I apologize for not being able to do a search, but I'm in the middle of trying to figure this out asap b/c I need this car for school and such. On my way to class this afternoon, things were fine, everything was normal. Parked the car for about an hour, and when i returned to it to leave, the car in OD wouldnt shift out of 1st gear.....same thing in D....i had to drive 8miles at 25mph, with 3000 rpms. Its a 700r4 in my 86 TA. I got back, checked the fluid, and it was low....so i added some, but not to full b/c i dont have anymore....took it for a short ride, and found out that didnt help. What could be wrong here? If the tranny was going to go, it would be slipping, right? It didnt slip at all in the last few days. If anyone has some clue, let me know. Thanks.

 

Anyone??? Any ideas??

 

ANYONE??? I need to know if this could be something that is minor, or if this would mean the transmission is dead....could this be something like a valve body or a linkage or something? Help please!!!

 

If you want to check the linkage, verify the trans goes into park when in P, reverse when in R, neutral when in N, etc. If it's hitting each of these positions, it's pretty much ruled out. If the cable was slopped, it wouldn't hit one or more of the other detents correctly...typical cable stretch failure mode I've seen is trans still in neutral when the shifter is in D, or trans still in reverse when shifter is in P.

Next, verify the Throttle Valve cable is adjusted correctly. There's a procedure in the Tech Articles section, basically just reset it to full retraction and then manually open the throttle body (by hand at the TB, not via the gas pedal) to wide open throttle. Should extend the cable by a few clicks.

Other than these two and ensuring the trans is full w/ the right fluid (Dexron-2) anything else is over your head. Find a good trans shop and get ready to drop some cash.

 

Thanks, that helps out greatly. I'm going to see if i can check this stuff out....i really dont want to drop any cash for a new transmission. I dont need that right now. Thanks again.

 

I'd check the governor. Maybe the plastic drive gear is stripped
or broken at the roll pin. No turn=no shift.

 

Two quick things that can make it not shift: Too much TV Pressure or not enough Governer Pressure. Both are common for these trannies. Too much TV Pressure comes from the Throttle Valve getting stuck in the bore. Usually if you redline the engine and let off, it will shift into the next gear. If thats the case, you may be able to give the TV Cable a few quick tugs and it may free up. If not of that is so, it may be not enough Governer Pressure, and like mentioned before, the plastic gear on the end of the governer could be broken. If you pull the governer cover off (on the drivers side near the rear) and slide the governer out, you will see a green gear on the end (or should see one anyway). Make sure its there and not broken.

 

Nordbert and GMTech....you guys have helped out greatly. I took the car last night to someone who builds race engines and trannies....and he said the exact same thing that both of you said....that it doesnt sound like the tranny just went from sitting one hour. It sounds more like the TV cable or the govenor. I hope that is the case, b/c its very stressful just sitting here waiting for the news...he wont be able to check my car till 2pm, so I should know sometime after that...its 11:20am right now here in PA. I hope you guys and him are right...some people over the fone that I talked to said right away that its the transmission that needs to be replaced.....how can they say that till they look at it?? Sounds like some people are just out to make $$$$ and dont care about the little guy. So.....I await the news....thanks again.

 

Nordbert and GMTech....you guys hit the nail on the head!!!! It was the govenor gear.....3 teeth were BROKEN OFF!!!!! First, i just want to say how disgusted I am with General Motors being so cheap and s****y to use PLASTIC in a heavy duty part like a transmission. This little 10 cent piece cost me 80 dollars, and 3 days without transportation. I'm sure if it was metal, it would have lasted longer. Stop smoking pot when you design things like this, General Motors....you can see what loosing brain cells can lead to. 2nd, Nordbert and GMTech, I appreciate your help and it was a relief to know that this was the problem and it wasnt anything more serious. Thanks for being there. Third, my question now is...how would something like that loose 3 teeth? does it develop a crack over time, or something hit it, or what? The transmission guy was actually honest, detailed and clean and thorough. He showed me various 700r4's in his shop and also took the time to show me my old gear, and what a new one looks like attached to the rest of the govenor...and then where it would go on the 700r4, and what it would connect to in the transmission(another METAL gear). So, what would cause this gear to do that? It seems odd that 3 teeth would just break off in that manner....

 

kevinc does the "I'm not worthy" bow repeatedly to GMTech and Nordbert...

 

Probably a combination of heat and age.... who knows what stress those teeth might have seen before you got them

 

Glad thats all it was. More than likely, one tooth broke, and the other two broke as a result, they break from age and thermal cycling, just like anything other plastic part exposed to those conditions (i.e. underhood connectors, spark plug wire looms, etc...)

As far as why they use "crappy" plastic instead of metal, think of it this way: If both were metal, then there is a good chance that if a failure had to occur, then the output shaft would be just as likely to get damaged as the governer gear. Would you rather pay 10¢ and whatever little labor for the governer gear, or pay whatever the cost of an output shaft, and transmission dissasembly (yes, it has to come out and completely apart to replace) to fix it? GM made sure the weakest link would be the easist to fix (that might not be what they were thinking, but thats how I see it, gotta look positive!)

 

Yeah, what they said! I'm glad you got it fixed. I have replaced lots of governor gears as part of a rebuild. It only takes about
5 minutes, once the governor is in your hand.

 

RB, Nordbert and GMTech....i too, do the "i'm not worthy" bow to you guys....I'm glad its fixed too, and I'm happy it was relatively minor. GMTech-I see your reasoning as to why they might have used cheap plastic...that does make more sense now....but naturally, as anyone else would be, i was irritated at the fact that that little thing prevented me from going anywhere. And since my C5 is in a garage 150 miles from here, that was of no help either. You're right though...I'd rather pay what it cost me today to get that fixed than drop and rip the tranny apart and put it back together...I dont want to even begin to calculate the per hour labor rate for that. Your positive outlook helps though. You guys really helped save me from making an expensive mistake...buying another 700r4, and shelling out tons of money for something I really didnt need yet. Not surprizingly, but still in a bit of disbelief is that fact that people were telling me right off the bat over the fone that i need another tranny and there isnt anything i can do...even after i asked "could it be something else, something minor?" and their answer was a flat out NO. I could have been taken for a ride..literally....looks like I wont be calling them for anything ever again. Thanks again guys...GMTech and Nordbert..make sure you guys stick around on these forums :hail: :hail: :hail:

 

I got beaten to it. I went through this same prob years ago. Luckily, I had a guy at a local trans shop say to me "5 bucks A Piece, How Many do you want?" At least the main reason for GM making the governor gear of plastic is so the gear it meshes to (Alot harder to replace) doesn't wear out, Or at least so I believe. Glad to hear you got it worked out!

 

Thanks.....glad i got it to work out too.......but.....almost 7 days EXACTLY to the day that the govenor gear failed, my mass air flow sensor decided to die....no joke, today, monday the 14th, i had to go and get a new mafs for $144 and replace mine....I sincerely hope my car is done playing april fools jokes on me now....b/c if i have another major problem like this, I'm going to blow it up with dynamite and laugh as i p**s in the fire...as much as I love this car, i've had ENOUGH in the last week to get me aggravated. $224 for repairs in 6 days...thursday, add $55 for tranny oil, filter, gasket change(i dont have my tools and jack up here in PA)....sucks....oh, and I've decided to say goodbye to my headers and such...screw the mods....I'm going to wait till i'm done with school, and i think I'm going to look for a 4th gen ram air with a six speed. Enough of this hogwash already.