[bebopwally]

I have installed a 700R4 in my model A and it worked fine for the first 150 miles. After that 3rd and fourth gear stopped working. It shifts fine 1st and 2nd and then it shifts to third but open revs as if nothing is there. The trans was out of a donor car (93 buick Roadmaster) and sat on my driveway for about 6 months.
One of the web sites said to jack the rear up and drive it up to about 100 mph to loosen stuck valves. I tried that but it will only go to 90 in 2nd gear. Any other suggestions?

[Jmark]

First thing that comes to mind on the 3-4 problem is the governor. Pull off the side cover on the trans (very easy to do) and pull the gov out and check the gear. Its plastic and tends to break or strip off. If its ok, make sure the valve inside the gov moves freely too.

[airworld2]

wrong , engine racing up or seems to hit neutral when you should have 2-3 shift means 3-4 clutch pack is burnt out, trans is bad again

[Crosley]

Originally Posted by airworld2

wrong , engine racing up or seems to hit neutral when you should have 2-3 shift means 3-4 clutch pack is burnt out, trans is bad again

I am going with airworld2 on this one

[tnsmith10]

Originally Posted by bebopwally

I have installed a 700R4 in my model A and it worked fine for the first 150 miles. After that 3rd and fourth gear stopped working. It shifts fine 1st and 2nd and then it shifts to third but open revs as if nothing is there. The trans was out of a donor car (93 buick Roadmaster) and sat on my driveway for about 6 months.
One of the web sites said to jack the rear up and drive it up to about 100 mph to loosen stuck valves. I tried that but it will only go to 90 in 2nd gear. Any other suggestions?

what r u using for t.c.c. apply? did u set t.v. pressure correctly? did u flush the cooler lines b4 installing this trans? and did u pull the pan and inspect inside and if clean service it b4 installation?
more info please. without knowing any of this, it would be hard to say what the probable cause of failure might have been...
one last thing, u say the donor car is a 93 roadmaster? thats pretty wild for it to have a 700R4, because for the most part, chevy 4L60's had pretty much gone electronic by then...
anyways, what im getting at, is if there was nothing wrong with the unit b4 installation, and u dont find what caused the problem, the next trans could wind up doing the same thing..

[bebopwally]

I will add a little more detail for those that answered my question. (thanks) I put the trans in and replaced the filter and fluid. I checked the level and drove it a few miles. It sat for about three days and I went for a longer drive( 175 miles) the transmission worked flawlessly, shifted every time , lockup worked as it should with only a slight "lack of power" noticed on hills. The next day I went to drive it again. I backed it out of the driveway and put it into drive to take off. I knew then that something was wrong because it took about .75 seconds for drive to engage. I drove about 5 miles before i lost 3rd gear. When I checked the fluid it was low 2.5 quarts. That was the last time 3rd or 4th gear worked. I got back home dropped the pan a nd checked the fluid. I describe it as "Impala black with red metal flake". Not the color i would expect from a good transmission. The smell is still sweet so I hope that no overheating occured. Any recomendations on kit suppliers?

[Jmark]

Originally Posted by Crosley and Airworld

wrong , engine racing up or seems to hit neutral when you should have 2-3 shift means 3-4 clutch pack is burnt out, trans is bad again.

I am going with airworld2 on this one

Ok, Ok, just trying to help. LOL I grabbed my 700 book here and for the 2 symptoms, each came up the the governor as the #1 thing to check first, but then again, i'm NOT going to argue with 2 of the 3 pro's on here either! LOL From now on, i'll keep my mouth shut and my replies to a minimum. I have le'rnt my lesson!

Mark

[Crosley]

Originally Posted by Jmark

Ok, Ok, just trying to help. LOL I grabbed my 700 book here and for the 2 symptoms, each came up the the governor as the #1 thing to check first, but then again, i'm NOT going to argue with 2 of the 3 pro's on here either! LOL From now on, i'll keep my mouth shut and my replies to a minimum. I have le'rnt my lesson!

Mark

I like books.

there is a difference between no up shift to 3rd & the engine suddenly reving up where the 2-3 shift should be.

you tack that onto the fact that the 700/4L60 trannys have had a 3-4 clutch problem since day one.

[M&M CUSTOM]

I'm DEFINITELY following this thread, as my 700R4 in the Suburban did this exact same thing.

I passed another vehicle on the way home from work, and after letting back off the throttle I had no more upshift into third OR fourth gears.

I had recently installed a TBI spacer and an injector spacer as well as rebuilding the TBI itsself, it had much better throttle response and felt like more power, BUT:

After installing the TBI spacer I had the throttle cable hang up slightly and not want to return down to the previous idle speed. Something I could temporarily live with.
Also after installing the spacer the TV cable was not in the same plane as before and most likely had changed to alter the proper operation of the cable, I had MUCH firmer upshifts and the upshifts seemed delayed as compared to before.

I KNOW I damaged the transmission, but is this worth sitting around for me to learn something new later on, or should haul the transmission down to the local transmission rebuild guy and sell it to him for core price like I have done in the past.

I have little to NO need for this particular transmission in the Suburban anymore as I am in the process of swapping in a Muncie SM-465 4-speed heavy duty transmission, and will later on swap this one for a 4WD model after replacing the front suspension crossmember out for a 4X4 piece.

This thing has been out of commission for two months now, so I am not in any hurry.

[bebopwally]

I know 700s are weak and My truck trans let me down before. The good thing is that they are easy to rebuild. When I rebuilt the trans in my truck I switched planetaries,added the 9 clutch 3-4 pack and added a billet servo with high strenght springs all around. (cost was around $400 for everything). It is great to drive ,will spin 2nd gear and chirps 3rd. This time the trans is for my 30 sedan and I wont go so crazy.
I know the reason the trans in the car went bad is low oil level. I just cant figure out what happened to the oil, I checked it 3 times before it died.

[Crosley]

Originally Posted by M&M CUSTOM

I KNOW I damaged the transmission, but is this worth sitting around for me to learn something new later on, or should haul the transmission down to the local transmission rebuild guy and sell it to him for core price like I have done in the past.

only you can make that decision.

[66GMC]

Yeah ... my son in law hasn't had much luck with 700R4's either. We were contemplating installing it using velcro.

Coincedentally, his truck did have one of those Helix TBI spaces on it as well. I never thought of the effect of changing the plane of the cable ... good point.

The OD tip that I had passed on to me is to drive them in the "3" position around town / freeway instead of the "D" ... which of course eliminates the 3-4 shift.

It only goes in "D" after the cruise control is set, and only on level highways. NEVER let the trans shift into 4th gear under hard accelleration ...

If you have a tach ... watch it. If you see/feel the transmission "hunting" for the right gear, it's a good time to just drop it back to the "3" position and leave it there. Any time the transmission shifts, there is bound to be slippage and heat being generated. ATF degenerates VERY quickly when the temperatures get excessive, so a trans temp guage would be another wise investment.

[bebopwally]

update on this problem. thanks to all who answered. I pulled the unit out tonight and found two things.: The 3-4 clutches are spent ( I figured out that much without even pulling the pan) and the reason they went is due to low oil level from a rust pinhole in one of the transmission cooler lines.
Lesson to be learned: if you use stuff form the junk yard make sure all of the gaskets , seals and lines are replaced before you put it in the car.

[street]

Originally Posted by bebopwally

I have installed a 700R4 in my model A and it worked fine for the first 150 miles. After that 3rd and fourth gear stopped working. It shifts fine 1st and 2nd and then it shifts to third but open revs as if nothing is there. The trans was out of a donor car (93 buick Roadmaster) and sat on my driveway for about 6 months.
One of the web sites said to jack the rear up and drive it up to about 100 mph to loosen stuck valves. I tried that but it will only go to 90 in 2nd gear. Any other suggestions?

Did you have a shift kit put into the transmission? If so that is the probably the problem, I say that because the 3,4 plunger will tend to stick.
put the oem shifting hardware back into the trans. that would be a good start.
I have never seen a shift kit so complicated like the 700r!!!

[Crosley]

Originally Posted by street

Did you have a shift kit put into the transmission? If so that is the probably the problem, I say that because the 3,4 plunger will tend to stick.
put the oem shifting hardware back into the trans. that would be a good start.
I have never seen a shift kit so complicated like the 700r!!!

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