ok... i just recently bought a 1982 trans am im the third owner and the previous owner blew the engine in the first day, so he replaced it with a new 305. the car has only 70,000 miles on it and the new engine has only 4,000 miles or so on it. but my transmition is terrible, and i have no clue what the problem is. when i got it everything worked fine. im not sure what kind of tranny it has but its a 3 speed automatic with no OD. and slowly but surely reverse and third speed are now gone. it started taking long to get into reverse then it just stopped going into reverse all together and it wont go into third either, it just stays in second and i cant go past 60 mph because i will start to redline. i drove the car pretty much normal, and the transmition fluid level is normal, i dont know much about cars so im totally clueless as to what is going on. one guy told me the only way to get it fixed is to get a rebuild. is that truly the only way?? if anyone knows anything could you please help me?? thank you

 

take it to a trans shop and let them tell you what you need. could be several things, including needing rebuilt. it's a lot cheaper if you can do the trans r&r and let them do the rebuild.

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-=ICON MOTORSPORTS=-

 

Sounds like the TH-200C metric 3-speed tranny... which was a bad one to begin with. There's some good news, B&M makes a kit for you that lets you put in a TH-350 3-speed transmission, and since you have the 200C trans, you can re-use your driveshaft. Check them out at http://www.bmracing.com , and you can buy it from http://www.summitracing.com for $75 or so.

OR, you could put in a TH-700r4 4-speed from an 87-up f-body. If you can't get an 87-up, go for an 85-86 f-body. Avoid the earlier 83-84 700r4's.

At any rate, try not to get your 200C rebuilt. For the same cash you'll spend, you can get a better tranny. The TH-350 is not as complicated as the 700r4, and is thus easier to rebuild, cheaper to rebuild, and usually lasts longer.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

thanx alot man, im glad you told me that i was going to get a rebuild pretty soon. which would be better in terms of performance and longevity, the 700r4 or a th350?? and if i wanted to get a 700r4 from an 87-up, where could i find one? junkyard? but anywho, thanks again that helped so much.

 

Both can be made to last a long time. Since the 350 is more familar to most mechanics and rebuilders, they're better at rebuilding them. In fact, guys that haven't otherwised touched a trans have rebuilt 350's! There's a book by Haynes called the "GM Transmission Overhaul Manual", it covers (with step-by-step pictures) the rebuild of the TH-200-4R (not your 200C), 700r4, 350, and 400's, if you're interested in knowing what goes on.

As to performance, well, you get an overdrive with the 700r4. The first gear is very low, which can give you one hell of a takeoff from a stop, but there's a big ratio drop between 1st and 2nd gear. That can hurt acceleration. Picture a 5-speed manual driver going from 1st gear to 3rd gear, without going into second.

The ratios of the TH-700r4 trans are: 3.06, 1.63, 1.00, 0.70.

The ratios of the TH-350 trans are: 2.52, 1.52, 1.00. (Someone double check me on this?)

Does anyone know the ratios for the 200C?

With the 700r4's overdrive, you could run a low rear gear (like a 3.73) and still keep some gas mileage.

You could nab everything from a junkyard. If you switch trannies yourself, you'll need to "flush" your existing transmission cooler & lines. There's a cooler built into the plastic side tank of your engine's radiator. When a transmission dies, metal filings go through all the fluid lines- including the cooler. If you don't flush the cooler, but put in a new trans, the metal filings inside the cooler will get into the good tranny, and that'll hurt it.

Trans replacement is covered by the Haynes 82-92 Firebird manual. The GM book has the same procedure. I used the Haynes book to replace mine, just because I can kick it around the floor and not feel guilty ($20 vs $80).

There might be one problem in the swap- I don't know that much about the 200C. The 700r4 is computer controlled- but can be changed over to non-computer-control (thru another B&M kit). If the 200C is also computer controlled, that would mean your current computer wouldn't plug into the 700r4 tranny. That's not a big deal, but you might get a service engine soon light because the computer's not seeing a tranny. The motor & trans would still work fine, but your computer'd be a bit confused... know what I mean?

Oh there's also a linkage from the transmission to the engine throttle that would have to be changed. If you go to the 700r4, besides grabbing that linkage, you'll also have to grab a 4-speed shifter from an 83-up f-body. I'd imagine the stock shifter would bolt right in. If you wanted to spend more $$, you could get the B&M Megashifter ($150 from Summit Racing) . The B&M shifter works for a TH-350 or TH-700r4.

For the 350 trans, a couple companies sell brackets that will take the linkage. I'm not sure if your current bracket would hold the 350's linkage. Heck for all I know the 200C's linkage is the same as the 350 and 700r4... sorry I can't help more on that.

Hope this helped give you the basics... a transmission shop will be able to give you specifics. But I'd imagine getting a junkyard 350 or 700r4 rebuilt and dropped into your trans am would be better in the long run. The 350 might wind up to be cheaper.

Ah but who knows? The 200C might be cheaper. Not much is written up about it.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

wow man thanx alot, youve been so much help, this totally changes the way i think about it. but i asked some guy and he said it would be illegal to put a th350 into my car... is this true? he said that some new law is comming out that would make it illegal to put it in there. if you know anything about this could you school me please? but thanx for everything again.

 

All I can think of, is how would anyone know the trans has been changed? If you go to a different 3-speed, the shifter will still be a 3-speed.

You could always call a few emissions shops and ask them... just don't leave your name


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

yea thats true. thanks alot man for everything, youve been a huge help.