I want firm shifts... would a Vette servo do all I ask? What's the point of a shift kit if changing out a servo gives firm shifts?I don't nessesarily have to "fix" inherent flaws in the design of the trans since this trans I have now has been neglegted all it's life and is just now going at 149K miles...

Any idea how much a replacement V6 700R4 goes for over at a GM dealership?

Help me out

 

If yours is an original 1986, then you are in the top 1% of getting to that kind of mileage out of it. If you are going to rebuild that unit, you still will need the Trans-Go Shift kit along with the Corvette servo, and both boost valves. The Corvette dervo firms up 2nd & 3rd slightly, the boost valves help with line rise, holding power, & firmness of the shifts, the Trans-Go Shift kit does all that too, but fixes other inherent problems (response time as to downshifts, etc.) also. There are other updates that you can do to the 1986 unit to help it do much better than stock as to performance, driveability & durability. If you have someone rebuild your unit, make sure they use the same valve body and case to keep it matched to your vehicle. Give me a call if I can be of help?

 

Just out of curiousity, are you the original owner or do you know the original owner? Both Dana and I could tell you countless stories of people who got X number of miles and assumed that after a freshening up it would do the same thing and then couldn't understand why it didn't last 1/4 of that time. When you have been involved with thousands of 700's (or any tranny for that matter) you start to figure out real quick that there are pretty much the same failures and the same causes. Just replacing seals, often having nothing wrong with them what with modern materials, makes you a little uneasy about whether or not you have 'fixed' anything. After all, if the seals and rings that seal the circuits don't have anything wrong with them, why do the Clutches/Band burn? But to answer your question, yes a 'Vette Servo will make the 1-2 and 2-3 shift feel firmer. I will skip the question about what is the point of a Shift Kit since I suspect that you have read my posts on this before and don't believe it. Let us know how you make out!

 

Oh, one more thing, I have fixed more SRTA (GM Reman) trannies than any other Reman. There is no comparison between the original assembly line full of new parts and what you get in a SRTA. I have seen parts missing, clutches installed wrong, etc. and the same failures that the originals suffered from. The only difference other than the quality of the job not being anywhere near the same as the factory did, is that the parts have been through the same hot/cold/torque cycles and wear that we deal with every day. You didn't think you were going to get a new tranny from them did you? ROTFLMAO!

 

Yes, actually i figured I was going to get a new tranny... sorry for thinking wrong...

No, I havn't read your post on the trans-go shift kits, I know very little about transmissions and how they work and I visit here very seldom. I was under the impression that:

1)Corvette servo makes the firm tire chirping shifts

2) trans-go shift-kits fix problems...


Feel free to add to this list and/or change it...

I talked to a local trans shop today... I must first say that the guy treated me great, I told him what i had, what i needed and he went through everything with me... started naming off stuff before I could ask about it... how different servo's and this and that and no burn clutches would be more... ect.... price with installation start to finish is 900-1250, depending on exactly what needs to be done. i asked him about the trans-go shift kits and he said he will often throw them in if it comes up or not... he said he uses the reprogramming kit...

So someone educate me here... I want to see your speech about the trans-go shift kits Transfix... if you could educate me on the different shift kits made by trans-go and exactly what they are made to accomplish, that would be great...

Thanks, sorry for being so misinformed...

 

This is an interesting question and involves some things that many don't take into account.

When a tranny is brand new, everything seals perfectly, the pump has just the right clearance, there are no leaks internally, etc, etc.

Now consider the life of a tranny. It's job is to manage TORQUE, PLUS it goes through thousands of hot and cold cycles which also leads to warpage, not to mention the normal wear that takes place. Add to this that it's life blood, ATF, runs under pressure, sometimes as high as 300+, and did I mention heat? Also, the engine when new is tighter than a 70K engine and if you were to check it with a torque wrench you would see that it takes allot less torque to turn that broken in engine and that extra torque that WAS used to turn things is now available to load the tranny harder than when new. Add all this up and you find that just replacing the normal wear parts in a tranny often doesn't yield a tranny that lasts even half as long as the original did. In fact, if you COULD get a 'new' tranny (you can't, even from the dealer, they are remaned by minimum wage people who don't know how a tranny works and don't have to for that matter) IT wouldn't last the same as the original due to the changes in the engine referred to and I haven't even mentioned modified engines.

On top of this are the built in weak points of any given tranny and I think you are getting the picture now. Here's another dirty little secret about the tranny business; I have know many guys who have been 'assembling' trannies for years and couldn't tell you for example, what is applied in a given gear range or what normal pressures should be in that tranny. This means that they can build plenty of trannies, often very fast (Bosses like that) but when there is trouble you get allot of blank expressions much like the deer in the headlights look (Bosses DON'T like that).

What to do? Well, as you now know, you can not get a NEW tranny so all are used or 'rebuilt'. The secret is to find someone who nows how to FIX the 'age' caused problems along with the inherent design flaws in a given tranny. Much of this, IMHO, is FIXED with the use of a TransGo Shift Kit and I am not afraid to give away one of my big secrets of success because as you may know, just giving someone your mothers secret pie recipe will not allow just anyone to duplicate the same flavor. Somehow it just isn't the same. So is it with tranny building. You still have to be talented to do it right but it helps if you have the right recipe anyway!

First off, what a Shift Kit ISN'T. Most people associate the term Shift Kit with tire chirping shifts. Actually Shift Kit is a trademarked name coined and owned by TransGo Since 1959. The purpose of a Shift Kit is to correct the weak points of a given transmission. In most cases when someone complains of soft or slipping shifts it isn't BECAUSE if these complaints that they fail but rather there is a malfunction that leads TO the burned/glazed frictions and the poor shift quality is the result. There are many kit's out there designed to give you firm shifts but if that isn't the cause of your problem it isn't fixing them.

For example, in a 700 you have problems with delayed pressure rise which allows the clutches or band to slip until the pressure catches up. If you don't fix this, it doesn't matter if you put the Vette servo in or the .500 TV boost valve or not. They will only mask the problem. This problem is there whether it is a grocery getter or 5.7 IROC. The TransGo Shift Kit corrects this and other problems that these have. This kit however isn't available to the general public because of the technical knowledge required.

They do however have something that I think most of you are after though. It is called a Reprogramming Kit or also a High Performance Shift Kit. It has the basic fixes that the Shift Kit has and it has features to give the tranny HD/HP capabilities such as greater manual control and higher horsepower and torque handling ability. The 700 kit also includes some pieces for when the unit is O/H'ed to give it higher RPM capability (at higher RPM, residual oil can drag the 3-4 clutches on even when they should be off). This kit (the commercial version) has a video to aid in the installation too.