Ive trried finding my problem on the boards to no luck, but I just swapped the engine and transmission into another firebird. its a 305 TPI with a 700R4. And now, it starts in all gears which I think i found the issue with that, theres a connector with the purple and green wires to the neutral safety switch but its open ended, so i jumped it with a piece of wiring.

Now, the real problem im having is this:

It isnt shifting into any gears but Park or Neutral. I think its not shifting completely out of park is all, because when i shift if out it rolls but makes a loud clicking sound.

Any ideas on my problem? Fluid level is good and the connectors are in... Do trannies freeze up like engines? Because my engine was slightly froze up when i first started cranking it.

 

sounds like you don't have the linkage secure and adjusted properly.


what type of shifter are you using? if you are using your factory shifter, your neutral safety switch is bad. you shouldn't have to jump anything to get it to work. with the connector disconnected, it shouldn't start at all.

 

I readjusted the linkage twice. I put the transmission connection in neutral and the shifter in neutral then hooked them up. And when you move the shifter the part at the tranny shifts through the gears.

Yes its a stock shifter... Does the neutral safety effect the shifting? Because i can get a new one but right now i need the car to shift so i can drive it.

 

the neutral safety switch doesn't affect shifting, it just prevents starting in anything other than park/neutral and turns your back-up lights on.


if it moves the manual lever at the tranny, then the problem is internal. the pan will have to be dropped. when you move the lever, is there clicking of sorts coming from the transmission?

 

when it moves gears the link makes a click when it switches gears.

What am I looking for internally? Broken wiring or some such?

 

here is a pic(i think). check out the upper right corner. that is the linkage. this pic is missing a piece that goes between the linkage and the manual valve of the valve body.

 

How do you think i woudlve damaged that... I never took the pan off or anything while i transfered the engine and tranny...

 

don't know but you said it was working externally so the problem has to be internal. it is rare but i have heard of the internal linkage working itself loose.

 

Ok if it was not releasing the parking paw in the transmission when you shift it into drive you should feel the vehicle try go into forward but stop,and the same for rev you would feel the vehicle go into rev but stop or does it just feel like there is no ingagement at all? next unhook the linkage from the transmission and shift it manually at the transmission itself, then you will know if it is transmission or linkage. next how long has the transmission been sitting around without it being ran in a vehicle. Just a few questions so we can fix your problem

 

Alright, well the only gear that does work is park. When you shift to another gear it rolls forward and backwards when you push it but it makes a clicking type noise.

I havent tried it with the car running but when its off and you move the lever on the console it moves the switch on the trranny to the proper position. Theres no reac tion at all though when it shifts except for the car being able to move.

The tranny sat unused for a good two and a half months? I think thats about what it was.

 

now without the car running you will be able to push the car in any gear but park and it will be like neutral, without the car running you will not have your ingagements. In the pic the green arrow is pointing at the parking rod this rod is moved into the parking paw(red arrow) to give you park. the large ball shape on the rod is spring loaded and when it is moved into the paw it locks the rear ring gear if this rod is not letting the paw go all the way back to it's stop it will hit the teeth on the ring gear to give you your clicking sound.

 

you haven't tried it with it running?!?!?!?!? i thought you meant with the car running.

as stated by whiplash, without the car running, everything except park will be neutral.

 

thing is, the adjustments cant be off because pulling the shifter makes the switch move to the proper gear. the other gears arent engaging at all... Theres no jerk or rev or anything when i shift, just the engine idling down a tad.

 

Ok now if I am understanding you correctly when you move the shifter you have no movement at all in any gear? now if this is true then did you install the transmission seperate or did you install the engine and transmission as one unit? if you installed them seperate then it sounds like the converter was not all the way in and it took the pump out, this will give you no engagement what so ever.It will have to come back out and you can check the pump to see if it is broke.

 

the adjustment isn't at the shifter, it is at the transmission itself. when i ask you before if it was moving, i meant the lever on the transmission itself, not the shifter. if everything isn't adjusted and hooked up right at the transmission, then it may not move at all.

 

Thats what im trying to say, they are both working together. Shifter goes to rev, the switch is pulled into reverse and so on.

And wowza. Not in all the way? How do i know when it is in all the way? Where is the pump?

Thanks guys sorry im not that great with explanations.

 

ok, so if you have looked at the lever on the side of the transmission when someone is moving the shifter in the car, and the lever on the transmission is moving, then the problem has to be internal.


try this as a last ditch thing:
1. put the car securely on 4 jackstands so that all 4 wheels are off the ground.
2. disconnect the shift cable from the transmission.
3. start the car.
4. move the lever on the transmission by hand to see if it has forward and reverse.

a person working the brake, starting the car, and watching the wheels is VERY helpful since they can sit in hte drivers seat to do all 3 of those. be careful of the rear wheels if they start turning. if you don't have forward or reverse then the tranny is damaged internally. sitting for a couple of months shouldn't hurt it.

 

Thanks ill try that just to make sure. I pulled the trtanny off the engine to check the rear of the engine. So im betting on the torque converter idea... Good news is i have an extra 700R4! But id like to fix this one, its in better shape.

 

well, it's a good possibility then. i had thought you did motor with tranny at the same time. good luck.



let us know what you find.

 

your converter in the front of the transmission has to be all the way into the front pump when you install the transmission if it is not then when you bolt it to the engine and start the vehicle it will brake the pump gears and the pump will not be able to pump the fluid thru the transmission so it will not move in any gear, if your linkage is working at the transmission and while the car is running it will not move in any gear (even if the linkage was off it would move in one of the gears) the transmission will have to come out to check the front pump.

 

After its down and checked, how do i know its in all the way? before hand i just firgured if the bellhousing and the engine were flush together that was fully mounted.

 

if damage was done to the front pump because of improper install, it is already done. you can't get the transmission and engine to mate properly if the torque convertor is incorrect.

to know if it is in all the way after you check it, try putting your hand between the convertor and the pump. if it is in properly, you shouldn't be able to put much more than a fingertip between the pump and convertor.

 

In that case, the torque converter was installed correctly... So maybe the pump just died from not being used for so long. I know a lot of other things did. Ill drop it tomorrow morning and give you guys know.