Red Racing Clutches, Kevlar bands, hardened input shaft, 4l60e internals, 2000rpm stall(small but it got the job done at the time), billet servo, everything, i got the tranny below cost(i have good parts connections).

But now the simptoms i am experencing make me think. ITs almost as if there is no pressure. Cold the tranny works almost normal, but warmed up, there is nothing.


What could have caused this?

I know a lot of people are going to say TV cable, but no, its not the TV cable. I got it dialed in shortly after the carb swap. I had to, when going from TPI to carb it required a bunch of adjusting.

Anyone have any ideas? The tranny shop that built it, the woner retired, he'd been building tranny's for over 40 years and owned his shop for 23 years. Sold it to a larger corporation who of coarse said good bye to my warentee. So i'm at location 1 all over again. IT sucks tho, if he wasn't such a nice guy, and a good builder i'd almost sew him for the rebuild i now have to pay for if its complicated.


Anyone have any ideas?

jimmy_mac

Are you using a seperate trans cooler and do you have a temp guage in the tranny pan? If so what temp has it been running at?

ChevyRacer

i have a huge 35000GVW cooler. it goes through the raditor for the stock heat exchange, tranny out going temps are normally 400+, engine coolant temps are normally 180-220, it cools the fluid down enough for normal operation. Mine then goes though the monster cooler and cools it even further.

My tranny pan temps normally ran at or near 180, 220 max! Which is good for a tranny. I do know that 280 is bad, very bad. Especially for tranny pan temps. The tranny pan is always going to be cooler then a direct line from the cooler.

The car is in the shop right now. I got another hookup by a very large shop here in town. My 13 vane pump was still perfectly fine, and no hard parts were broken/worn beyond simple repair. My hardened input shaft was fine, and all the 4l60e Components showed no wear.

I am getting all of everything listed below:
Kolene Steels
Alto Red Frictions
Kevlar Bands
In Line Filter Added
2200RPM Stall Converter(FREE!!)

This all with a 2 year 24,000 mile warentee for $875.

Like i said before i have a very good parts connection. All parts are supplied by me, and i get at, or below cost.

The rebuild kit i supplied them with is a Hughes.

Oh yeah, and i also get a free dyno after the work is finished. They do in house dyno, they have an engine dyno, transmision dyno, and a chassis dyno. Very cool place.

Ricktpi

I feel your pain, for I am in the same boat. After 3 years, 4500 miles & 30 drag strip runs, my Raptor 700 is slipping in 4th gear. I am fairly convinced a built 700R4 is good to about 450 hp & that's about it. Going to go with a TKO 600 manual trans. at least a clutch is only $300 or so & a stick car is fun!

ChevyRacer

well thats not true, a 700r4 can be built tough. Very tough.

A shop here in town is known very highly of being able todo it. They're the first shop I or anyone else has heard of thats able to make a bulletproof 700r4. I dont know how, but they are expensive. $3k-5k is what they charge. And they are streetable as well.

ChevyRacer

just got a call, the 2200rpm stall is out of stock at thier supplier, they said i could wait a day, or get a 2500rpm free as well. I acted dissatisfied, but really enthused, i said "oh, ok, thats fine." Got off the phone and jumped. A 2500rpm stall, that will be awesome.

This one is turning out to be great.

I then asked him what could be done to stiffen up shifts, he said "with this 700r4, we can go as stiff as your bladder can take." i said "dont make them too hard, i dont want to end up having these shifts damage the tranny, but make my "bladder" hate them if you can."

best of all, i get the car back tonight, or early tomorow.

This place is good too. Owned and operated by some famous racer car driver named Keith Segars. I told myself this time, i wouldn't go to a small independant shop that gave me a warranty, because the last 2 went out of business when i needed the warranty.

Ricktpi

Yes, I have seen others that do the same stuff for the same $ with the 700R4. I should have qualified my remark with "built 700R4's in the $2000 price range".

ChevyRacer

ok, i guess i can agree on that for the most part.

But as the saying goes, its not always about how much money you have, its about who you know.

All my friends work at autoparts stores, Autozone and Advance. They both have commecial companies, that sell business's parts they need below normal customer prices and they get credit and special treatment. As the saying goes, you scratch my back, i'll scratch yours. They help the companies out, the companies help them out, even if its costs them money. Trust me. Its all just an insurance write off if they really wanted the money.

Ricktpi

Being in the auto parts & service business myself for about 27 years now & calling in quite a few favors over those years, I have learned a few lessons. Unless the guy really owes you, you will get a run of the mill job with average results at best & they are usually unwilling to help with problems down the road because he didn't make much if any money on the job. The addage "you get what you pay" holds true here. I have always found that if you use your contacts to find out who does the best work & pay them a fair price, you are far better off, not to mention building a better relation with them.