hey all i havent been here in a while because i got a 85z28 with the 305tpi to fix up over the winter. im gonna work slow on it but next spring for a while im gonna put the bird back on the road. well here are my ques. if u all remember my little 87 bird had the 2.8 700r4 trany. i have a lot of mods done to my little 2.8 its got a pretty hot ignition the block is bored .040 over its got the blue racer cam head and intake work done. u name it and its been done all the little stuff too like a homeade air intake crank pulley 160* thermo etc? about the only other motor mod i never did to it was put roller tipped rocker arms on it. well over the summer i took it to the track and ran a pittiful 17.73 run at 78 mph. boy was i pissed over it. i then added a dynomax cat back and i kept practicing my racing and i got ti down to a 17.29 at 78mph. i was still mad about that. i knew all summer my trany was going to bite the dust and it did in aug. so this winter in going ot put another automatic in it. i have a 700r4 from a 92 bird and a thm200c from an 83 bird. which trany is best? which one will make me faster? i have stock 3:42 gears in the back. anyone got any other ideas to make me faster? i want atleast a mid 16 out of it.

 

i dont see a transmission cutting 1 full second (or even 3/4 of a second) off your time

 

pick the overdrive unit.

 

700r4

 

Before you put the 700-R4 in, make sure it's in good shape. Worn clutches will kill your power quite nicely. They're also cause more tranny slip than you can actually detect or feel. To the average person, my tranny doesn't feel like it slips at WOT. However when I cross the traps at 100 mph, according to my tire size and rear gears, I should be doing about 5400 rpms in 3rd. However in actuality, I do 6300. That's all power loss.

To keep it grabbing harder I would put a TransGo shift kit on it before you install it, provided the tranny is in good shape. This will boost the line pressure inside the tranny, so it reduces clutch wear and gives a harder, more positive grab, not to mention much better shifts. Go for the Stage 2 kit. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

 

Oh damn don't put the 200C in!! There's a reason it was only used from 82-83 and never used again! Total Crap!!

If you're thinking 3-speed, go with a TH350, and the http://www.bmracing.com adapter kit. It's just a special bracket that takes the torque arm mount (which hangs off the 700r4 tailhousing). The closer ratio between 1st and 2nd might help you in the 1/4 mile, too.

Since 1992 had the most revisions to the 700r4 design, it'll probably still be in decent condition. A few checks you can do:

1. Smell the trans fluid, should smell oily, not burnt!

2. Put some trans fluid on your fingers and rub them together, should feel slimy, not gritty!

3. Color of fluid should be red, not brown! (Brown also would smell burnt)

4. Drain the trans and check out the trans magnet. If it looks fuzzy, you're okay. If there's any chunks, you're in trouble.

5. Remove the trans filter. Cut the trans filter open; I usually use angle-cutters and a screwdriver. Remove the filter medium from inside the filter, and unfold it. Check for piles of metal inside; if there's any large chunks (bigger then 1/16"), or many small chunks, there's trouble!

6. Unbolt the valve body. To reassemble, you must have new valve body gaskets from GM; they cost about $10. Don't lose any checkballs! Before you do this you should either have the 1992 GM Service Manual for a Firebird or Camaro, or, buy the ATSG (Auto Trans Service Group) book for a 1992 700r4. You can find it at http://www.northernautoparts.com for about $15; I don't think it's on the website, so call and ask for it. This gives all the checkball locations, and it also gives more service info. It's basically the auto trans section out of the GM manual, but with an "updates" section that discusses common problems/solutions/service bulletins.

Anyway (#6 continued), the design of the trans is such that crap will fall into the valve body; the valve body acts like a big collector of metal. So check out the valve body's passageways for metal. Work each valve in/out and make sure it doesn't stick. If a valve sticks, remove the roll pin, disassemble it, and clean the valve and passageway out. A spray brake cleaner is a great solvent; I always use the non-chlorinated (but I couldn't tell ya why). A brake cleaner won't destroy any seals. When you reassemble the valve, roll it around in some fresh trans fluid. You should definately have the ATSG book because it'll show you how to reassemble the valves. Hint; use petroleum jelly (vaseline!) to hold the checkballs in place, and, to hold the valve body gaskets to the separator plate.

And like Nixon said, since by this time you'll have the trans in pieces, put the TransGo kit into it.

There's a few things to watch for when installing a trans, if you do a search for "trans torque convertor" by "TomP", you should find my messages.

Good luck!

 

im just gonna take the 92 700r4 and have it checked at the trany shop and im gonna put the shift kit in it and a vette servo and .500 boost valve. i was looking on ebay for a higher stall converter as well. any higher stall converter for the 700r4 will work right? no difference between the v8 and v6? im also gonna get a new set of accel 8.8mm spiral core wires. im praying for mid 16's out of it this comming spring.

 

Actually you've gotta stick with a v6 torque convertor. The v8 one will be (A) too big for the trans bellhousing and (B) won't bolt up to the flywheel. Our v6 torque convertors have a smaller diameter.

 

I heard a factory Fiero 4 cylinder converter has a 100-200 rpm higher stall than ours and bolts right up... I think thats what it was anyways...

 

does anyone have any more suggestions for a higher stall converter for my 700r4 trany. i thought the s10's and blazers had a little higher stall?