Hello everyone, im finally done with the motor swap and all the big issues, now im having a real hard time with the fine tuning, and would really appreciate some help. I started a new thread because i havent seen a situation like this before and was hoping to get some help in detail. First off, I have a 1988 firebird that had a 2.8 tpi with an electronic speedo. in it now is a 700r4 from a 1988 camaro, so it has electronic assist i believe, and it had the manual speedo cable. And the motor is a 78 305 2 barrel. Now, so far, i have put in an electric vss from a 91 camaro, which is brand new, and a b&m lock up kit part number70248, with the control from in the car. Now here is what is going on.. When the car is in park and i shift into drive, it shifts real hard and breaks the wheels loose on gravel or jumps forward on asphalt, and even with the lockup it, it shifts hard from 1st to 2nd. Shifting from park to reverse isnt so bad. Does anyone have the answer or know where i can get an answer? im sure that if i drove this car like this, it would ruin the tranny. alsop as of now the kickdown cable isnt hooked up because i need to get the right bracket, but that shouldnt matter for just shifting into drive or reverse right? Also, I should ad, as it probably is relevant, my speedo does not work, and the kit said to swap the two wires going to the vss around, i did that, and still doesnt work.

 

In general, get the throttle valve cable connected and properly adjusted and the VSS hooked up and working first. Then you can start troubleshooting if you continue to have problems.

About "ruining the transmission"....you're already doing that by driving around with the throttle valve cable disconnected. It's OK to shift the trans in the garage and move the car in and out of the garage. Don't drive it on the road.

 

Alirght, thank you, now how do i know if the tv cable is adjusted right? Is there something i should be looking for? like slack or something? Also if anyone knows why my vss isnt working, im getting power to the yellopw box but the speedo does not move

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...djustment.html

Pretty much squeeze what looks like a button while also pressing in the thing that looks like a bead, then open throttle all the way up and release, you should hear ratcheting when you're opening up the throttle. Boom, you're adjusted.

 

Those are all at the end of the cable? by the part that hooks to the throttle? And about the speedo not working?

 

Yes, the TV cable connects to the throttle lever. It should have a plastic end on it. Where the metal cable goes into the rubber sleeve and the throttle bracket, there is a big bulky thing on the cable, that is what you use to adjust it.

 

The VSS for a 91 connects directly into the ECM. The 88 is a different setup. How do you have it connected? Or did you just connect it like stock?

 

Sorry I didn't see the adjustment, i looked at it on my phone and the link didn't download. I'm still having some issues with that. I'm not sure how tight it should be normally, and it doesn't click so I must be doing something wrong. As for the speedo, the vss from the 91 sensor is just plugged in to stock plug in, that's it. I figured it would work because it looked like the two wires, purple and yellow, go from the sensor, to the firewall, then to the yellow buffer thing, which has power when key is on from pink/black wire, so I'm not sure what's happening. Thank you for all the help so far, and I appreciate all the help to come with this, because these are pretty much the last couple things before I can start driving it

 

Do you have the buffer connected to the speedo? If the VSS is connected to the buffer, and then the buffer is connected to the gauge, you should have a working speedo. Double check the wiring and make sure you have that all correct.

Adjusting the TV cable can be a PITA. Because you have to squeeze on the sides while push in on the bead on the end where the cable comes out. When you get it, you will know. Sometimes it takes a min or two of trying a few times to get it. When you hear it and feel it. Manually move your throttle lever all the way to WOT, and then you'll hear it ratchet, and see the plastic part near the bead move, adjusting the cable.

 

Do I keep the adjuster tab pressed in and bead pressed in while I open throttle, then when throttle is wide open, let the bead and tab loose, then release the throttle?

 

No, release the bead and button when you adjust throttle. After you feel bead push in, let go of the button and bead, and then move throttle to WOT, and release. Also, that button on the side, you don't really notice if you have it pushed in or not, I just squeezed the hell out of it, while pushing the bead in. It took a minute.

 

If you do it right you will hear the cable ratchet, as you move throttle to WOT and when you release. Afterwards it will be tight, but not overly tight. Hard to explain, easy to see. When you get it, you'll be like OOOOOOH!!! I know that's what happened the first time I adjusted mine. I wanted to slap myself in the face for not getting it at first.

 

Yes, it was so simple haha. It was just sticky as first. It shifts real well now, thank you very much! Now...about the speedo, it has 12 volts on pink wire, and I'm assuming the purple and yellow wires are working because the shift kit lock up light comes on after a certain speed, but speedo and odometer read nothing. I'm so puzzled. Is there a way I can maybe rewire it or something? I'm just not sure what to do

 

The 700R4 has no electronic shift controls at all. It is fully mechanical. I assume you already know that, just wanted to be sure you know that whether the speedo works or not has nothing to do with how the trans shifts. The TCC lock up from the factory was controlled by the ECM and would be affected by the VSS signal, but now you have the B&M controller installed which gets around the ECM control. Are you sure the B&M controller even uses the VSS signal? Most AM controllers don't. The TCC controller is probably just looking for the pressure switches and maybe the temp switch to close.

There are any number of ways to set up TCC control. It's just a solenoid that closes a bleed circuit to activate the clutch. The valve body has pressure switches and probably a temp switch installed. You can wire in your own control circuit using those switches and the brake light or cruise control brake switch.

The hard shifting is because the trans is designed with a throttle valve failsafe. If the cable is disconnected or breaks, a checkball closes the TV vent circuit and the TV circuit defaults to full boost. This results in high line pressure even at idle and will make for hard shifts.

Simply connecting the TV cable to your 2 barrel carb linkage and adjusting full TV doesn't mean it is set up right. Was the carb originally installed with a 700R4 trans? If so, you should be okay as long as the TV cable bracket is installed correctly. Making sure the TV valve is at full travel with the carb at full throttle is only part of the set up. Base TV at closed throttle and the rate of change as the throttle opens are both just as critical.