What is a shift Kit?

What does it actually do for a transmission?

Is it ok to put a shift kit on a 700R4?

 

A shift kit is definately a good thing for a 700R4. I have heard that a TransGo Recalibration Kit will fix a lot of the problems that a 700R4 has. It will firm up the shifts also. Stay away from the B&M Shift Improver Kit. You can try a search. There should be a lot of information about the Transgo.

 

Thanks,

What is wrong with B&M? I have heard some good things about them. Also heard good things about TransGo.

 

Get the TransGo shift kit. It was the best thing I ever did to a transmission, well worth the extra money compared to the other kits. You can actually customize your 1-2 shift by the amount of washers you stack on one of the springs. I went with the hardest possible shift, and it was definitely worth it. But beware, if you don't have a lot of serious mechanical experience, do not even attempt to do this yourself. It gets VERY involved. It took me about 6 hours with the help of a mechanic who has been in the business for more than 30 years. Good luck!!

 

I have a 305 V8 carbed car
obviously with a 700R4 stock

Which kit should i get?

What do you have both a shift kit and a re-programming kit (both from transgo) or just one of those?

 

How hard is the sift compared to normal? or maybe the shift from park into drive?

 

I put the B&M Shift Improver kit in myself, in '97, before I came to thirdgen.org and learned that it was a "hated" kit. Seems that it does give hard shifts, but it's also hard on the trans. I want to rebuild this trans myself this summer; I'll be putting in the TransGo kit.

As far as the way the shifts feel; the shift from park (or neutral) to drive is the same. The kit modifies the way the transmission automatically shifts. If I drive "normally", I don't feel any hard shifting. I only feel a hard shift if I punch the gas. The kit only affects upshifts, too; you don't feel a downshift.

Besides the firmer shifts, the trans shifts faster. It made my car feel like a completely different - and meaner- animal.

Also- what year is your car, lthlcamaro? If the trans is worn out, a shift kit will kill the trans faster.

 

1986 - only 62,000 miles on it

 

Is the fluid still red & slimy-feeling & oily-smellying? If so, that's great, your trans is probably in good shape. Or, is the fluid brown-black, gritty-feeling, and burnt-smelling? If so, something's cooked inside... the gritty feeling is clutch material, and you would NOT want to put a shift kit in now! Instead, start saving for a rebuild (or a junkyard 87-up 700r4 trans).

Sucks for us, we have '86 transmissions... common failure point = aeration of fluid pump. The pump pushes more air then fluid into the trans, causing the trans to eventually burn up inside.

The only good point about that last statement? It's only a matter of time before your '86 700r4 dies; it's inevitable. Might as well have fun before it dies with a shift kit! The trans got a lot of improvements in 1987, including a redesigned fluid pump, that make it a "longer lasting" trans.

[edit] Some things you can do to keep your trans happy, and this applies to all 700r4's, too:

(1) Install an aftermarket tranny cooler, such as one of http://store.summitracing.com/produc...earchtype=ecat . Don't get the street rod one, it comes without hoses or brackets. 700r4's run hot by design, and heat destroys the fluid (burnt smell), and destroyed fluid won't lube the trans at all.

(2) Keep up with yearly trans fluid & filter changes. Because of #1 above, trans fluid can wear down fast. When you drop the trans pan to change the filter, cut the old filter open with a screwdriver and pliers. Unfold the filter medium. If your trans is about to die, you'll see large chunks of metal in the filter. If this happens, the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach is normal. It's happened to me twice already.

(3) Every oil change, check your TV cable to make sure it's in adjustment. It's not a kickdown cable; the TV (throttle valve) cable controls line (fluid) pressure inside the trans. By controlling fluid pressure, it indirectly controls shift points, and that's why people think it's some kind of kickdown or shift cable. <a href="https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/detent.shtml" target="_newwin">Click here for thirdgen's tech article on the procedure.</a> You can also do a <a href="search.php?s="><img src="images/top_search.gif" alt="Search" border="0"></a> for "TV adjust cable"; you should find a ton of messages.

 

Any way to just change that pump or it is a whole transmission job?

Thanks though i am having my car worked on in the next few days so i will check the fluid then.

I am also installing right now new plugs, wires, ignition, and few other things to get my cars accelerarion back.

Now that i have read up on shift kits and know what they do i am going to deffenitly get a kit if my trans is good to go yet.

I have also heaard that the shift kits extend the life of a well running transmission. Is that true?