Hi! Is it possible that my TA from 1982 has a TH200-4R trans? My mechanic told me my overdrive didn't work properly so he had to "disconnect" it?

Can you just turn off fourth gear? What's more I don't have any overdrive on my shifter bezel... ist it still possible that I have one? I cannot be sure whether or not the tranny has been changed so that is a possibility... But I'm still wondering about it.

If I really have that tranny, is it possible for me to rebuild it myself? Or do I need a professional to do it? This would cost me about 1500$ so I really don't like that option .

 

It is EXTREMELY unlikely that you have a 200-4R in your 82. It is IMPOSSIBLE that it came with one; but someone might have put one in it at some point; unlikely, but at least possible.

It is very easy to identify those 2 transmissions. If the pan looks sort of like it's divided in half, like a peanut shell or something, large front section and small rear section, then it's a 200-4R; if it's flat and square, it's a 200C, which is what your car would have come with. Not the same transmission at all.

The 200C doesn't have overdrive, so there's no way they could have "disconnected" it. It does however have a lock-up clutch (the "C" in the model #, which sets it apart from the older 200, without the clutch) which they might possibly have "disconnected".

A good question to ask, before you proceed to the rebuild question, is, what was teh transmission doing that made them do this; and why do you think it needs a rebuild at all?

 

See, the point is my mechanic said it didn't shift to fourth properly anymore (if I remember correctly). If it was just a 3gear tranny that statement makes no sense. Truth be told I never actually felt a problem myself.

Do I notice when the clutch gets disconnected? What's different?

And I don't think it NEEDS a rebuild... It's just that I want to get my hands dirty on that car (I like working with machines) and second I want to get that car in shape again from the first to the last screw. Since I'm going to have the car painted and the engine changed, cleaned, tuned and so on I thought that was the right point... to get it painted I'll be removing everything anyway so why not get the tranny in shape as well? Is that a stupid idea?

 

The point is, your transmission doesn't have a 4th gear; no matter what your "mechanic" told you. I can accept no further responsibility than that, for whether what your "mechanic" told you "makes sense" or not.

A good place to start would be to look up under it at the transmission pan, and identify what you've really got. It is beyond pointless to come up with conjectures about it, if you don't know what's in there.

Incidentally, a 200C will have the word "METRIC" stamped in the bottom of the pan.

 

Yes, I'll be doing that as soon as I get to it.

Edit: Well I took a peek under the car. That thing looks to short to be a 4R. Well, whatever... I guess I'll have to find a new transmission then .

 

The 200c is junk so I wouldn't waste your money on rebuilding it or getting another one like it.

 

Exactely my line of thinking. I will be looking for a 200-4R. If I go on like this I'll soon be able to weld together a completely new car without taking mine apart .

 

Your best bet would be find a short tail shaft TH-350 and put that in, It doesnt have overdrive but it is much stronger and the possiblities for those are endless, Plus its a direct bolt in for your 200C unlike a 200-R4...I did mine in a few hours when I put my new motor in, TH-350s can handle power and with a good shift kit it can make a world of difference...

 

Two thoughts to that: I do not need it to handle that much power. I'm not building a race machine. So the question remains: how will my gasmileage be affected comparing the two trannies?
And the second thought: Won't it be easier to find a 200-4R on a junk yard? Perhaps it's completely different in my country but arent 350swanted like hell?

 

Are you sure you don't mean to put a very easy to find th700-r4? Th350's are easy to find also but as stated lack an overdrive.

 

No since the TH 200 4R has better gear ratios...

 

You can get a TH350C if you want the lockup. Add a Transgo Kit, max out the clutches and add HD parts it will be a good tranny which will install with no BS. If you want gear ratios get a T56.

 

Which would be a manual and thus out of question.

 

GM Had Turbo 350s in 2 decades worth of cars and trucks and gas mileage wasn't a huge ordeal, especially if you got low rear gears. And you'll be alot harder pressed to find a good 200-R4. Also if your car is a 200c now, a 200-r4 isnt going to be a bolt in swap. Somone correct me if Im wrong but a 700-R4 and 200-R4 both require a different driveshaft and some crossmember modifcations to work in place of a 200C right?

 

Again, about what kind of difference in gas mileage are we talking here? If it's just 2 miles per gallon something then I reallly don't care... but I can't bring myself to believe that... why would GM use a different transmission for a mere 2 mile increase?

 

Why would they, Its called advancements in technology at the time... And for the record my dads getting 24 mpg with a Th-350, 3.43 gears and a cammed built 350 w/ 650 Holley, Its all in the timing and tuning. I am running a Th-350 in my car but I really can't say much for gas mileage, cause Im running compression in the 10s 730 cfm of carb and 3.73s. Im not trying to get into an argument here man, Just trying to give you a much cheaper and easier, and probably more reliable option.

 

No, I'm happy about your inputs. My car will be an evil cruiser... Evil yes but meant for cruising... not raceing. So gas mileage is important. I was always of the impression that a car with four gears, logically, would be using less gas than a car with just three...

 

The th350, th200-4r, and the th200c can all use the same driveshaft. The difference in length is nill. Although the crossmember mountings are all different. the Chevy 200R4 is the same length as the (short) T350, but 200's trans mount is about 7.5" further back. 20R4 says "METRIC" in 1.5" letters on
bottom T350 27-spline yoke works with it. Mount-to-trans bolts are metric


FWIW if i ever went OD i would definitely get a th200-4r, its far superior to the th700-r4.

Here are the lengths of GM trannies. They came out of a magazine.
case overall bellhousing to
length length trans mount
powerglide (short tail) 15 1/4 24 1/4 19 1/2
powerglide (long tail) 15 1/4 27 1/2 20 1/2
thm200 27 5/8 27 5/8 20 1/8
thm250 21 5/8 27 5/8 20 3/8
thm350 (short tail) 21 5/8 27 5/8 20 3/8
thm350 (long tail) 21 5/8 30 5/8 20 3/8
thm400 (short tail) 24 3/8 28 1/4 26 3/4
thm400 (long tail) 24 3/8 34 28
200R4 27 3/4 27 3/4 26 7/8
700R4 23 3/8 30 3/4 22 3/8

 

With that in consideration, the 200-R4 might be better suited for you, Get a nice shift kit in it and it will be a fun cruiser. And thanks for the info on the 200-R4, I had assumed it was same size as a 700-R4 so thats why I thought the driveshafts would be different. Are the 200-R4s same as the 700s when it comes to lockup converters etc? Cause when I was considering a 700-R4 for mine the cost of getting a lockup control for my non-computerized car made me decide to keep saving for a 6 speed rather then put money into that when I want to do a manual swap later anyway...

 

Oh yeah, why do you need a new tranny? Because your crook idiot mechanic said so?

 

Hey, please, I like my mechanic... That guy definitely goes out of his way to make me a satisfied customer... just because he labeled, at least I guess that happened, something wrong it doesn't mean he's an idiot.

And no he definitely told me to keep the tranny because it still works fine... beside whatever he had to disconnect (now I really want to know what exactely that was...).

I will be putting in a CSB 350 out of a 2nd gen Camaro which is assumed to have about 300 HP already... and I thus fear that the 200c might bite off more than it can chew with that. Perhaps it would work if I installed a kit into that thing but if I have to work on it anyway why not work on an OD tranny? Always depending on the price that 'new' tranny will cost me.

See, this car is going to be something along the lines of a Hotrod... I want to be able to drive that car until I die . So I'd like to get the best combination of parts possible for my needs right away... I don't want to take the thing apart again and again just because I went for the second best suited stuff.

That's why I'm thoroughly getting on you guys' nerves. I need to be sure myself about the course of action to take. Since I've read a lot of posts and in articles on chevyhiperformance that 200-4R is superior to the 700R4 I thought I'd go with that.

You have to remember that I live in europe... I don't know what you pay for gas in America but we are paying about 2.80$ per gallon (unless I have converted wrongly) and every additional mile counts for me. That's why I said that I would scrap the OD if the difference was very small... but I have yet to get a comparison chart or something of that (which I probably will never find ). Or does anyone here has reason to believe that an OD tranny doesn't really help in savng gas and why?