The other day I was heading up to the drag strip to watch my friend run and on the way up I was heading up this hill passing someone on a two lane road (maybe only 65mph) and all the sudden I felt something weird. I really can't describe what it was that made me realize something had happened but later when i let off the gas the rpms went all the way down to idle even though i was still doing 70 mph... in O/D...

So i drove the next ten mins trying to find out what was wrong this is what I figured out:
* To switch to the next gear I had to about red line the engine.. (wouldn't shift below 4k)
* This was for each gear
* Overdrive (O/D) didn't work.
* When I let off the gas it was as if the car went into nuetral rpms dropped to idle
* When it was time to get back on the gas i would have to push the rpms back up to where they should be for that rpm before i could feel the car engage and then pull. (just like as if i had popped the car in nuetral then back into drive after a minute..)
* At the the parking lot i confirmed the car went into reverse and all.
* Checked the trans fluid and i was not out or low.

Two hours later I drove it back home and had to jump on I-95 the Over Drive would not kick in (I took her up to 110mph trying to get it to engage and it would not.) Trying to run the car at 65mph and close to 3-3,500 rpm didn't feel good at all so I got off as soon as I could.

At home me and my father went over the car and realized that there was a bit too much transmission fluid in the car (maybe a 1/4-1/2 an inch past the full line) and that the fluid was dirty. Tomorrow I am taking the car to get the trans flushed as I have wanted to do it for awhile anyway.
I haven't done anything with the trans. fluid in atleast a month so I doubt this is the issue and was wondering what everyone else thought. Please let me know what you think and if you need anymore information

Ohh my father said something about finding out if my transmission had a "module"? Cannot remember what kind but I did a search for 700-R4 diagram and came up empty.

 

Carb or .. ?

Reason I as is mine wouldn't go into O/D and discovered one of the vacuum lines was not hooked up. It's probably not ruined, since you were able to drive it around - but did you notice any noise? Grinding, moaning, etc?

It sounds more like a clog or solenoid problem - I'm no expert though, just throwing out ideas that someone with more experience may elaborate on.

Since you are probably going to do an oil change on it you'll be able to tell if things are majorly wrong or not when you drop the pan to change the filter. A little bit of residue is nothing to worry about but if you've got chunks then start hehe!

 

Have them check your govenor under the big dust cap on the pass. side that may be the culpret .

 

Just had the trans flushed today and man was it dark. close to black. Nice and pretty now though!!
And went for a test drive it didnt fix the problem...
So now i'm taking it to a shop weds morning to see if i can get a free diagnosis and a better idea. Going to start with the shift solenoids and governor... DOES ANYONE know if our transmissions have a module of some sort?

Ohh and I'm most likely gonna be in the market for a 700-r4 in good condtion around 100-500 so can anyone around bel air has one let me know.
I was thinking about putting a shift kit in the transmission as well so if anyone can tell me what i should look for that i could use as a DD and yet take up to the track on the weekends without having to tear it apart all the time for maintence please let me know or show me a link.


Can't thank everybody enough as i learn alot from this site.

 

My opinion is, forget the 700R4 and go with a TH-400. New from Jeg's they are in the neighborhood of 800 to 900, and if you look on ebay im sure you can find a used one in good shape for around 200 to 300. Also if you were to go with a TH-400, a trans-pak is better than a shift kit. They produce a quick, snappy shift. And even if you stick with a 700R4 you can get a trans-pak for them also. The TH-400 is also a great automatic tranny for drag, being as they are strong and can take whatever you throw at them. Hope this helps.

 

Okay this is the first problem i've had with the 700R4 but I've only had it for about a year. Whats the difference between the two?
Yeah I would have to do used as I'm only 18 and about to go into college.. talk about broke...
Me and my father have been talking about the shift kit and he also said the trans-pack would be better (he has not done anything with a transmission in about 10 years so he wanted me to talk to others first to see if anything has changed)
Well that def points me in the right direction just wondering what the main differences between the two trans are thanks again guys!!

 

700R4 is a 4 speed auto and a th-400 is a 3 speed automatic, i mean yes there are other differences but thats a big one, a th-400 will pretty much take whatever you throw at it, as a 700r4 wont. the r4 in my 90 rs is complete crap, even though never being abused and beaten

 

You will spend way more money in the long run swapping in a th400 and it will rob more power than your 700r4. If you were to do a swap get a th350 with a long tail shaft and you dont have to cut the drive shaft. If your swapping in either a 350 or 400 you will need to by new brackets for your torque arm and I believe new crossmembers.

 

lol well this is my daily driver so I will need something with overdrive that gets decent mileage. So the 700-r4 is prolly my best for right now.
On an incredible note:
THE TRANS IS WORKING PERFECTLY AGAIN. Not sure what happened but today on the way home for work (I live about 2.5 miles from work) the something happened and the trans suddenly felt better. Put her back in O/D and the trans read 2k rpm at 60 mph which is what it used to. Shifts real smooth and accels fine.

The only thing I can figure is that the trans filter was clogged and just need some good clean fluid passing thru it for a bit to get it to unclog and work right. That or the trans took a bit to "reset" after the trans flush before it would shift right... Okay so I'm grasping at straws here and hoping the car continues to run right. Happy for this hour lol

 

Yup, lots of little passages that could have that happen hehe! Glad it was simple for you. Something similar happened with my old Jeep, I took it to the shop and they told me a needed a new transmission. Told them to forget it and I'll come and get it and figure something out. 180 000km later it was still running. Don't know what it was, but I guess I called their bluff on it hehe.

 

Sometimes I just get lucky and make a good guess lol. I'm very glad it was simple!! Hey something goes wrong you just got to replace it; got to love shops like that. Good job with the bluff

 

I hate when shops try to do that I worked in garage and we would do all we could before we called a trans dead and in need of replaceing .