I dont know what happened. . . . But my car will only drive in 1st gear when I put it into DRIVE OR OVERDRIVE. . . . .It wont shift to the next gear. What is wrong??? I checked the fluid and that is fine. . . .please. . . .any input would be greatly appreciated. . . Thanks for your help. . .

86 Trans Am 700-R4 Auto 305

 

Check the governor. More precisely the little plastic driven gear on it. Sounds like it broke. Local trans shop or dealer will hook you up with another unit for like 25 bucks.

 

What happenned RIGHT BEFORE this symptom started...?

 

well I gunned it and then it wouldnt shift.. . . . . . . .I was in overdrive when this happened. . . .and the RPM'S jumped real high and wouldnt shift. . . .so . . . . .I dont know what to do now? I dont know too much about cars. . . .so I will have to take it in. . How much do you think it would cost me to take it in? (Estimate) Unless you guys think I could fix the governor my self. . .is it an easy job for a guy that dont know jack **** about cars? lol

 

Idon't wanna scare you or anything but if this is the orig tranny in the car you may have cooked it... If this is the case, save up and bring it to a reputable tranny shop who is well versed in performance auto trannies and have them rebuild it as bullet proof as you can afford. They will probably upgrade anything that was a weak link from the factory. Depending on your car and what you plan on doing with it, a mild to moderate shift kit would be a good idea as well.

And definately get a trans cooler!!!!

Good Luck!

 

Well......I took it to a tranny shop today and they said it's probably the governor, which would run me 140 bucks to replace part and labor. But heres the bummer. They told me it would be pointless because my tranny fluid is black, its burnt they said. . .So they said they can't guarantee the governor will be the fix or something. They told me they recommend rebuilding it for 700 BUCKS. I dont know what to do?!?!?!?!!??!?!?!

 

#1: do you store your car in the winter...?
#2: how much are you/can you spend on this problem...?
#3: does thus particular tranny shop do any performance work...?
#4: How many miles on this tranny...?

If you do store and can work on it where you store, get some friends with experience and drop the tranny yourself, save up and bring it somewhere that can beef it up for you while rebuilding it.

Then put a trans cooler and maybe a deeper pan and temp gauge when you re-intsall the tranny! Change the fluid regularly and flush entire system every now and then too depending on what kind of abuse the car goes thru...

****Also make sure that your radiator is in good shape.****

A friend of mine lost a tranny because the cooling lines that go thru the radiator had rotted out thus introducing coolant into the tranny fluid! Not good for the tranny...

GOOD LUCK!

 

Id jsut change the governor and the fluid and take it from there. I had a car that was driven with almost no coolant for miles and miles. The old fluid in teh trans was nasty as hell but it worked fine and still runs today, although I dont ahve it anymore.