Well, I finished my 700R4 swap today and test drove the car. So far so good, the new tranny shifts into all fwd & reverse gears w/o slipping. However, I have one issue so far, I have no part throttle downshift and if I floor it from a standstill it will not shift at 4500 rpm WOT(I swapped in my original governor)like it is supposed to. It shift at like 2-2400 rpm at WOT. It shifts normally with normal aceleration. The WOT and normal acceleration shifts are firm(not harsh) with very little, to no shift lag. It will also downshift or upshift into 4rth, 3rd, or 2nd right when you move the shifter into the selected gear with a little lag with the 1-2 upshift. I've checked the T.V cable for binding and adjusted it according GM, Haynes, and Chiltons manual instructions. I'm wondering if my new used tranny has a manual/automatic v.b. kit,shift impover kit,T.V. plunger kit, or all of the above installed in it. Or is there something else causing it not to downshift?Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the new used tranny installed is a 700R4/4L60 out of a 91' L98 Z28.

 

Youre gonna hate this, but drop the pan and visually chack the TV action when someone pulls it. Realistically if you have your stock TV cable on it, it will ratchet out up top when the actuating lever inside the tranny is bottomed out against the TV plunger/sleeve at the ValveBody. Thats what causes the ratcheting is it bottoming out. Once that is set correctly ensures the TV plunger is at WOT when the accelerator is as well. (after you reset it accordingly) (TVMadeEZ.COM is the best illustration I found) Your manual valve on the other side controls the actuation when you shift it. That at least is good. Tells you that the tranny inside is working. Lack of TV pressure or the TV downshift valve might be a problem.

 

Okay, I've been driving my car for the past couple of days and still no part throttle downshift and WOT upshift. And I may have to replace the pan gasket again because after 3 days' I can't stop the damn thing from leaking from the right front and right rear corners of the pan. It's not a bad leak, it's just an annoying one and it's not leaking from the t.v. cable,dipstick tube, or vent tube, and the front seal was replaced before we put the tranny in the car for added insurance. It still shifts like it's got a shift kit in it. I have set and reset the t.v. cable at least 5 times just to be safe and not burn up my
transmission. I am having carb. issues right now as well. I have the stock E4ME ecm controlled Q-Jet. It needs a choke thermostat(choke light stays on and is hard to start). My Y-pipe is also cracked and is rusted through just forward of the catalytic converter. The old bird sounds more like a battered old Caprice stationwagon with a Flowmatser than a Hi-Po F-Body. She's got a
real bad exhaust leak. Okay, here's what the car is doing; push it to floor and sound like the carb is bogging down(almost like secondaries arent opening), and the tranny shifts at 2400 rpm(this WOT). Drive like normal and no problem, however it'll do the 1-2 shift at 2-2200 when cold and chirp the tires going into 2nd(this is like at 15-20mph). When the car is warmed up, no more chirp and it shifts from 1-2 at 16-1800 rpm with civilized acceleration. Well, here are my questions: 1. Could my carb/exhaust issues be part of my problem? 2. How many quarts of fluid for coventional drain and fill?

 

1st Drain and Refill without rebuild is like 4.5-5 Qts
2nd I would visually veryfy the TV operation since you have to remove the pan anyways. Push the button in and push the TV sleeving toward the firewall/bracket. Get under the car with the pan off and verify the lever the TV cable actuates isnt against the plunger or isnt pushing the plunger rather. Have an assistant push the accelerator in the car to WOT. While under the car as they are doing that, the TV lever should push the plunger in the valvebody. It should bottom out all the way B4 the accelerator hits WOT. From that point you should hear the TV at the carb make the ratcheting noise. That is it 'setting itself' to the WOT position. Then after the person inside reaches WOT, they should release it and your TV lever will allow the plunger back out to the orig position. Now, have them WOT it again and be sure that now when the accelerator is at WOT, the plunger is fully inward at the same time. This is the reset position. If you are still having issues with the shifting after now you know the TV is set right, then move on and leave the TV set as it is now.
3rd The shift harshness variation is due to whatever is making it shift early as well as cold fluid. Cold fluid is thicker than hot. It will exhibit harder shifts. But it shifting super early is an issue. Maybe the governor. Did you swap your orig one in? Has there been a diff. gear change in the car than orig? Is the governor sticking?
4th The choke on a Q-Jet will flop almost all the way closed when you 1st pump the accelerator during the 1st cold start. This gives it extra rich starting fuel. Once started there will be voltage (I cant remember exactly but its like 4-5volts) going to the wire (I think its l.blue...been a while). That voltage heats up the coil inside the choke housing and starts to slowly open the choke plate back up.
Do you have a volt meter?
It could be another problem. There is a Choke fuse and Relay. I had a bad relay once back when my car was a stock LG4
The CH/Fan fuse gives it power (20amp) Probably good since it supplies volts to other equipment as well.
The relay fot the Choke is at the Convenience Center. That is located under the drivers side dash up to the RIGHT of the steering column. The bottom is a black square and there are 2 release tabs and it swings down like the Fusebox does. In the top is a few relays and flashers. The choke I think was Green in color, but I cant remember. Its the one in the center and closest to the steering column.
You can test the LtBlue wire there or at the choke housing.

 

Thanks Mikz86TA, I have one more question. I went to tvmadeez.com last night and my tranny has the same issues associated with short spring syndrome or SSS. I'm going to check my t.v. cable to make sure it's not stretched or over extended. If that does'nt fix it, then I'll check for proper t.v operation when I replace the pan gasket. But while I have the pan off, I want check and possibly replace the t.v. spring. My question, how do I remove the t.v. sleeve and plunger assembly, so I can access the t.v. spring and valve?
I also want to check to see if I have the #94 stamped throttle valve. Right now I'm only going to drive the car for testing purposes until I can fix my downshift problem.

 

There is a roll pin a few cm back from the end in the VB bore the plunger is on. It maybe accessable from the bottom without removing the VB from the car. Ill look tomorrow if you need me to. But may require the dropping of the VBody. The sleeve pulls out 1st and the plunger is inside it and comes out from the back. The #94 should be stamped on it. Mine wasnt a #94 but the Superior kit came with it. Once the Sleeve and plunger is out the Spring is next followed by the SpoolValve and them the return spring if applicable (small come). Get one if you dont have one.

 

Did your 91' 700R4 come with the return spring and what is it's importance? Also, I checked my t.v. cable today before I went work. I had my wife push the pedal to the floor and I checked to see if there was slack in the t.v. cable at WOT. There was'nt any slack but I swear that cable looks over extended. When I reset it after we finshed the swap, it seemed(at least to me anyway)like it came out to far. The cable is only 8 months old, but is it possible that the cable could be still be stretched, even though there was'nt any slack in it at WOT? Or could the t.v. lever assembly be misaligned?

 

Yeah. It had a return spring. Small cone-shaped one behind the SpoolValve. I used the new one from the Superior kit tho.
I checked this morning and good news. The roll pin is only removable from the bottom. Meaning VBody removal ISNT needed to get the roll pin out. You may need to remove the TV bracket in there to clear it. But the roll pin is close to the end of the plunger and on the outter side of the VBody. Just pay attention to the depth its in the bore and its alignment as you pull it out. Theres a groove cut to that side which the roll pin slides into.
When you reset it, did it ratchet out any?
TV lever assembly inside couldnt be mis-aligned unless it was bent up or one if its return/tension springs were broken. Its a pretty stiffly made steel part.

 

I did'nt get a chance to work on the car today. Tomorrow will be my day. I'm going to go to a local transmission shop that I deal with and see if I can get a t.v. spring and a return spring. Should I get a new t.v. cable and try that first and is there a certain way the t.v. cable should be routed? Would a B&M shiftkit come with the springs I need?

 

No on the B&M kit. And I wouldnt do it if it did. TV cable just shoots up between the bellhousing and firewall/tunnel. I was looking and it seems older models have the extra spring. My Superior kit had it with it. In the ATSG manual it shows the 88-93 VB with the same setup as mine. But the 82-87 VB with an extra sleeve behind the spool valve where the spring would go. However, my VB has the extra non-ecm TCC circuit like a 82-87 VB has. Mine seems to be a 87 VB since it has the Aux VB circuits and the non ecm TCC circuit. But the TV setup is from a 88-up. Strange hybrid I guess. I would still do the verifications of proper TV operation at the least.

 

I took the car to the transmission shop today. Whenever I mashed the gas, my t.v. cable would extend all the way out. They told me I needed a new t.v. cable. I put a new cable on it last night. So far so good, I got my part-throttle and detent downshifts back. I put one of those snap-lock t.v. cables on it. I still plan on checking for proper t.v. operation when I replace the pan gasket.

 

OK. Do those ratchet out?

 

No, the snap-lock t.v. cable does'nt ratchet out. You rotate the carb throttle to WOT and hold it there, the cable will extend out. While holding it at WOT, push the snap-lock closed and that's it. The snap-lock cable seems to be a real sturdy design, providing more of a positive lock than the factory D-clip design.

 

sounds good