When I got in the car today to go home, I placed the transmission in (D) and slowly drove out of the parking lot. Right away, I noticed that something wasn't right. The engine RPM kept increasing so the transmission was not shifting out of first gear.

I slowly increased engine speed and the tranny finally shifted into 2nd at about 4000rpm. Then it was stuck in second and wouldn't shift into 3rd until about 5000rpm.

I got on the highway and noticed that the car would't go into overdrive so I just drove the car really slowly to keep the engine RPM down.

Suddenly, the tranny shifted into OD, and all was well. Just out of curiosity, I gave it some gas to see if it would automatically downshift into 3rd like it's supposed to but it was stuck in OD. I hit wide-open throttle and there was virtually no acceleration because it wouldn't go back into 3rd gear.

By the time I got off the highway, I noticed that when the car did shift, it shifted really hard. It basically felt as if I installed a shift kit (which I didn't).

When I got home, I didn't smell any burning and I checked the tranny fluid to make sure it had the proper amount and it did.

I just wanted to know from the experts what could be the problem. Did I burn through the clutch's? Is my converter slipping?

What are the possible reasons for this sudden behavior? The car was fine this morning and I wasn't racing or anything so what would cause the tranny to act like this out of the blue?

The tranny is a 700r4 by the way. It's in my '88 IROC.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

sounds like the shift solenoids

 

Pardon my ignorance but could you please eloborate on that a bit? I know about engines, but when it comes to transmission's, I'm clueless.....

Is that a relitively quick fix?

Does the tranny have to come out?

What would be the typical cost for new solonoids and what does the average shop charge as far as labour (hours)?

Thanks for the quick response

 

The TV system could be the culprit here (not uncommon). Check to see if the TV cable is adjusted correctly? Check the condition and the level of the transmission oil? Let me know what you find out?

 

word man, have a tranny shop adjust your TV cable

 

TV cables just don't loose adjustment. If they did, it would shift real quickly anyhow. I would suspect that the valvebody gaskets are original and very brittle, and may be beginning to flake off and clog passages inside the valvebody causing the no shift problem.

 

No true man, my TV cable bracket wasn't torqued down all the way on install, and so when i had the rebuilt tranny put it, it did the same thing, and all i needed to do was torque down the bracket, and reset the TV cable.

 

Well, I decided to just ditch the tranny 'cause I didn't have the money for a re-buid or anything like that.

I had a spare 700R4 in my garage from my Firebird as well as a 2400 stall converter so I figured just dropping out the old tranny and putting this one in instead would actually be the cheapest route.

I now have another problem.

After installing the tranny and taking the car out for a spin, everything seemed normal enough but when I tried to launch it off the line, I COULDN'T SPIN THE TIRES!!!

Not even so much as a chirp from them. Nothing. It's as if the car lost all it's bottom-end.

Before I could spin the tires for a half-city block with the old tranny and factory converter so I figured with a 2400 stall, I'd be able to pull a lot harder off the line.

Why can I no longer spin my tires?

Is it possible something wasn't adjusted properly?

How 'bout the TV cable? Could a mal-adjusted TV cable cause a complete lack of low end "punch"

Damn it!

I've just solved one set of problems for a whole new set of new ones.

If anybody has any idea's or suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

 

If the torque converter goes away, it will do what yours is doing. Above 25 to 30 mph it will act ok. How much stall can you get holding the brakes? The overrun sprag in the TC is gone most likely.

 

Thanks for the help.

I found out I was getting a code 34 so I bought a new MAF sensor today as well as a new IAC.

The car definetly runs a lot better now, but the problem with it's "off the line" performance hasn't fully been solved.

As for how much stall I can get, I can't say for sure because my tach is WAY off. I borrow a scanner from a friend of mine so I'll hook it up tomorrow and find out for sure how much stall I can get holding the brakes.

If it turns out that you're correct and it is the converter that's bad, what brand would you reccomend I get?

Unfortunately, a Vigilante converter is out of my budget at the moment since I've been spending money left and right on repairs and such to my IROC and in all honesty, I don't really intend on going anything higher than a 2800 MAX stall speed so I don't think I need anything too fancy.

Is there a reliable, fairly affordable, good performing converter out there you'd reccomend?

 

"I would suspect that the valvebody gaskets are original and very brittle, and may be beginning to flake off and clog passages inside the valvebody causing the no shift problem." In 28+ years I have never seen this. The Edge 9.5" lockup torque converter is going for $555.00, somewhat less than the Vigilante.

 

HOW COME NO ONE TALKS ABOUT REPLACING GOVERNOR?

 

Because the governor has nothing to do with part throttle shifts,which is what he had a problem with. The governor controls WOT shifts. It seems like his was fine because it shifted at ~5000 rpm in all gears.

 

By any chance have you ever found out what was wrong with your tranny? Cause mine did the exact same thing and I did the exact same thing as you-Took it out and threw another one in it-and it blew a year later(cheap used stocker)...unfotunately I had just spent 1200bucks having the original tranny rebuilt with a Trans Go shift kit and all the good stuff, "Should handle 500hp no problem!"- and a year and a half later its doing the same thing you described!

Now after having the car parked for 2 years due to tranny frustration, distractions, and lack of money, I want to get the Original Built tranny fixed...and we think it might be just the pump-anyone know if that sounds right? The guy who built the trans drove it and told me it was the torque converter, so 500bucks later-same problem! Only thing we can figure is the pump, its the only thing he didnt replace when he rebuilt it...

I first noticed the problem when I put the car into reverse one day...It took real high RPM to get it to start creeping backwards...reverse takes the most pressure, maybe that should of been my first warning-then it started happening in the forward gears too...

I might just find a shop with a tranny dyno and see if they can run it and tell me what it is for sure, cause Im tired of throwing money at it for nothin! If not I guess Ill just throw some money at it and install a pump in our garage and put it back together and pray it runs good again!

 

OHH!

 

Hey, i am having sort of the same problem after being stuck in traffic with my throttle jammed slightly open for 1.5hrs. Car also overheated slightly. It would slip its ***** off while in Overdrive range, but when put into manual low or 2nd, it would drive fine and i could spin the tires fine.

I pulled the tranny and tore it down, some clutch's were burnt, exactly what i expected. The constant stress of a 5.7L trying to rev to 2k rpm against the tranny burt up the forward clutch pack.

I replaced ALL seals, 8 friction Alto Red clutch pack with Kolene steels. Vette Servo, TransGo Shiftkit, used the Low-Reverse Sprag from my V6 tranny (which was working perfectly before being pulled) and a few other misc parts that were in better condition.

I cleaned the valvebody pretty good with paint thinner and carb cleaner. Threw it back together and it had the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I assume it was low line pressure in Overdrive range and by throwing it into manual low it boosted the line pressure enough for it to "grab". So i threw a TCI Reverse Manual valvebody into it, works perfect in all gears exept the 1-2 shift is sliding at WOT. Still seems like low line pressure.

Pulled the tranny, looked at the pump. The ruber seal and the teflon seal were backwards. I assumed pressure was leaking past this silly mistake. Fixed this, and checked every other seal. None were cut, etc. No clutch's were burnt, only drove it around the block.

Same problem.

Now that i drive the car more, the Shift from 1-2 is very strong, can chirp tires. But starting off in Overdrive is impossible, its either slipping or its starting off in 4th gear and the TQ is slipping.

So now i am in a tossup, i think it may be a hung valve in the valvebody or a bad torque converter. But i honestly do not see how a TQ can go "bad" besides the lockup clutch or being dirty. But in all honesty my TQ had perfect fluid come out when i drained it. Flushed it with clean fluid a few times.

So, On my next days off i am going to install the TransGo kit on the V6 Valvebody that was working fine when removed. Hopefully this solves the problem.