how hard is it? lets just say if i think i had blown my clutches,, or the front pump. if i were to get one of those videos, and a rebuild kit, could it be somewhat easily done?

 

ive never rebuilt one, but I have seen them apart, and it looks very complicated.
I did rebuild a th-350, and that wasnt to bad, but the 700 looked like it had 10x the parts...and there all little.

 

theres a general consenus at the garage i work in:

when i ask another mechanic if they can help me rebuild my TH350, i get a nice friendly "no problem"

when i ask another mechanic if they can help me rebuild my 700R4, their eyes light up and they sprout horns like satan

 

I think they sell video's that have very detailed instructions. You can findthem in the back of hot rod and other mag's.

 

I think this is one issue where all the guy's who do it for a living will agree on. You will never learn from an instructional tape what experience teaches. I go back to the Powerglides and THM-400's. I did quite a few way back when, but tackling a 700 is a different animal. There a several versions of it each with it's own problems to address. There are so many simple things to do wrong that will result in catastrophy I need not mention. Notwithstanding the special tools to do it properly. Some things like the pump alignment band you can fabricate, others you will need to borrow or buy. I am not saying it can't be done, but unless you have some hands on experience and are familiar with automatics in general this is something best left to a pro.

 

I rebuilt mine approx 3 years and 15-20,000 hard miles ago never before having rebuilt a trans. I got the Haynes GM transmission book, it covers all of them but has step by step instructions and pics as well, there are a few "special" tools required but I got by without them and made my own press to compress these rings that hold like 10 springs each, total R&R plus the rebuild took about 2 1/2 days all by myself and no lift for the car. Ive talked to people as well 350's no prob 700 no way, talked to a guy I knew a long time ago and he said 700 is just a 350 +1 gear looking through the book at the 350 and 700 he was pretty close to right on the money. I think people are just intimidated by the new stuff just like when TPI first came out and everyone was used to carb's

 

A lot of it has to do with skill level and what you are comfortable with. Mark is right, some people whiz right through it others can't install a shift kit. I use the Haynes as well as the OEM manuals because I find that sometimes Haynes is not quite as complete. If you are going to do it spend a little time getting familiar with it, and also gather as much info as you can. I watched a neighborhood kid 19 years old do a Ford box in a day and a half. He knew just about every part by memory and never did a trans in his life-it all came from studying.

 

I rebuilt my trans twice already and it isnt SUPER hard. It just takes time and patients though.

(if your wondering why I had to do it twice the reason is taht I freeway raced alot back then. Also to break out teh rear end to induce a drift I would come up fast in 2nd gear and down it to 1st gear O_o VERY BAD FOR TRANS! haha)

 

That's because the 700R4 got a bad reputation, and hasn't lost it yet. When it was first introduced, it wasn't very durable, and it's much more complicated to rebuild. GM's got the transmission "perfect" now, and those 89-up's are pretty durable.

But guess what; everybody's forgotton that the TH350 had the same problem!! When it came out, it wasn't very durable, and was much harder to rebuild! People were dropping the Th350's out and putting Powerglides in! Know how people say "dump that 700r4 for a 350?" Well back then, it was "dump that 350 for a powerglide".

That's why everyone groans at the 700r4. Yeah, it's more complicated, but so's fuel injection with OBD2 compared to a non-computer-controlled carbureted intake!

Would you guys recommend getting a video at all? I've got 3 trans manuals (GM, ATSG, and Haynes GM Trans Overhaul books), and have thought about buying a 700r4 video. Is any video better than others?