1989 Automatic Reputation

[Chris Kennedy]

Hello! In my continuing quest to replace a beloved '81 4-spd creamed by a guy running a red light, I am going to be traveling to look at a 1989 Automatic in the next week or so. I have driven later automatics, and they were fine, but remembering GM automatics from the early 1980s (erratic shifting, busting etc.) I am concerned over the automatic used in the 1989. Could those of you who have 1989 Automatics let me know about your experiences with the transmission? Does it "hunt" between drive/overdrive, shift erratically etc. My impression is that these earlier problems were solved by 1989, but......

--Chris Kennedy
Houston, Texas

 

[1995 RedVette]

I had an 86 and 87 with the 700R4 which would be the same trans as in the 89 auto's, and I like them better the 4L60E in my 95. The both shifted firm at part throttle and would quick at full throttle....hard and fast enough to light the tires all through first and about half way through second in my 87. If your only worry of an auto transmission I would say go for it. Both my 86 and 87 had well over 100,000 miles.

 

[MoeJr]

My 84 shifts great and it too is an 700R4. The Hunting trannys were 82's and early 84's then they released an updated prom to cure the problem. I have the updated prom in my 84. The 89 Trans should be fine.

 

[c4cruiser]

The Corvette 700R4 is a stout tranny and will withstand the powerout put of the motor and more. Like any other tranny, it should have been serviced according to the schedule in the owner's manual.

The car's mileage and service history should give you an idea of how the tranny will perform. Drive the car in different conditions and try manual and throttle-induced downshifts to see how quick and firm they are. Do the same for upshifts. Use 3/4 throttle in low gear and pay attentin to how firm and quick the shifts are. As with the downshifts, try both manual shifting with the shifter and then let the tranny shift by itself.

The shifts should be quick and feel fairly firm between gears. You may notice more smoothness in shifting in the higher gears or going into OD and full lockup, but that's typical of late OD trannys. With my 92 A4, I usually keep the lever in "3" in town and speeds below 45-50. Above that, I'll move the lever into the OD position.

If the cars has high mileage, I would not consider installing a shift kit as the higher line pressures may cause more harm than good. Check out the fluid condition; it should be a nice reddish color that is clean. Like any used car, you might want to have your favorite shop do a pre-purchase inspection. It shouldn't cost more than a hour's labor and will be a good way to give you any heads up regarding possible problems or needed repairs.

 

[sleepyhead]

I have an '89 with an automatic transmission. Granted it only has about 37,700 miles but so far so good. No problems whatsoever to speak of.

-J.

 

[Edmond]

My 88' tranny is still shifting great after more than 101,000 on the the clock. They are fine trannies that can handle the low end torque of the L98 very well.

 

[1stC3Vette]

My '89 has just over 66,000 miles. It has automatic transmission and shifts very well. I never had it "search" for drive to overdrive. It shifts very well from 1st to 2nd under hard acceleration with a nice chirp of the tires. I have heard that this was the first year of the ZF trans and it was a great improvement.

Good Luck.

Dino

 

[*89x2*]

89 Corvette w/ Auto - in my opinion, a piece of garbage!


Bought new, at 8k mi, took it to the dealer for a "noise" they said all was fine - by 12k, it was toast (3/4 clutch pack)
They replaced under warranty - w/ a SRTA trans w/ my GMPP warr.
@ 17k mi, it was trash again :eek
Another SRTA went in :eek
This one lasted until 47k mi - again, toast - $2200 bux later - warranty didn't cover the 4th one going into the car as it had expired by that point -

Is it a fluke?? My 89 GTA Trans Am 5.7 L is on its 4th 700r4 as well - Garbage by my records...

 

[Edmond]

To kind of add to what 89 just said, my buddy has an 80 something Camaro with the 700R4 and it just blew a few months ago. But I have a feeling that the previous owner of the car really beat the snot out of the car and shortened the tranny life. Plus, my buddy sometimes will manually shift the car. :eyerole

 

[vetteby]

I have an 89 roadster with 100,000 on it and it still works fine.

 

[*89x2*]

FWIW - I do not want anyone to be confused - I have owned the car since new and have been virtually the only driver of the car - It has not been dogged, ragged, or otherwise beat on - The 3/4 clutch pack IS the weak link :eek


On my 1989 GTA, I sent the car to Rosslers transmission in Girard, Ohio to have it rebuilt - it lives behind a 383 - no issues on that one so far - was rebuilt on the GTA @ about 85k mi - car has about 139k mi on it with the 3/4 clutch pack addressed by Rosslers

- Had I known the Corvette's trans was toast, I would have done the same for 700r4 number 4

 

[MoeJr]

89x2 u obviously had a Chevy dealer with no clue. I have never had any 700R4 go bad that many times. We have been repairing cars for over 21 years so I have seen quite a few 700R4's come thru. Sounds like you got a bunch of lemons or the car was possessed.

 

[*89x2*]

89x2 u obviously had a Chevy dealer with no clue. I have never had any 700R4 go bad that many times. We have been repairing cars for over 21 years so I have seen quite a few 700R4's come thru. Sounds like you got a bunch of lemons or the car was possessed.

Moe, I know it must seem a bit bizzare however, in the 15+ years I have owned the car (since brand new), the car was originally mis-diagnosed at one dealer, replaced at another, replaced the second time at another and finally two years or so ago, at a different dealership - ALL replacements were the SRTA transmissions - I believe that to be the weak link :eek

W the GTA, different dealers all replaced w/ SRTA transmissions as well - hmm...

No issues w/ the one rebuilt by a professional (Roslers in Ohio - builds the automatics behind LPE's powerplants)

Thanks

 

[Chris Kennedy]

One of the earlier posters mentioned that prior to '89 GM changed the computer PROM chip to address the "hunting" concern I have. I also noticed in one of the Corvette catalogs that Hypertech talks about their chip solving any hunting problems----can other people verify this? Also, is this a three speed transmission plus overdrive, or is it a four speed transmission with a lock-up feature, or something different?

Thanks,

Chris Kennedy
Houston, Texas

 

[1995 RedVette]

It is a four speed transmissiton with lock up convertor. The ratio's are as follows:

3.06:1
1.60:1
1.00:1
0.70:1

The 4th gear is overdriven thus the 20mpg you should expect if driven normally.

Brett

 

[89z51l98]

So long as you stay with an 88 and later 700-R4.. you should be fine. The earlier ones were more likely to have problems, like you mentioned.

Hello! In my continuing quest to replace a beloved '81 4-spd creamed by a guy running a red light, I am going to be traveling to look at a 1989 Automatic in the next week or so. I have driven later automatics, and they were fine, but remembering GM automatics from the early 1980s (erratic shifting, busting etc.) I am concerned over the automatic used in the 1989. Could those of you who have 1989 Automatics let me know about your experiences with the transmission? Does it "hunt" between drive/overdrive, shift erratically etc. My impression is that these earlier problems were solved by 1989, but......

--Chris Kennedy
Houston, Texas

 

[jsinga]

My street driven stock 87 has 206k miles on it and still shifts fine and has never had any trash in the pan when I get around to changing the fluid.Change the fluid and filter then put a bottle of Lube Guard in it and drive it.
If the car has the orginal trans it it and hasn't had problems it's ok, if not leave it alone. Typically any GM, if it works it will run a long time, if not, they're never right.

JS

 

[RedRagTop]

Mine works great, lets the torque quik-shift through 1-2 (and even 3 sometimes) with the tires lit if I stand on it. No probs but I changed fluid/filter when I bought it. It will shift a bit too fast from 3-4 to hold OD at under 40 or so but I just leave it in D until I hit the open road...

 

[OLDCHEV]

I have driven my 1990 Vert. with 90,000 miles on it hard! Was expecting trouble with the trans. here in Phoenix with the high outdoor temps but, it still shifts as new. I have also seen the ads to cure hunting between lockup or not. Never had a problem with this.

Did change the thermostat when I bought it to 180 degree and I hit the A/C switch when the temps creep up in traffic (to activate both fans). One of these days, I will get off my dead butt and install a manual switch to activate the fans. This helps the trans. temps.