I made a post last night about a problem with overdrive. well now on the way home today, the tranny stopped shifting out of second unless i hit it, it would rev up and then catch at the right rpm. im getting really scared, i just bought this and got it in on the weekend. please please help me. i also readjusted the tv cable at the throttle body last night.

i checked the fluid with the car off and it was between full hot and check in park. also there is a small leak under the car now.

 

I had an 89 RS 305TBI w 700R4, and 3rd & 4th forth went all at once. I ended up going with a rebuilt. $900.00 installed, 1 day turn around.

I know that's not probable not what you wanted to hear.

 

well i didnt lose third. i think i am much closer to an answer though (and if i go with a new one im going probuilt or bowtie, not holding back this time). anyhow, a shift kit was attempted to be installed. all the valvebody bolts were removed, and the bolts holding down all kinds of stuff that had to be removed. anyhow, the shift kit was nefver installed, and everything was just kinda slapped back together. i think this is a huge step in finding the answer. cause the bracket thingie for the tv system could be on wrong.



that was just like put back on however. that migt be it.

 

the tv bracket is on the right way.

 

Why is the tv plunger depressed so much? If the throttle is in the closed position, it is waaaay off. It was quite easy to see because of the enormous pic!

 

thats a pic i got off a website...not mine. im saying that part might have been put on wrong. and before i go check, is that a possibility for it be acting like it is? what are my other possible problems, and how hard/expensive are they to fix. i checked the fluid right after i got home fromt his happening and it was not burnt, so i think its still alive right now. i might be able to get a great deal on a rebuilt valve body, would that be a good idea?

 

Inspect the tv valve and plunger carefully with the pan off. Make sure it is working smoothly. That is about all you can do. There really is nothing to wear in a 700 valve body. Rebuilding them usually means disassembling, inspecting, cleaning and reassembling them. If it were you, I would limp it to a trans shop and get their help. If it is a small, easily fixed problem, it could prevent you from wiping out another trans. Good luck

 

well like i said, i could get a great deal on a rebuilt valve body if that sounds like a good idea to just end the problem here. its got a shift kit i believe, new boost valve, springs, etc, and its been ported out and stuff, and he wants 200 bucks and my core.

 

If your gonna buy a valve body:
the TCI full manual valve bodies are great. new (no core) about $320 through summit or whoever else. They eliminate the TV cable, but require manual shifting PRN1234 (stock is PRNOD21). They have the .500" boostvalve and all the other upgrades already done. You can chirp 2nd at 2000rpms (depends on torque converter stall). They also have no engine brake. You can let off the gas and it goes to sort of neutral. Then you hit the gas and it revs to whatever rpm you were at when in gear, and grabs again (its like flashing the converter at any rpm you want).

the best uses of this feature are:
-when down shifting (goes to Neutral, then you flash it. that only happens if you're slow or you wait, otherwise its like a normal down shift)
-Letting off the gas at high rpm at the end of a race so you don't bend any valves.

also...
able to retain lockup.
won't downshift out of 4th either!

 

holy crap that sounds good. does my problem sound valvebody related? does the tv bracket thing i showed even exist on it? thanks a lot, this sounds really cool. will it help my tranny hold a little more power? thanks again.

also, kind of off topic, my bellhousing is cracked and chipped off. on the passenger side all the bolts go on, but only 1/2 of the bottom bolt is in contact with the bellhousing. is this bad? i can always weld something on there if it sounds terrible. thanks again.

oh yea, and what kind of shifter would i have to use with this, and does it roll back in drive like a stick, it sounds like it would.

 

your problem is the same problem I had when I first bought my car. It was the TV cable adjustment. It wasn't shifting into 2nd untill over 2200 rpm no matter what. Same with third. 4th? Don't think I ever had it over 40 before my uncle fixed it. Your problem sounds like the tv cable is messed up inside the tranny or is sticking.

no tv bracket thing at all!

It will help the tranny hold more power because of the much higher line pressure.

You need the corvette servo(shift kit) to chirp 2nd at 2000rpm... i think... never tried shifting without it (and 4.56 gears too, maybe).

My brother has a 72 nova with sagging leaf springs and a TCI valvebody in his 700r4 with 4.56 gears. when he shifts in normal driving (2500rpm) the driverside rear tire moves forward a few inches. Thats how hard it shifts, or how bad his springs are!. The chirp sound is awsome too.

I was gonna get one of those valvebodies so I could let off the gas and hear the blow off valve between shifts(haha), but I got a t5 swap for $375.

Also, any stall speed over stock needs a tranny cooler. Without the tranny cooler you will notice a loss in shift firmness when it heats up (from expeirience).

the missing peice of the bell housing is prolly not a problem. I can't see it though.

 

well i looked it up and its only 250. and for 310 you can get it with a couple more springs and a corvette servo as well. that sounds like a pretty cool deal to me. ill have to take the tranny in and get it looked at. if its only like a 20 dollar fix ill hold on the new valve body.

 

You know, with all the money you have thrown away with various shotgun fixes/aborted ideas you could have had the transmission rebuilt by a professional the right way.

 

Finally. Someone else who thinks like me.
fwiw, changing a valve body to fix a slipping transmission, is like changing the windshield because the brakes do not work.
I have suggested this before and I will suggest it again, seek a local professional for a solution to your problem. Contrary to popular opinion, the automatic transmission is extremely hard to repair and properly modify. Good luck either way.

 

how i have spent enough money to get it rebuilt? i paid 250 for this setup...i considered the t5 swap, but wound up selling it again and got a 100 dollar profit on it. i got this installed for free. if you can find me a rebuild for 150 bucks please let me know. the mechanic wanted to charge me 250 just to look at it last time...and now i got a tranny from 87+ instead of 86.

by the way, i just figured the valve body was a cool idea, not just a fix for the problem. and the tranny has been fine since i posted last. im still gonna bring it in sometime this week, i think im going with my dad on tuesday. i dont like being accused of things that never happened.

 

It sound like you have it all figured out. I will resist the urge to disagree with your solutions. Good luck.

 

not trying to start anything...but you disagree with me taking the car into the mechanic...i thought that was your suggestion. like i said, i just thought the valve body would be a cool idea...the same reason anyone else would buy it.

 

In this post, I clearly recommend taking it to a pro.

 

I believe "in" refers to ... a professional

 

first off, you should check the fluid with the engine running, hot, on level ground.

2nd off, having overhauled and modified hundreds of these trannies, I have seen problems with the tv valves sticking in these cast iron valve bodies. when overhauling these, this is an area I pay special attention to just because of this condition. In a vehicle that has no debris in the pan or inside the filter (because if there is debris, it needs overhauled anyway), I will pull the valve body, clean and polish the tv valve and the tv boost valve, and sometimes have to polish the bore ( with a long, small drill with a piece of scotchbrite wrapped around the end), insert a tiny spring made specifically for the tv valve that helps keep the valve pushed to the idle position, (it comes in the overhaul gasket kit, but you can buy from a trans parts house, not an oreilly's or place like that). put it all back together and check that the tv valve line up moves FLAWLESSLY (no catches or stickiness), then put it back together, adjust the cable to be fully pulled at wide open throttle, then road test.

3rd, find out where the leak is, and fix it before you go any farther....
it's would be silly to not fix that and take care of another trans problem....

if you have an 87 trans that came out of a v-8 fbody, it should already have the vette servo. the way I understood it from the gm trans schools I went to, all the v-8 vettes and f-bodies got the same servo.

you can firm up your shifts slightly if you set the tv cable just a click or 2 tighter than where it automatically adjusts.

plus I've had real good luck using and duplicating the B & M Shift improver kit.

on a rare occasion, I have unstuck tv valves by "snapping" the cable with the engine running. grab a hold of the silver cable part in between the throttle and where the cable bracket attaches to the engine, pull it as far as you can and let go-- do that 10 or so times and that works the valve through the bore to help clean it out. the engine MUST be running for this, because there's fluid pressure behind the valve pushing it back to the idle position.
BAD NEWS THOUGH, if the valve is going to stick, this is usually where it will stick, then you will only get shifts at about wide open throttle points and you will HAVE to have someone pull the valve body and fix the valve, because it probably won't eventually UNSTICK.

oh yeah, that picture is ok from the top, but I need a side view to tell if it's installed right. and maybe a little smaller....

 

that picture is not of my tranny, it was just to show you guys what part i was talking about. and also, the guy im taking it to is a pro chevy tranny guy. i dont know if you have heard of him but his name is steve powell of thoroughbred transmissions. he has built turbo 350s to handle 1200 hp motors (i know a guy around here who has one, and he sends all his friends to him), and my dad knows him as well.i drove it home today and it started up again. shifting sometimes, but not always, and that does make it sound like something could be sticky. should i mention that i now have a higher stall torque converter, and im using the stock cooler? and should i mention the tranny is from a 91 car with a 350 and my car is an 86? anything else i should mention...like the fact that i had to shift into reverse 3 times yesterday before it would grab. and i did check the fluid and it was very deep into the full hot section and almost into the check in park section, right after it was having trouble.

 

ok well i just drove the car home from where i left it this morning. it would not get out of second, even manually shifting it (the ride was only like a mile). also, it stalled once, i guess cause it did not downshift while i was stopping or because the rpms were high in second and i let off the gas all at once, and my iac is sticky as it is, so my idle is off. anyway, i turned it back on and it didnt finally hit drive until a few seconds after i put the shifter there. then when i went to back out of the driveway to put it on the street. it would not go into reverse at all. i tried putting it into reverse a few times and it wouldnt go, i shut it off and back on, and still no reverse. so its still in the driveway, i guess its getting a tow truck ride tomorrow morning.