Ok...finally got the Camaro running...here's the info, and the problem

Buddy bought new tranny for his 87 firebird, and gave me his old one.

This tranny is supposedly a 700r4, but takes a 200r4 filter because with the 700 filter it starves the tranny for fluid. Not sure what else is in it for the origional car was a prototype that Pontiac wanted to buy back from the origional owner (saw the letters)
It was running and shifting perfect in his car on Saturday before we replaced his. Not bad for a 175k mile tranny!

We installed it on Sunday, and ever since it has waited until 3000 to shift to 2nd (20mph), and shifts hard when it does. Same with 3rd (45mph), and 4th (65mph).

Shifts at same rpm when full throttle...I've adjusted cable and it does not fix it.

When going steady (runs great that way)...does not downshift with WOT unless i do it manually, and when i go back it shifts up again as soon as i do.

When we swapped tranny's (my old one lost all gears) we had to replace the shifter bolt as we broke the old one off...but it came from my broke tranny, and it fits and works fine.

When putting it in...it got dropped about 6 inches to a heavily padded floor...no damage to anything that we could see.

I assume that the TV cable could be the culprit...but I have taken it back out and it is good...when in, you can hear and feel it push the detent in the tranny, so I know that mechanically it is working all the way down to the tranny.

The only other opinion I would have would be that the fluid has either a little gunk that will work its way out after a few days, or it still has air in it.

I know that 175k is very high for a tranny, and i plan on replacing it soon, but I don't want to be forced into it due to another blown tranny.

Any opinions???

Thanks for the help guys!

 

Definately sounds like a TV problem (erratic shifting). How old is the cable? They stretch over time, and even though they "work" they can still not allow proper adjustment. They are also cheap and easy to replace, so that's a good place to start.

175K is amazing for a 700R4. The most I ever got out of one was 135K.

Sounds like a bastard trans anway, given your filter scenario. Prototyope cars are always weird like that. My cousin had a '93 Z28 prototype. It had all the 1LE parts, but also power everything. It routinely ran low 13s in the quarter while running severely traction limited street tires. Some @$$hole turned into oncoming traffic and totalled the car about 6 months after he got it. My cousin bent the A-pillar with his head, and still got out of the car and started to beat the crap out of the guy! Oh, it was Mother's Day too. Nothing like going to see your Mom with fresh stitches in your head.

 

Well...the cable worked on the old transmission, and the Firebird that the tranny came from worked like it was supposed to.

One thing is that when I go full throttle, it does not downshift, and when accellerating...it shifts at the same point whether its easy or WOT.

I have adjusted the TV cable both ways and it still does the same thing.

I am thinking that there is garbage in one of the fluid passages and it is holding TV pressure at a wierd point. When accellerating at a semi-hard/easy pace, it seems to shift perfect, but only at that point.

When it warms up...it shifts lower in the rpms and easier, but still doesn't downshift on WOT and still throws a fit when accel on WOT.

Anybody have any idea of how to clean it out other than removing it?

 

It's starting to sound like a governor problem. I'd pull it out an make sure it isn't sticking, and/or the gear isn't damaged.

 

Could that happen from pulling it out of a good car and then installing it the next day into another? It ran and shiftd fine the day we pulled it.

 

Doesn't sound exactly "fresh" to me.

I'd suspect #2 has a lot to do with your problems.

 

That's what I'm thinking too, but the local tranny shops say that it is more than likely some kind of debris clogging a passage or two...

I'm just driving it for now to see if I can get it to clear up.

If it doesn't in a couple of weeks, I'll be looking for a new tranny. LOL