th350 trans starts off in second gear. once in third it wont downshift into second unless i roll up on a stop sign. and wont go into first at all. any ideas?

 

does your shifter go down to first? if so try shifting it manually and see if you get three gears, if not you got prolems. on the down shifting thing, do you have a kickdown installed and properly adjusted?

 

well the car was a 5-speed but the moron who owned it b-4 me put the th350 in. im not shure on the kick down and no the car wont shift manualy. ive got a 4L60-E tranny out of a 94-95 blazer with the 4.3 v6! is there a way i could get that tranny to work? it will bolt up but what about the harness that controls it?

 

if im not mistaken, the 4l60e needs a tcm to properly operate, which are available as standalones from the aftermarket but are probably quite expensive. as for the turbo 350 problems, heres a few more ideas. on the right rear of the trans by the tailshaft housing is a vacuum modualtor valve, that needs a vacuum source or the trans will shift very weakly and you will burn it up in short order. i recommend the use of a thick walled vacuum hose/fuel line. the lighter stuff will suck shut and is the same as having no vacuum at all. been there done that. if this is your problem then it would seem that the trans wasnt shifting but its really shifting so lightly you wouldnt notice it. lack of vacuum also(at least in my case) tends to drag out the gears. also does it shift good at wot? the kickdown would be another cable on your throttle arm. its not necesary but you will have to manually downshift in passing conditions or when playing around.