k so we have an 86 vette at our shop thats been sitting for a few years i decided one day to start playing with it and took it for a ride. right away i noticed when shifting from reverse to drive that i had to pull shifter into 3rd to get to engage. once it warmed up i noticed it slip a lil bit so i added fluid and now it wont shift out of first. any ideas? i read somewhere the what the tv cable hooks to in trans may be stuck. im good with motors but lost on transmissions

 

Did you just "add fluid" or did you check it and it was actually low on fluid and you filled it up to the PROPER level?

Not shifting out of first is either TV (the valve not the cable) stuck or the governor not working properly causing the 1-2 shift. If it's the TV then you can sometimes put the car up on stands, put the trans in drive and with it at high idle remove the cable from the linkage and then pull it fully open and then let it snap shut a couple of times and if it's sticky you're hoping to free it up without having to actually get in the trans and free it up.

The governor - you can pull the cover off, pull it out and clean/inspect it and I would replace the seals on it while it's out - make sure the gear hasn't stripped as that's actually somewhat common in old 700R4's.

 

checkd fluid and it was low so i added fluid.. where is governor located on trans?

 

Near the tailshaft on the side of the transmission and under a round cover that's just press-fit on with an o-ring. If you're worried about it coming off after pulling it apart an old TH350 retainer fits the trans if I recall right.

 

Had a similar problem once. Did you re-adjust the t-v cable? I found after fixing a few dents in the governor housing that mine was shifting at 4k with light throttle and I had just adjusted the t-v cable. Still scratching my head over that one.

 

Did you check it with the engine running?