Well last week i thought my car was having a problem with the intake when it was acting weird, but then it stopped happening later that day.

so today i was driving home going about 50 and didnt give it gas for a while. a hill comes up and im going about 35-40 so the car downshifts into third. never went back up, thought my revs were just a little high. i stopped at a light before my neighborhood and the car would not shift into second all the way home. i drove 10 miles an hour with my hazards on. i tried stopping putting it in first (at the bottom) and tried to go into second around 1500 where it normally shifts. tried again at 2000, same thing again. and all the way home in first gear (with shifter in drive overdrive, everything). reverse and park and neutral still work. just wont go into another gear. i thought something was wrong with it before though up top. if you were just barely in fourth gear and stepped on it a little it wouldnt downshift it would just make a little clunk (not a noise, just the same feeling as clunking into drive) and it would just stay at low rpm in 4th, i mean eventually it would shift into third, or if i hit the gas a little harder, it just had a little bump when not giving it a lot. have any og you experienced this (the 4th not downshifting thing)? what do you think is wrong? this is really not a good time and i just paid a lot for this car. ami overpowering it with my block. i havent gotten on the engine hard in at least a week or two (hard meaning past 2000 rpm). i guess ill go reset the tv cable, but i doubt this will solve the problem. i was thinking of buying a t5 really soon too, should i just go ahead and do that and screw fixing this. i go to school everyday and this is my daily driver. thanks a lot guys, please help me.

 

oh and by the way, the tranny always shifted pretty hard into drive and a little rough into reverse. the idle was weird too and was usually high, but i think thats my motor (vaccum leak prolly). can high idle be associated with a tranny? also the shift from 1st to second was a little rough and you could still feel 2nd-3rd a little bit (most of the time). rrr, i was supposed to get my hsr like next week and i have been saving forever (in high school). im worried.

 

If this car is a daily driver and is needed for school, start making phone calls to local pro's. Unless you are confident in your ability to get into and service/repair/rebuild an auto trans, the internet will not be helpful. The most complicated single item on your car is the trans. I do not recommend diving inside it or you can cost yourself more money in the long run. A local pro will probably suggest the possibility of a stripped governor gear or a sticky governor. Good luck either way.

 

He could have also burned up the clutch packs in the transmission. I had that exact same problem happen to me, and when i took it down the clutch packs were fried. I attributed mine to the TV cable not being adjusted quite right . Sounds like you could have had a similar problem. the first gear to go was overdrive.. and then 3rd went away (got a ticket when that went since it just disappeared and slammed it into 2nd gear), and then finally after i was done with the cop the car would not shift out of 1st. did the same as you. drove 10mph home with hazards.. I will be darned if i let a tow truck company anywhere near my car... Lots of things could do that to the clutch packs.. but if you were having some abnormal shifting to being with i would say that just might be what it was.. Either way, you are looking at a rebuild, and i would not recommend it unless you have done one already, or you have sat back and watched a professional rebuild one (and by watch i mean actually sitting right there watching him do everything) and then after that read the entire book on it.

 

ok so you suggest i buy another tranny (700 or t5) and put that in? or do you suggest i get it rebuilt. i wanted to go with a built one too, especially since it is the only thing stock on my car besides suspension and brakes. im assuming the tranny is prety much screwed. how much does a rebuild usually cost? thanks a lot for the help.

 

Depending on location, rebuilt (stock) with a new converter and labor in and out can cost from $1000- $1800. If you are quoted less than 1k for everything, you are likely getting a repaired trans rather than a completely remanufactured one. A built to the hilt trans (700r4) can cost as much as $2500 or more. This typically does not include a converter or labor to R&R. The short answer to your cost question is $800-2500. Depends on local labor rates, and the quality of the rebuild.The last one I did for a friend was about 1k. This included a h/d reaction shell, 3/4 upgraded clutch kit, shift kit, .500 boost valve, corvette servo and a new sprag.

 

i didnt mean for a brand new one. i just meant for a replacement.

 

Neither did I. New transmissions are not available. Only reman's. If you mean used, a salvage yard will sell you one for $100-$300. Maybe a member on the forum will have one for sale.

 

what do you think about this compared to the 200, t5, th350 and 400, etc. i mean i was looking for a new one anyways because I was expecting this to happen soon, but not this soon.

 

I am pretty set in my ways. I do not like a stick. I also hate the price of gas. Therfore "I" like the 700 r4. Great first gear and overdrive. My car has run high 10 sec et's on spray and low 12's on motor. It gets 22 mpg around town and 28 on the highway. Do what is right for you though. You are the only one you have to please.

 

yea i think i would go with a 700 if i went auto. but i really wanted a stick shift too. decisions decisions.

 

sorry to hear about the car...

T56...used 93-97 f bodys...people sell em all the time

with new clutches all the time for around 1k

Your cheapest route to all this of course if doing it urself. Ive been doing the research over the past months knowing every part i need and what they all do as i plan to hopefully save enough money to do a T56 swap. I love stick and i hate autos and im not worried about anymore hp just that option on choosing my gear is all i want.

People are selling them all the time just gotta look for good deals...id say 1k is about an average price on most used...gotta know what ur looking at though if its gonna actually last or what. Make sure the seller is known and gives lots of info.

 

well i dont know if i can get the car back on the road anytime soon with that price. i can get an entire t5 swap/setup for usually around 500-600. thats what i was thinking unless i find a built 700r4, which i did for a good price but im still thinking about it.

 

the t-5 and the 700-r4 have comparable overdrive gears. So if you want a stick you could go with the t-5, and just shift it at a decent arpm instead of winding everything up before you shift.. a manual can save gas jsut as much as an auto depending on driving habits. the th350 and th400 are 3 spd only... good for short trips, but if you hit the hiway on a longer one you will cry because of the high rom travel it will do..

A transmission of any sort which is remanufactured, or rebuilt reguardless of the type will always cost over $1000..

If you want a built one that you just get right from a company you can always call Up TCI (www.tciauto.com) number should be there.. they do alot of auto transmissions. ussually the easiest way to go and you get a waranty too.. but still over 1000 most times.

Personally if i could (and i will) I would get a t-56 with a nice .62 final drive.. that is a whole nother step up for overdrive.. so the mialge should be evern better at crusing speeds.

 

i dont know if it would be worth the extra money between t5 and t56. i really want a stick, but right now I might be getting a really good deal on a built 700r4 with about 6 thousand miles on it since rebuild. its got all kinds of neat stuff in it and it should be around 500. i really want a stick, but this is a daily driver and there are a lot of local roads. plus auto is more consistent and can get decent mileage as well. plus theres nothing cooler than that feeling you get with a shift kit. if this auto is a good deal i will go for it since it built to handle a LOT of power. if not, i will probably get a t5 unless i bump into another really good deal for a 700r4. thanks for being so helpful everyone.

 

OK heres what i found for about 500 plus about 100 shipping

700r4 with 6000-7000 miles since rebuild
transgo 2/3 kit with high tension springs
.500 boost vavle
corvette servo
borg warner clutches and steels
modified seperator plate
6000rpm set wot shift point (adjustable)
and he will package it and take it to the carrier for free

and its not setup to shift to 4th at wot but it will when driving normally, which will be around 130 for me which i never go anyways. do you think this is worth it?

 

OK nevermind, that was for a van and would need all kinds of stuff, plus i found a better one anyhow. how about this one.

1988 700 R-4 (auxiliary valve body)
Red eagle 9 shoe clutch pack
drilled 1-2, 3-4 apply holes
corvette servo
Extended pin
Fresh fluid (just did a trans flush about a month ago)
4L60-E internals, including sunshell

It shifts Very firm, if you manually shift it or leave it in D, if it is in OD then it is a smooth shift depending on how hard y ou are on the gas. Does not make any noise, and is a bitchin transmission, ask 8T8IROC and 1FASTGTA about it, and how it shifts, its a very well built trans. Was built by a Certified GM technician, and is put together right. I would like to get 800 OBO for the trans and will not ship it. Although i may be able to meet someone halfway to pick it up for some extra money.

Changed his mind and said he would ship it. around 5000 miles on it. added a bto 2400 stall converter and a hayden large capacity trans cooler (both with 2500 miles) for a grand total of around 650 plus shipping.

i know this is a lot. but any opinions and suggestions would be great.

 

the second one should be just fine.. and really all 700r4 are built the same as far as what they will go on (excluding v8 or v6) unless it was one of the new electronic ones. (forget the designation at the moment.. like a 4l60-e?) anyhow.. yea.. the t-5 is a decent one. I have one in my z28 now and it works very well. even with the repeated clutch drops at 4000 rpm... ( I like to give the imports something to see every now and then.. nothing like a posi rear end billowing smoke from both tires for a stretch). they can handle alot of abuse as long as you take car of the insides (use the right fluids and such) and in my opinion when something does go south, it is cheaper to fix on a manual.

 

well, my dad is being pretty stubborn. i dont think im going to get away with getting a new transmission. it looks pretty much my only option is to just fix what I have now. it will be aorund 250 and he is not even sure if this is the problem. plus you said i would want a rebuild if it was the governor gear. he said governor valve...is this the same thing, or did he mean the same thing? i think i might also be able to get away with getting a local t5 setup. i think that is what i will do. i mean the mechanic cant guarentee that that is the problem. plus who knows what other parts might go wrong in it soon.

 

well if u want somethin that will last i doubt the T5 will...thats why it was never with the 350tpis in the first place too much torque. I know they CAN work right but if you want it to last ive heard not a good option. T56 is definently a better option if u want stick.

 

yea. if you wanna put down lots of power then it may not be the best thing.. but i can pretty much gurantee you it is goning to cost more then $250 to fix your current one. and the guy you talked to, until he actually takes it apart, can not really give you any idea on how much he has to replace.. A good rebuild Kit for these things is $500 to 600$ and the you get to do all the work... and all it takes is for the fluid to not do what it is supposed to to tear up those clutch packs...

 

Pull the governor an have a look at the gear and valve. It is accessable while in the car. If it is bad, it is a $10 fix.

 

could you give me more direction on how to look for the governer valve and gear. thanks a lot for the help. what i am thinking now is to get a t5 swap for cheap (i found one local for about 400, the whole swap). then at least i will have all the stick shift parts if i want to go to a t56. but if i can do the fix this way, that would be awesome.

 

oh and by the way, i am very very conservative driving my car. unless theres a ***** or its like once a week when i feel like doing a little run once or twice i wont pass 2000 rpm almost ever. sometimes ill hit 2200. if i feel like having a little fun every once in a while i will give it like half throttle a couple times up this backstreet. thats all.

 

On the drivers side of the trans, toward the rear, there is a round cap about 3 inches in diameter. It is usually rusty looking. The cover hides the governor. Pop it off with a screwdriver, pull the gov out, clean it with carb cleaner. Then look at the gear. If it is chunked, change it. Then hold the gov, with gear facing up. Squeese the weights inward while watching the valve in the center. It should move up and down at least .025.

 

would it be bad to leave this open for a while outside? like maybe if dirt got into that hole you are talking about. should i cover it with something while the governor is out. im gonna go out right now and see if i can find what you are talkin about.

 

where is it in relation to the trans pan? behind, next to? there isnt really good light right now but my cell phone lights up pretty bright. i dont have the car up on any stands or anything but its lefted in the back and i weigh between 105-110 pounds so i can get under there pretty easy.

 

ok nevermind i found a really good article about it, with pictures.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...lr%3D%26sa%3DG

ill go see what i can do.

edit: alright i was under the car and was looking right at it. do i pry it off or are there bolts around it or something? i didnt realize before how easy this looks like it will be (i hope).

 

Use a long screwdriver and a hammer to gently tap the lip of the cover. This will pop it off. Getting it back on is much more challenging.

 

kinda like prying but with a hammer right? like chiseling bondo. getting behind it and hitting the flathead.how do you get it back on?

 

To get it back on you must do the following:
1) check to see that the o ring is on the gov cover
2) smear a thin layer of rtv on th o ring only
3) put blue lock tite on the flanged edge that presses into the gov bore.
4) tap ONLY on the edge(rim) of the cover.
The center of the cover has a diple in it that sets the governor end play. Do not hit this area. If you smash on the cover by smacking the center, you will dent it, eliminating the endplay. This will cost you a trans. Be careful!

 

i found a company on ebay selling the entire assembly, made for 373s for 40 bucks. then i was looking at their ebay store and they had a whole bunch of other great parts for the 700r4. they have a .500 boost valve/corvette servo package, and a piston/spring combo and a bunch of other stuff and theyre all like 15 bucks. i hope this is the problem. I already have the b&m shift kit just sitting around. so maybe when i do that i can add in the servo boost valve pistons and springs. how much would this help me?

whoa and what about this thing i found it seems like my shift kit but electronic ... B&M ShiftPlus Electronic Shift Improver
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...0549&langId=-1
have you ever seen these?

 

thought ur car already had a shift kit in it...according to ur profile...

why are u worried about performance upgrades when ur car wont come outta 1st gear?

People are trying to help you check ur governor and ur talking about all kinds of different stuff man whats going on lol?

Are you in a shop class at ur school? If not i suggest you get in one ull learn stuff a lot easier and u got a teacher right there to ask if u need help...but honestly its sounding like you need some help with this kind of stuff by asking some simple questions. Focus on 1 thing at a time stop caring about upgrades.

 

well im guessing the thing broke in the first place because of the new motor over the stock tranny. and i do have a shift kit, its right here on my desk, lol. but i figured if im replacing this I might as well do some other junk to it. especially since its cheap and i can get it from the same company. I mean first im going to put the new governer thing in and get it back on the road. then i will worry about getting the other stuff in.

 

You sound like me,

I have all these plans in my head for a 6-71 blown 383 and i still have a TH-350 and a open end 10 bolt lol

 

oh dont worry, i got a whole new rear end, but yea in general it sounds like me. lol

 

i just pulled my 700r4 in favor of a t-5 and i love it, ill do the same to my 91 and use a t56, if you need a 700r4 you could take mine it has 94K on it, maybe we could set up a trade or somthing, it has a shift kit in it already and shifts great.....

 

no thanks, too far away. plus if you noticed, i already figured out the problem and realized the part would only be like 20 bucks. thanks though.

 

I must have missed something. What was the problem?

 

i thought you said it should be a broken governor gear.

 

That is true. It should, or could be a stripped governor gear. That is the most common reason. There are 20 or more reasons why a trans could not shift. Do not take my suggestion as law. Get in there, get dirty, and have a look. I do wish that you have a $10 problem. Be aware, you could also have MAJOR problems. Good luck and post your findings.

 

well i tried to take the cap off today but it wouldnt budge. i need to get the car up somehow. i come from a family with 0 gearheads, we dont even have wrenches here. my neighbor might have some of those ramps though. i got a flathead on the edge but under the car i had no leverage to hit it with any force, i could only tap it. so for now i need to get the car in the air a little bit. i think my neighbor might have jackstands too. we'll see.

 

advanced auto 2 jackstands and a jack cost ya under 50$...If you plan on working on ur car a lot i suggest u invest in a few tools and other car hardware. I dont personally use a jack from advanced auto but they will do the trick but i use jackstands from there.

Sears got lots of tools for good price for starters.

 

ugh i wanna get this over with already. my friends car got messed up 2 weeks after he bought it and its been sitting for a month and hes finally doing something about it. i dont wanna be like that. rrr. stupid darkness.

 

yea. invest in some good jackstands... the craftsman ones are nice. i have 4 of them, along with a 4 ton craftman floor jack. works very nicely.. can get all 4 corners off the ground and commense to working on everything you need to.. I Also have a lift, but that gets to be a little bit of a pain in my current garage where space is small (bought it for the new garage that will be built in the spring.. ) I have made some braces so that I can lift one whole site of the car if needed without putting alot of stress on any one area. Get the right tools for the job, and tools that can do more than one thing are just that much better (I never liked ramps, all it takes is for is to slide or you to be to far over in any direction and you could end up with even more problems.)

As for the transmission.. gov gear could be it, could be the TV Valave, could be any number of things which progressively get worse.

 

well thats why i was thinking of biulding it up while i was at it. do you think i should just fix this and drive it around till i can get a new tranny in maybe a month or two?

 

prolly wouldn't be a bad idea.. one thing though is if you love your car.. don't drive it in the snow.. it will rust.. rust is bad lol.. so fix the problem if it is simple. else store the car and do lots of stuff to it over the winter so when you take it out in the spring it is ready to go with no problems and a bunch of improvements

 

hm that is a good idea, but i need to get to school everyday. maybe when theres snow ill drive the civic (moms car). i dont wanna work on it in the freezing cold though. plus i gotta start it every once in a while to keep it alive.

 

I take all three of mine. and run almost all the gas out and then run them dry... but then.. I have carbs on them all with mech fuel pumps so i can do that lol.. I take the battery out and put it in the base ment and put a charger to it every 2 weeks to make sure it stays happy. and then the one i wanna work on I put in the garage on 4 jackstands, take the wheels off and spray them down, and then put them up for the winter... always starts in the spring lol.. and very minimal rust on any of them... I would take the civic if i were you anyhow lol.. no big loss if someone slides into you then in the winter time lol.

 

ok what the hell. i got the car in the air and i still cant get the cap off. can somebody explain to me better how to do it. i looked all over the internet and saw the same thing over and over again and it just says remove the governor cap and the governor will slide right out, and continue with directions. this is so frustrating.