I said I was never going to sell my car, but that time may be approaching near....

Took my car to Brownie's Independent Transmission. While my car had been parked for the winter and on jackstands, I (for the first time) decided to change my transmission fluid and filter. Well, ever since doing that the transmission has been slipping HORRIBLY. Well, I had trouble getting the filter into the pickup tube, and I didn't feel like dropping the pan again, so I figured I'd just have IT do it for 19 bucks and call it a deal. Well, I got a phone call basically telling me my transmission is toast. He said the fluid smelled so burnt you could barely stand to be around it, and that the filter had been seated right. He said something about "clutches" sitting in the bottom of the pan...? I don't know a whole lot about automatic transmissions so that's kinda confusing to me. I know that doing a transmission fluid change on a transmission that's going out can finish it off, but nothing seemed to be wrong beforehand...

So anyhow, this, combined with the fact that it's got 184,xxx miles, is in the middle of bodywork (and still has a lot of body problems), some interior issues, needs new wheels, needs tires... I'm pretty much about ready to give up. I have three cars of my own and they're all giving me fits. I really just am getting to the point where I wanna sell them all and get a decent thirdgen, but none of my cars are probably worth terribly much, and I don't have a lot of money. Sucks though, I have this brand new Hooker Aerochamber cat-back exhaust, high-flow catyletic convertor, some interior parts, drum brake kit... stuff I've purchased that I haven't even used yet. But this car's just given me fits and I've owned it for over a year and have driven it MAYBE 1,000 miles, I'm sick of it just sitting there.

What do you all think? Time to move on?

I wanna get another Firebird (GTA would be awesome) but I don't know that I can afford one right now that is gonna be any better off than my current one. And I'm really upset by the fact that I'm even thinking of selling it so if I'm gonna do it I want it to be worth it....

 

don't feel bad, i've been thinking about selling mine and picking up like a grand prix or something. little sporty yet causal, plus i might need something that's a little more family orintated soon i mean you can't own a sports car forever plus i can't really afford my car anyway.

 

How much you want for it? j/k


I disagree. So would my grandparents. ('63 Corvette split-window Stingray, 90 Corvette that they race, 94 Corvette 'vert, 89 Camaro RS, 99 Camaro SS)

 

Feel like taking a little trip to Va? I have a 700R4 I'll sell ya cheap.
I need to get it out of the garage, takes up too much space.

 

What kind of condition, how many miles on it, how much?

 

Cars can be a love hate relationship....if u can get a tranny that works well for cheap, id say do it, if it is to much hassle...maybe it wont be such a bad idea to aim for another third gen....if u were selling ur car and didnt plan on a third gen, then id try and tell ya to stick with it

 

That sux man, but you can find another somewhere. Or if you get lucky, you could find a 700 for $20 like me. I was in the same situation as you, till I found that tranny. Its been running strong for over 2 years now (knock on wood).

Also, by chance did you leave the rubber O-Ring from the old filter in the tranny, while trying to install the new filter and O-Ring? That little bastard could have been the source of all your problems.

Good luck anyways.

 

i dunno....clutch material in the pan is never a good sign.....

 

Dont feel bad there Fyrelance. I just had to sink $1150 in my tranny cause it went. I didnt get it at all either....it went with no signs at all. I was just pulling a uey to go back up the road and....rrrrrrrreeeeeevvvv.....stuck in first....up to about 3600-3700rpm....then BAM!....slammed into 2nd. I went "oh great...just what i need" That was the one of the worst days of my life..ill never forget it. Hope it all works out for ya man......Maybe you can get another 3rdgen if your still going to consider selling yours.

 

That sux man, however, Pskel350 was tryin to sell a 700r4 a while ago.....dunno if he still does, but it might be worth askin if the other one doesn't work out for ya.....he is from Michigan by the way

 

Quote:

Also, by chance did you leave the rubber O-Ring from the old filter in the tranny, while trying to install the new filter and O-Ring? That little bastard could have been the source of all your problems.

Nope, I know I got that outta there cuz it was a pain in the butt, didn't wanna come out at first.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement guys... it really does help me feel at least a little better... it just sucks when you've poured your heart and soul into a car and it keeps stabbing you in the back....

Keep on posting 700r4's that are for sale if it's anywhere remotely near Ohio... this thread may determine whether or not I keep the car....

 

It is in good condition, has about 40K on it, ran great in the car it was in. $250 and it's yours.

 

that sucks about the tranny

is car a V8 or V6? I have a 700R4 i need to get rid of in southern MI.

 

Sucks man!
Some times i want to sell mine... and some times i dont

 

he said it was a formula...

thats too bad man, if it woulda happened about a month ago i could have gotten you a fresh 700r4 for cheap.

He got this trans rebuilt, harder gears, corvette servo, 2000 stall....and he put like 2000 miles on it before he wrecked his car!!! and he ended up selling it for $225!!!!

good luck

 

I feel for ya man, but don't get into my situation. I bought my GTA hoping it was just a blown head gasket and I basically got sold a lemon.

So far My car is up to the 4 grand mark, including the purchase price. I have no freaking idea where I got the money for this project. It just seems that whenever I need something done, the much needed money just appears in my account...weird.

Cheap GTA's are nothing but a handful. If a GTA is cheap then its got some serious problems.

 

It's tough when a car just seems to reach deeper and deeper into your pocket and it's nowhere near the way you want it to be.
Still, they're all going to give you trouble and cost you money sooner or later.
I'd say if you can fix it cheap enough, fix it. Even if you sell it later, it's easier in my experience to sell a running car. But then again, it's not my first instinct to encourage you to get rid of it.
I know it's hard to do sometimes, but I'd say hang in there, fix it if you can, and install your other parts. Maybe that will be some inspiration to finish it. But it's up to you...Sucks being poor

 

I may be able to get my girlfriend's dad to help me out with swapping the transmission (never done it before, closest I've come is removing the tranny from a friend's Protege to change the clutch) but I've never even met her real dad yet... she's gonna talk to him though.

So, Zeph, that may be an idea. Only thing is I dunno how far of a drive that is. I'm from Midwest OH, near Dayton (bordering Vandalia where the T/A nat's are held). If I were to purchase, I don't suppose a halfway meet of some sort is in the question at all is it?

It's all uncertain right now anyway though, I'll see if I can fix it cheap enough, if not, guess I grab my ankles and move on...

FruityOne, thanks for the advice, I'll definitely keep that in mind. I can relate, I bought this 91 Formula for $1700 but I've put a ridiculous amount of time, work, money into it and it seems to all be for naught. I wanna keep on keeping on but at the same time it's discouraging. But thanks for the advice.

Amen to that one...

 

Doh!

 

Dunno that I'd ever wanna sell yours but hey if you wanna get rid of it let me know, lol

 

You should come out and visit the beach, and while you are here, grab the tranny.

Since I don't have a car, it's hard for me to get too far from my area. My T/A is my daily driver and it's been out of commission for almost 2 years ( I did get to drive it for 6 weeks last year, but that hardly counts).

I am so used to not having a car, it's going to be really weird to actually have one that I can go places with.

 

Well my problem is also kinda transportation, since I have a little pickup truck but I don't really know that I trust it to go that far. Hmm...

You'll be so glad to drive again though, you'll wonder how you went without it

 

Ack, according to Mapquest, Norfolk is almost 11 hours away.

Wonder how much it costs to ship a transmission..........

 

Not to take away from zephers sale or antyhing. But i think there is a guy in the midwest board selling a 700r4 for 150.

Just thought you might want the heads up.


If shipping is crazy, rent a little frod ranger from enterprise or something, i think they are cheap enough and good on gas. If you come out this way for a trans, you could hang out with the locals.


Good luck, and i hope everything works out for you and your car.

 

Yes, OMG denny is the parts man. Imagine a decent sized basement full of NOTHING but 3rd gen parts! Doors, dash panels, dash pads, bumper covers, you name it he'd got it. The only thing you'd need is a bare chassis. ^_^

If you had that I'm sure you could build one up from scratch. I'm buying a tranny from him and I had my choice of like 3 different 700r4's! I eventually went with a 700r4 out of a 87 berlinetta. I figure that little TBI didn't beat on it too much.

 

Actually i was talking about XPNDBL(i may have that slightly wrong)

I just happen to remember the thread, he said he would take 150 for it.

I am sure denny would cut you a great deal also.

Keep us posted.

 

I replied to the post in the Midwest board, but it would still be nice to find someone a little closer to Dayton, OH..

 

Heheh, oops. Xpdble has one too. I already claimed one from denny though. ^_^

 

my tranny blew not too long ago either, iv pretty much come to terms at the fact that its not worth fixing, but i do have my heart set on another bird like you- theres plenty out there

 

I think I was kinda depressed about it before but now I think I just want to get a replacement tranny and try to put it in.

 

If you can find a tranny in your price range, then swapping it is no problem. I've done it three times and the last one by myself. Two floor jacks and four jackstands, a little bit of swearing, and four hours later I was on the road.

Remove starter and set aside.
2 bolts on the rear of the Torque Arm
4 bolts on the Driveshaft U-Joints
Once driveshaft is unbolted, pull it out of the Tranny tailshaft.
3 bolts on the front of the Torque Arm
Place floor jack under tranny and jack it up just till the tranny barley moves, this is just to hold it up while you take some more bolts out.
1 bolt for the Tranny mount
4 bolts on the Tranny Crossmember
Remove dist. cap and disconnect TV cable at throttle linkage, then lower tranny down a little bit.
Remove coolant lines, 3 pin. connector, and shifter linkage.
3 or 4 bolts for the Torque Converter to Flywheel (cant remember)
4 bolts on the bottom of the Bellhousing
Raise tranny back up a little bit, eaiser to get to the...
2 Bolts on top of Bellhousing.
Lower tranny down eaisly, then throw in the nearest dumpster.

Install in reverse order. And dont forget fluid. LOL

See its not that complicated, those are some basic steps, but I think there is a Tech. Article that explains it much better.

Good Luck

 

:hail: Thanks, Rick! :hail:

I was thinking of going for a LT1 and 4L60e.... would the 4th-gen tranny swap be any different?

Again thanks for the simple, to the point explanation, you rock!

 

Keep with it for as long as you can. My car was a lemon when we bought it. We have about $10,000 put into repairs alone (several hundred when the tranny went out) and the car now runs like a dream.

Hope everything turns out well for you.

 

700R4's grow on trees, are cheap, and are cake to swap. It's just some nuts and bolts. No worries man.

 

Some project cars take some soul searching to determine if the project is worth continuing pouring money into...

My '84 Z28 has been through a bit in it's 140K miles....

Last June my 5 speed would no longer allow me to down shift it (I'd have to come to a full stop and start from 1st again). Drove it to the local tranny shop and they said it was gone. Paid about $1,200 and they put in a rebuilt tranny (as they do rebuild at there shop and said mine was NOT worth a rebuild, I'm better with a different trans). Then from late June to August I put MAYBE 3K miles on it and now my Z makes a HORRIBLE noise (my motor-head friends say it sounds like a rod bearing has gone bad).

I prepped it for winter and covered it. In the middle of winter, bought my own house. Now I have to tow the Z28 from my mom's to my place. From there, I'm not sure yet. The body needs a restore (strut towers also need some work) and the engine needs a FULL overhaul....

I'm looking at all my options, new body, buy a rebuilt engine, so on and so forth.

All I say, is best of luck. I'm glad I turned my Z from a daily drive to a hobby car about 3 years ago (so this engine crap was not a problem, just an annoyance)....