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700r4

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drcorvette

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Need help. I am having nothing but problems with my tranny. About 5 years ago it wouldn't shift out of first. The tranny shop rebuilt it. Took the car back maybe 3 or four times ... same problem.
The other afternoon with about 14,000 miles on the rebuild the car was running fine. I geared down to make a turn up a side road and the car just revved. No gears except neutral and same in reverse.
Transmission linkage seems ok, tranny fluid is up, red and clean. It's back at the same shop. Knowing the problems in the past I am hoping they will cover most of the tab. (HOPING)

It's an 85 corvette. Any advise??? Anything they should be checking??? Anyone experienced this???

Gary .................
 
Eagle85

Thanks for the info but don't think my car would make it to Ohio at the moment.
Maybe I will email them .....

Thanks
 
Just a Thought

Could the latest problem I am having be my torque converter????
 
700R4

Nothing will strike fear into a transmission rebuilder quicker then then saying "700R4"! Having spend thousands on several rebuilds I speak from experience with rebuilders. Most cannot! What some try to do is buy a rebuilt and stick it in, like you would do most any auto tranny. My successful rebuilder (who does a lof of NASCAR stuff) claims it has to be tuned to the car. In other words you can't just stick in a 700R4 from one car to another. Or from a rebuilt shop to a car, for that matter. Well, you can but there will be predictable results, I saw enough of those. :) After having 2 rebuilds on my '86 and 2 on my '85 I finally located the "700R4 Guhru" in my area. (I think there is probably one in almost any area, finding them is the problem) He did it once, it was final, never had any more trouble.
BTW my local parts store knew all about this guy but since I never asked they didn't tell me!

My suggestion is to do a lot of research on the subject, find out who is doing the NASCAR stuff in your area. He will probably be the guy. Last but not least, don't rush him!

Good luck with it............
 
I help out at Netgearhead, the guy that is teaching me to rebuild 700-r4's is a factory trained technition, with an arm full of certifications, I have personally watched him teardown, clean and rebuild a stock 700r4 in 2.5 hours. All their tranny's are dyno tested to factory standards and the better then stock ones get the appropiate testing as well.
I ,as well, am often leery of tranny shops, but this fella is a wizard at 700-r4's from stock to full race.
If nothing else call them and ask, plus you cannot beat the rebuild price of a little over 500.00....
And they do not pull or install them....just rebuild, so take yours out and send it to them. It is guaranteed...
 
Thanks to all for your response. The guy here in Vancouver that I deal with does a lot of work with race cars at Mission Raceway.
My problem was the torque converter and it looked like it had been going slowly which explained other problems I had had.
They are going to do a complete re & re and replace the torque converter.
All I have to pay for is the torque converter.
I am happy with that ... for now anyways!!!! *S*
Thanks again for your responses and ... think I just found a new bestest forum!!!!

Gary ........
 
700R4

How much is a brand new 700R4 for a 92 vette...It looks rebuilt option is no good :eek
 
You can get a factory rebuit fromPace Parts for 1080.00 start....start adding goodies and the price goes up dramatically.
I believe it also has a three year warranty...
 
700R4

Gary,
I later remembered that my '86 needed a mod installed to improve the longivity of the torque converter. The previous "rebuilder" had not known that. :) It consisted of a pump and some other pretty spendy components but not as spendy as putting in a new torque converter every 6 or 8 months.
I'm not sure if that is necessary for an '85 but you might want to ask that question when you get to the rebuilder...........

Good luck with it..............
 
After going thru my ordeal

You get what you pay for...
You need to pay people who study and are proficent at what they do.

Buy from a KNOWN source, who has a good warranty.

My Deal
Was $800.00 for the rebuilt tranny
R&R'ed 5 times
$600.00 in dammage to the car
2 months downtime
$400.00 in court fees & PI's( The guy skipped outa state..never recovered A PENNY)
$300.00 in other vendors to fix the problems.

$2100.00 flew outa my pocket in pursuit of a DEAL!


Spend the $$$$ up front!

Mike
 
Hi everyone,I got a 700r4 from hughes performance.It was 1500 dollars but gaurenteed for 1 year no matter how you used it!The t.v. cable is very critical,it has to be adjusted correctly,if you have an aftermarket carb.it takes a special bracket to allow the cable to work properly.Just my almost costly experience.This place is really nice and so are the people.
 
When I bought my '85 with 37K on the clock it had just had the tranny rebuilt by "Reliable transmissions." Turns out they were not as "reliable" as their name implied. The first thing I noticed was that the car would not shift out of 2nd gear until about 40 MPH and it would not go into overdrive until the car reached about 50MPH. My '86 was almost identical to the '85, which I had driven for years so I knew this was abnormal. I took it to the guy who rebuilt my '86. (afer a long ordeal with someone who did not know 700-R4 trannys) Since I never had another minutes problem with the '86 I decided this guy was okay. He rebuilt the '85 and had a good laugh at the attemtps of "Reliable transmission" to rebuild the 700-R4. He said their were parts in there that were incorrect and other parts that were missing. Not knowing anything about trannys I was unimpressed but since I have been driving that tranny and my '86 for many thousands of miiles since that time I guess he knew what he was doing. The bottom line is to be sure that the guy who rebuilds the box to be someone who specializes in 700-R4 transmissions. This guy was known for rebuilding NASCAR trannys so I figured he just might know something about Vette tranny. Also he came highly recommended by several Vette owners in the area. After squandering thousands of dollars trying to get a 700-R4 working correctly this was a breath of fresh air. This shop was Dave's Transaction in Forest Grove, Oregon. I would highly recommend him to anyone who has a transmission problem in this area. Dave also indicated to me that a 700-R4 tranny is not an "off the shelf" installation but needs tuning to a particular car. So getting a good deal on a unit and sticking it in your car may not always work as well as the one it replaced.


Just my .02 worth...............
 
700R4

Sound like similar problems. My 84 700R4 was rebuilt about 6 months ago, before I bought the car. It hits too hard from park to drive, thats one problem.

Secondly, for the longest time it would not shift up to 2nd until I reached about 45 when the weather was cold. It shifted better, not great, when things warmed up. Now it does that even when the weather is warm. Instead of doing it all the time though, it does it once and there after it shifts ok until I put the tranny in park and then back to drive.

I had adjusted the TVC and thought it was just a stuck valve body. Now I am not so sure because I don't think the shop that rebuilt the tranny knew much about vetts even though they had rebuilt 700R4's before.

Anyway thanks for the good advice. I will look around for someone that can do the job right. I love driving this car and don't like seeing it sit in the garage with summer on the way.
 
My 85 developed the dreaded won't shift till you hit a hundred syndrom, but only when cold. Once warmed up it worked perfect.
My builder told me that the throttle valve is sticking and short of a rebuild and replacing the throttle valve for a teflon coated one, was to try Lucas Brand tranny additive. The stuff is red and thick as molassas and the directions say to pour into tranny while it is hot AND running, and that results should be immediate. Boy was I surprised whe I finished and took it for a spin....shifted like clockwork and was even better then before. Test came at 0'dark thirty the next morning...I did not wait for it to warm up completely, just till the coolant temp goes from low to 100 then took off, at 20 it went to second at 30 to third and 35 went into overdrive and has not missed a beat till this evening 2 years later.
After being parked for the winter some leaked out on garage floor, so on way home from work I added another bottle and she is running fine. Any time I can spend 9.00 instead of 500.00 is considered a deal...
 
boblx2a,

Thanks for posting the name of your guy, might just save me a lot of grief sometime:beer
 

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