1985 iroc tpi305, built 700r4 with corvette parts

here's the problem. 11:00pm last night i was going home... going up and cruize control took off. transmission just stopped working. no indication, no gears slipping, no hesitation, nothing. i just coasted to a stop, with the engine able to rev freely in gear (forward, reverse, it didn't matter)

havn't gotten the car towed back yet, but it felt like the transmission wasn't even spinning... no noise, no grinding, just the engine spinning free. only sound from transmission was the light click of the shifter arm when i moved it back and forth through the gears.

additional note: for about 1.5 months there was a high idle problem (maf related) that wouldn't allow the idle below 1300rpm. i would have to shift the tranny into gear at this speed, and it would slam pretty hard.

ideas? i am hoping the bolts just finally sheared off or flex plate gave... i am just not too familiar with these transmissions, so i don't know what it could be. thanks in advance

Jason

 

Well if the flexplate bolts sheared off it would have made some noise. If the reaction carrier shaft broke. (what always breaks with abuse) it would have jerked hard then no gears. If its full of fluid, and flexplate is still intact, get an oil pressue gauge and screw it into the line pressure port on the driver side of the trans. (above the shifter linkage). See if you have line pressure. If not the t.v. valve may have come out of the bottom of the front pump. If there is good pressure, chances are something fragged inside the trans. Good luck!!!

 

It could be your shifter linkage

 

another odd note... when checking the dipstick the fluid is clean, new, smells nice, etc. if i blew one of the internals and kept the engine running, wouldn't that have contaminated the fluid or caused some change in it?

i will be getting it up in the air tomorrow to take the tq converter cover off and start the inspection.

no, its not the shifter linkage... can hear it working.

 

checked flexplate and bolts... everything looks to be in working order... spinning as it should. so its internal... F#*$ing wonderful.

if it is one of the two items (tv valve or reaction carrier shaft) how difficult is it to replace? i am unemployed and do not have the money to pay a shop 60 an hour to do this. instructions, or recommendation for a book, etc would work great. thank you for the help!

 

Sounds like the front oil pump in the tranny failed. It happened on my car.

 

how difficult is it to swap out the pump? obviously its going to be an "out of car experience" but do i need any special tools?
thanx

 

If you don't have experience taking apart trannys I would highly suggest you give it to a shop. Your best bang for the buck would be to have the whole thing refreshed.

 

that would be a good idea, if i hadn't had the thing professionally rebuilt 8 months ago. its practically new(ish), which is what pisses me off about the whole tranny failure thing.

i believe all i will need to do is remove the pump and replace what broke... what is involved with this?

 

somebody?? how complex is it to change the pump or reaction carrier shaft? where would i obtain directions?

 

There are lots of books available on rebuilding the auto trans or more specifically any model. YOu can get them on,ine at amazon.com or ebay rdeal cheap. I would recommend taking the thing to someone to have it repaired, if you dont know how. Better safe than sorry.

 

Doing just the pump is easy. Is it still under a warranty though?

If you have to do the pump, make sure the tranny is pointing straight up and down, remove any valves / sols inserted into it from the pan area, and remove it shouldn't be too bad.

 

thanks for all the help everyone. the fn tranny isn't under warranty anymore, so screwed i am. being on unemployment i don't have the money to have someone else do it at 60 an hour.

if anyone has any suggestions as to which book they recommend, i am all ears (or eyes rather... ) thanks!

 

I hear that on unemployment man, I graduated college last may, and havent had a job since. Its been bad. Try looking on the net for some free info, I'll see what I can find and I'll post it here for ya.

 

it soulds liek the pump went bad in the trans. when they go they just go... to repalce the pump on it itsn't that bad... its only 5 botls i believe.... the hard part is putting the new pump in and hot crimping the seal when you put the bolts back in..... i can rebuild a 700R4 in like 30mins IF i'm not putting the lip seals in place.... once you get to replaceing the lip seals on the pistons then it takes about 4 hours. i always check mine with an air compresser to make sure all my seals are ok and that none blow out ( i set the reg. to 40PSI)