Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
#1
Supreme Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 2,279
Received 155 Likes
on
144 Posts
Car: 89' Firebird
Engine: 3.4L V-6
Transmission: 700-R4
Axle/Gears: Whatever came stock!
Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
Hey guys, I bought a 87 Formula almost 10 years ago with a 305 TPI / 700 R4 and it's always shifted HARD going into forward and reverse. Its as if you instantly get reverse or forward as soon as you slip the shifter into gear, no delay whatsoever, and it chirps the tires...and throws my head back.
It ***** hard and firm going from first to second as well. Other shifts seem nice and smooth.
It feels like the park to drive / reverse would be if you were gassing it a bit while shifting it but idle seems normal, not excessively high or low etc... Looks like they also put a deeper transmission pan with a drain plug in it as well.
Does the hard shifting from park to reverse / drive seem to indicate that a shift kit was installed? I don't mind as I don't drive it much, but if I could put it into drive / reverse without snapping my neck, it would be nice!
It ***** hard and firm going from first to second as well. Other shifts seem nice and smooth.
It feels like the park to drive / reverse would be if you were gassing it a bit while shifting it but idle seems normal, not excessively high or low etc... Looks like they also put a deeper transmission pan with a drain plug in it as well.
Does the hard shifting from park to reverse / drive seem to indicate that a shift kit was installed? I don't mind as I don't drive it much, but if I could put it into drive / reverse without snapping my neck, it would be nice!
#3
Supreme Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 2,279
Received 155 Likes
on
144 Posts
Car: 89' Firebird
Engine: 3.4L V-6
Transmission: 700-R4
Axle/Gears: Whatever came stock!
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
I saw that as soon as I posted it lol
Car has about 65K (odometer stopped working) but the fluid was bright red and clean about 10 years ago. I just changed it and it was still bright and clean (car was sitting for a while) but the car always did that with the old and new fluids.
Would a misadjusted TV cable do that by any chance?
#5
Supreme Member
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Hurst, Texas
Posts: 9,994
Received 386 Likes
on
329 Posts
Car: 1983 G20 Chevy
Engine: 305 TPI
Transmission: 4L60
Axle/Gears: 14 bolt with 3.07 gears
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
Not exactly correct. For all we know this transmission could have a constant pressure valve body installed. Also the various shift kits and pressure regulators available are vast. A line pressure gauge would typically tell the tale. As for firm engagement into reverse and drive with a shift kit. ABSOLUTELY. You drill out the feed holes in the separator plate, install heavier springs in the various accumulators and other tweaks when you install a shift kit. EVERY shift kit I have ever installed has a much firmer initial engagement than a stock transmission. I had a S10 converter in the 700r4 in my G20 van and idling at 650 rpm, when you dropped it into reverse or drive it had a very solid engagement.
#7
Supreme Member
iTrader: (2)
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
Not exactly correct. For all we know this transmission could have a constant pressure valve body installed. Also the various shift kits and pressure regulators available are vast. A line pressure gauge would typically tell the tale. As for firm engagement into reverse and drive with a shift kit. ABSOLUTELY. You drill out the feed holes in the separator plate, install heavier springs in the various accumulators and other tweaks when you install a shift kit. EVERY shift kit I have ever installed has a much firmer initial engagement than a stock transmission. I had a S10 converter in the 700r4 in my G20 van and idling at 650 rpm, when you dropped it into reverse or drive it had a very solid engagement.
Trending Topics
#8
Supreme Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 2,279
Received 155 Likes
on
144 Posts
Car: 89' Firebird
Engine: 3.4L V-6
Transmission: 700-R4
Axle/Gears: Whatever came stock!
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
I thought my idle was pretty normal, but I was looking at it yesterday and sometimes it's kinda high...like 1500. But it also does it when the idle is...I guess normal. I did a little research and from what I can tell when its "normal" it still shifts into gear super hard.
Usually when I shift my s-10 or 2.8 bird into gear, o any other car for that matter..., the idle kinda drops a bit then it engages.
on this car, it seems to immediately engage, no drop, no pause etc...
#9
Supreme Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 2,279
Received 155 Likes
on
144 Posts
Car: 89' Firebird
Engine: 3.4L V-6
Transmission: 700-R4
Axle/Gears: Whatever came stock!
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
Not exactly correct. For all we know this transmission could have a constant pressure valve body installed. Also the various shift kits and pressure regulators available are vast. A line pressure gauge would typically tell the tale. As for firm engagement into reverse and drive with a shift kit. ABSOLUTELY. You drill out the feed holes in the separator plate, install heavier springs in the various accumulators and other tweaks when you install a shift kit. EVERY shift kit I have ever installed has a much firmer initial engagement than a stock transmission. I had a S10 converter in the 700r4 in my G20 van and idling at 650 rpm, when you dropped it into reverse or drive it had a very solid engagement.
Do you think it's something a decent trans shop would be able to identify and I guess.....undo? This is kind of a cruiser car...and a 305, so I'm not interested in the whole fast engagement performance etc.. my s-10 has a really nice smooth shifting 700r4 and I like it!
#11
Supreme Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 2,279
Received 155 Likes
on
144 Posts
Car: 89' Firebird
Engine: 3.4L V-6
Transmission: 700-R4
Axle/Gears: Whatever came stock!
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
I have had a few Transgo kit's in use, and currently have a Probuilt trans kit with another drilled out Transgo kit behind a 9 1/2" torque converter idling at 1000rpms. It runs 250 psi in reverse. It doesn't slam into gear. I'm not an expert transmission guy, but I have rebuilt a few. I also have a solid engagement, but it won't snap my neck. I agree, a pressure gauge would tell the tale, but to me, it sounds like either a stuck valve the valvebody, or someone really screwed up on a valvebody kit. Could even be a worn yoke spline, or slop in the rear end. Without witnessing it, it's hard to tell, but if a kit was installed, it should not slam into gear. Maybe even a worn out flexplate.
Lovely haha
I have a low mileage 700r4 from a 2WD s-10, that was going to go into my S-10.......I'm wondering if that might be compatible...or I might just live with it snce that's quite a bit of time / money
#12
Supreme Member
iTrader: (2)
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
First off, when your car is cold, it will fast idle at 1500 rpm's or a little more. When your car warms up, idle should come down to around 5-600 rpms. If you shift it on fast idle, it probably does slam into gear at 1500 rpm's. Normal idle is 5-600 rpm's. If it doesn't idle at that when warm, you need to address that problem first. What engine is in front of the 700r4 in the S-10? It would have helped in your first post if you would have mentioned the 1500 rpm "high" idle.
#13
Supreme Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 2,279
Received 155 Likes
on
144 Posts
Car: 89' Firebird
Engine: 3.4L V-6
Transmission: 700-R4
Axle/Gears: Whatever came stock!
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
First off, when your car is cold, it will fast idle at 1500 rpm's or a little more. When your car warms up, idle should come down to around 5-600 rpms. If you shift it on fast idle, it probably does slam into gear at 1500 rpm's. Normal idle is 5-600 rpm's. If it doesn't idle at that when warm, you need to address that problem first. What engine is in front of the 700r4 in the S-10? It would have helped in your first post if you would have mentioned the 1500 rpm "high" idle.
I just noticed that it sometimes the 5.0 idles high when warm, but not always so that's another issue that needs to be taken care of now :/ I'm wondering if the CTS is bad. I think that a bad CTS used to make my old Camry idle high. Im currently looking for the easy possible vacuum leaks etc..
But when it's warm and not idling high but warm and idling normal at 5-600 it still ***** VERY hard into drive and reverse.
.
S-10 is a 4.3L so I think that has the same bolt pattern as the 5.0?
#14
Supreme Member
iTrader: (2)
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
The 700r4 only has one bolt pattern. The issue is how the gut's match up to the engine. On smaller engines, the clutches and valve body make up may be different. They built the transmission for the vehicle they were going into. A truck transmission will be heavier built than a car transmission etc. So to say, will the 4.3 700r4 work in your car with a 5.0, it will fit the engine, but probably won't match on performance. If your going to do anything, in my opinion, if you don't work on them yourself, take it to a reputable transmission shop. But make sure your engine is idling and working as it's suppose to. Have you cleaned and reset the IAC? Here is a link from the home page; https://www.thirdgen.org/tpimod2/ Unscrew the Idle air control and spray it with carb cleaner, but don't push on the pintle on the end of the sensor. They tend to get gummed up and stick.
Last edited by red rock; 07-23-2018 at 12:06 AM.
#17
Supreme Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 2,279
Received 155 Likes
on
144 Posts
Car: 89' Firebird
Engine: 3.4L V-6
Transmission: 700-R4
Axle/Gears: Whatever came stock!
Re: Do I have a shift kit in my 700r4?
The 700r4 only has one bolt pattern. The issue is how the gut's match up to the engine. On smaller engines, the clutches and valve body make up may be different. They built the transmission for the vehicle they were going into. A truck transmission will be heavier built than a car transmission etc. So to say, will the 4.3 700r4 work in your car with a 5.0, it will fit the engine, but probably won't match on performance. If your going to do anything, in my opinion, if you don't work on them yourself, take it to a reputable transmission shop. But make sure your engine is idling and working as it's suppose to. Have you cleaned and reset the IAC? Here is a link from the home page; https://www.thirdgen.org/tpimod2/ Unscrew the Idle air control and spray it with carb cleaner, but don't push on the pintle on the end of the sensor. They tend to get gummed up and stick.
I'll probably be taking it to a trans shop though for them to give it a look over from what it seems.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
hydrolic144
Transmissions and Drivetrain
5
11-19-2010 08:44 PM
BlueZee28
Transmissions and Drivetrain
7
09-12-2007 12:19 AM
ZZ4 86 Z28
Engine/Drivetrain/Suspension Parts for Sale
25
08-07-2006 11:33 AM
no_car_yet
Transmissions and Drivetrain
4
08-27-2002 07:04 PM
IROCZ4BD3
Transmissions and Drivetrain
4
07-24-2001 08:06 AM