Ok I feel like an idiot. I just went to the junkyard, pulled out a 1988 v6(2.8L) 700r4. for my '89 camaro. I have a carbed v8 and th350 currently. I didnt even think about the bell housing. All I read previously was to get an '87 or newer 700r4 out of a f-body so it would have the better internals (30/27 - input/output spline count, etc.) and proper tailshaft. Never saw or even thought about the bell housings. Now I'm stuck with a trans I cant use. My question is what can I salvage from this? I also bought the shifter cable, tv cable, trans. cooler lines, dip stick tube, flexplate cover, and cross member. Are all those parts the same on all the f-body 700r4's? Meaning if i go get a v8 700r4 that all those parts will be the same. I had read that the only difference between v6 and v8 700R4's were the bell housing patterns, is this true? Which if it is, that means I can use the other parts I bought and the tail shaft off that transmission and go find a v8 700r4 and all will be well? Which I also read that 700R4's out of any other car (non-fbody) will work if I use this tailshaft I now have?

You can use the external stuff, but the internals are different. You don't have the 30-spline input on that V6 700R-4, and the internals have less clutches in some of the clutch packs. The 700R-4s used behind the 4.3L V6 engines did get the same guts as the same-year V8 700R-4s intended for 305s. The 2.8L V6 case you did get is desirable to people wanting to put a Cadillac Northstar V8 into a RWD vehicle, but you can and must put the same-year Corvette guts into the 2.8L V6 case.

It's highly unlikely that the TV cables are the same, and the flexplate cover, or dust shield from a V6 700r4 is too small for the V8 700r4. As far as V8 700r4's go, the truck and vette ones are different lengths from ours. You can use one out of a V8 Caprice or similar car by swapping your tailshaft housing onto it, but it'll shift/behave a bit differently due to the 2nd gear apply servo being setup differently, as well as the valve body, governor, etc.

Of all the parts listed the ONLY parts that can be used on a V8 700R4 is the Crossmember and the shifter cable. The tv cable, trans. cooler lines, dip stick tube, flexplate cover are all different. (You MIGHT be able to re-bent the the factory Tranny cooler lines - but I'm not sure if they will fit right after thay are bent for the V8 radiator ! ) A couple internal parts that could be used in a V8 are the Speedo sending unit/driven gear the speedo Drive gear located on the tail shaft, and the tranny governer. Those small parts can also be used in a V8 700R4.

If you were thinking about selling them....... I'd be interested in getting your price for the cable speedo sending unit/Driven Gear, Grey DRIVE Gear, and V6 Tranny governer Think it over and send me a PM with a price if those small parts from the V6 tranny are for sale.

hmmm....ok. So i can for sure use the tailshaft, crossmember, and shifter cable. The rest of the stuff either wont work or is "iffy" like what the one guy said about the trans. cooler lines? ok. I'm about ready to say screw it with this mix & match used stuff, and go buy a new Probuilt and whatever it doesnt come with externally buy new as well.

I'm not interested in the internals of this V6 700R4, I'd like to see if someone will buy it. I know it isnt worth much, but a little atleast. If it doesnt sell after a month or maybe two, then i'll just throw it in one of the cars I take to the scrap yard. If that happens, then I have no problem with removing the speedometer cable housing thing with the driven gear, and pulling the tail shaft off and removing the drive gear for you (John in RI). But the Tranny governor...idk. I have no idea what that is or how hard it would be too remove. If its easy then sure, but you'd have to give me some instructions on how to do that. Otherwise i'm gonna leave the internals alone. Also, how do you know the drive gear is the gray (15 tooth right?) Did the '88 V6 700's come with that standard or were you saying IF it is the gray one you want it?

My car right now has the TH350 with the adapter plate and a camaro tailshaft (with tailshaft mounted torque arm) and stock crossmember. So I can see that I won't need the speedometer housing from this v6 tranny bc i already have one. I just now thought about that too, can I assume that the tailshaft on my car right now (the one bolted to the TH350) is a 700R4 tailshaft? and not the 2004R? or are those the same?

Thanks for all the help. I REALLY appreciate it.

Thanx a lot for considering this for me. Removing the tranny governor is really easy. Even easier if the tranny is going for scrap. Here is a picture:



You can see the red governor case to the top/right of the governors....... Using a screw driver and a hammer just drive that case off ( the drivers side of the tranny ) and the governor will come right out. If the tranny is going to the scrap yard than there isn't a need to be precise and the cover can get bent/warped a little during removal without consequences.

I need the style on the right. That is the style that should be installed inside that tranny. ( a 1988 V6 MPFI with 3.42 gears.) Because the car had 3.42 gears,....... it should have the grey 15 tooth in it ( yes - it's the one I need too !)

Wish I had some advise in regards to the tail shaft question, but I have no good answers on that topic !

Just wanted to chime in on the gray drive gear. All 3rd gens with 3.42 or numerically higher rearend gears got the 15 tooth, gray drive gear. 3.23 and numerically lower rearend ratios all got the red, 17 tooth drive gear. I went from 2.73 to 3.42 and had to use the gray gear, then I swapped the 3.42's for 3.23's and had to turn around and re-install the red gear again! And yeah, like John said, the governor is a piece of cake to remove. Just pop off the mushroom shaped cover on the driver's side of the trans back near the tailshaft housing and it's right there.

wow. that does sound really easy. I always wondered what was behind that mushroom shaped cover, it just seemed out of place to me on a transmission. ok, well in that case, if no one buys this transmission complete soon enough, then I'll remove those items for you John. I'll be in touch with you by PM as to what happens. And thanks for the extra info Pat, that helps me too. However I do still wish I knew what tailshaft is on my car now though. Guess I'll figure it out eventually.

Well this sure has been one big learning experience for me. I'm not complaining though. I've been told this "workin on cars" business is just a continous learning experience, never stops. That's been true for me so far. Thanks again for all the help.

Thanx,...... That's what we are here for !!

Sorry to steal your thread but will the drive shaft from a V6 700R4 work with the V8 700R4?

Mark.

Don't hold me to it, but I'm pretty sure the V6 driveshafts are the same length as the V8 ones.

I thought they were the same length but It's the splines that I'm wondering about. I should have clarified. Thanks.


Mark.

I see. That's another one I'll say don't hold me to it, but I'll bet the yoke is 27 spline, just like the V8's. Knowing GM and their penchant to standardize most parts, they're probably the same. A lot of times the tranny input splines will differ between V6 and V8, at least on the manual trannys, but the output splines are usually the same, and on the autos the inputs are the same too. A lot of guys run the S-10 torque converters with a V8 as a cheap way to have a higher stall converter.

OK. Thanks for the information. Dave Mc is sending me a driveshaft from a V8 82 F body so I guess I'm taking care of. Thanks again.

Mark.

If he hasn't shipped that driveshaft out yet, you may want to cancel. 82 driveshafts are longer than 84-up driveshafts since the non-OD TH200 or whatever trans it was in 82 is shorter than a 700r4. Same goes for the 82-83 4 speed manual trans compared to the 84-up T5's. Btw, I just noticed you said in your first post that you're running a TH350. Even if that's still the case, if it has the adapter plate, that makes it just as long as a 700r4, so the 82 driveshaft would still be too long. On the other hand, if that adapter plate on your TH350 made it the same length as the 700r4 you're going to be putting in there, then the driveshaft you already have should be the right length.

The adapter didn't make the tail shaft any longer. I need the longer drivehaft. I have the 700R4 shaft in the trans right now (so I can start the car without losing trans fluid)but it's about 3in to short(it wont reach the 3rd member)he has the right drive shaft me. Thanks.

Mark.

Oh ok, gotcha. So you do actually need the longer, 82 style shaft then. I'm guessing the adapter you're using is just the one that enables you to bolt up the torque arm huh? A buddy of mine put a TH350 in his 90 Iroc a while back, and the adapter kit he bought was pretty intricate. It included a longer output shaft and a thick spacer block that bolted between the main case and the tailshaft housing, which made it the same length as a 700r4. If I remember right, he just bolted the stock 700r4 tailshaft housing to the spacer block to enable attachment of the torque arm. You've probably got the B&M kit, which is a lot simpler than what my buddy had. He had to have a trans shop tear the trans down to install the longer output shaft, so it was a PITA.

Yea I got the B&M adapter kit. I wish I would have gotten a better kit then the B&M like the ones that have the torque arm connected to the cross member. We live and learn I guess.

Thanks

Mark.

Well you could always take advantage of Spohn's big holiday sale and order up one of their nice adjustable torque arm/crossmember setups.

If it wasn't for Christmas shopping I might. I'm broke.

Mark.