for some reason it only has first and second. for the history: it's an '84 t/a L69 car. this car sat in a field for 4-5 years without being touched, however the previous owner (of the car and the field) claims it was rebuilt shortly before being parked. i've got the car running, everything else worked out (seems like sitting didnt really hurt that much so far) but i can't get the tranny to shift from 2nd to third. I've got park, reverse, etc.... but everytime you would normally hit third gear, it just revs freely ( going into neutral/not locking in?). i've dropped the pan and changed the filter, and i've been slowly driving it around hoping that it's just kinda gummed up, and i'm gonna try some seafoam in it today (worked for my dad's 98 ram). anybody have any other ideas on what it could be?

 

Could be a few things. Sticking Governor or a sticking 2-3 shift valve in the ValveBody, to a bigger internal issue or tq converter issue. Pull and clean governor would be my 1st, then pull the pan and check the 2-3 vavle, then rebuild it if no success.

 

well now i've got a bigger issue anyway. i drove it around a little today. when i got home, i went to put it in park, but it kept wanting to go forward like it was sticking in drive. so i figured if i shut it off, stuck in drive and parked uphill, and would at least stay where it was (like leaving a stick in gear), but then all it wanted to do was roll backwards. it was all i could do to get it onto flat ground in the garage, then get out and hold it in place while i shoved blocks behind the rear wheels.

this doesnt seem like it's sticking in drive (because of the rolling?) but it acts like drive is the only gear i can get with it running. not even neutral. what's going on?

 

Sounds like the tranny needs to come out. The previous owner claims it was rebuilt. That doesn't mean it was rebuilt properly. There isn't a lot you can do externally other than check line pressures.

 

if it is still just a sticky valve in the valvebody/the governor, what's the best way to try to fix that? pull the pan and look?

 

if you can't get it to go into park to keep the car from moving, the first thing i would check is the shift linkage. if it is messed up, it will cause all of the above problems. it is possible that the cable housing has come out of the bracket that holds it to the side of the transmission.

 

i've got an 89 iroc thats having literally the same issue. my plastic linkage broke where it mounts to the trans... the readon for not going into park, and the other day i was getting on the freeway and as it turned from 2nd to 3rd the motor rev'd up with no go. changed the filter and the problem still exhists. anyway, your suffering the same or similar problems, let me know if you find its an easy fix or an overhaul, likewise i'll let you know what i figure out.

 

i don't know if you've noticed this, thedoctorsin, but when mine goes into third and slips, i've noticed it starts to pull weakly around 4000 rpm, which leads me to believe that mine's pump pressure. i've heard the pre '87 700r4 trannys had weak pumps anyway. i'll let you know what i find when i check the pressure on it.

 

the trans is wasted. time for a rebuild.. 3-4 clutches are probably so far gone they are trying to weld themselves together.

 

i pulled out the gov. and cleaned it and the problem was still there so pulled off the pan. when i did i noticed the fresh fluid that had about a mile on it seemed alot darker than i should have been for olny being in for a day. the pan itself had a solid layer of black after being cleaned the day before. i pulled off the valve body with no signs of irregularity. anyway i've come to the conclusion that the black layer of residue and unreasonably dark fluid is my clutch packs...i don't know enough about transmissions to confidantly start pulling its guts out in my driveway. my car did the same thing, you'd feel a little pull when the engine was damn near redlined. i missed the part about your car sitting for 5 years, mine sat in a backyard for 5 and olny has 87k miles. my guess is that time is a crule lover for 700r4's. i'm just going to get a new/used one. let me know what you find.

 

agreed, im in the same boat, lost my 3rd yesterday. it sucks but the trans was week anyway.