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So what do I do now????!!!


Hoodicoff1

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Well for the third time my 700r4 has blown up!!! First time I had the transmission rebuilt the car would not go forward the second I put it into drive. He rebuilt it no questions asked, it worked for three weeks then second gear ceased to exist, it would stay in first gear rev up to a ludacris RMP of 4200 then go into third. He "tightened up the bands" and it seemed to work fine. After that things seemed to be alright but the transmission was a a complete slush box. Then tonight I took a girl out for a drive and with my embarrasment it went 1st gear then....... NOTHING!!! had to drive 15 miles in first, so should I get my money back or what? the only problem I could have is he gave is the fact HE never set up the TV cable BUT i very carefully followed the instructions on www.700r4.com AND and I also modified the linkage on my carb in accordance to the diagrams I found online AND I also had the line pressure checked!!. Good thing the inurance runs out in 3 days, BUT should I get my money back from this guy since I spent 2300 bucks with him, and if so where should I get a transmission from?

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Sorry to hear that, I dont really have any suggestion for you other than trying to get your money back from him. After the 3rd time, I would not want to take a chance on a 4th. Try and see what his excuse could be this time

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Get your money back and just get a regular Turbo350 or 400. I know the idea of getting decent gas mileage with a Classic Car is a great thought. But with all the headaches I've read on the boards in the Club, I just don't think it's worth the time or the money. I mean you say you spent $2,300; you could've bought a killer Hydromatic for that.

 

Even though some in the Club have had success in the Club with the 700R4, good work is hard to find. Talk with lots of people in your area who have overdrives and ask them how theirs have held up. Otherwise just go with a good ole' regular transmission.

 

If you really wanted to get good gas mileage (by keeping your RPM's low with the overdrive) would you really have bought or built an almost 40 year old car? Turbo's are tough Tranny's, one time I skipped gears and screeched the wheels of the Monte on the Highway at about 70, terrified I got off the highway, limped it home, took it out and looked through it and everything was ok!

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i would get my money back on that trans, and look for a different company that knows how to build a 700r4. without the tv cable hooked up you will kill a 700 along with a lot of heat. i would check with 700r.com and see what type of deal they can give you. i know another member here had a 700 built by a local shop for $1200 and he does not like it. what little my has seen the road the 700 in it has done fine.

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Try to get your money back and find another shop. The 700, when set

correctly and built correctly is very solid. I know several people

that have them behind bigblocks and run the crap out of them.

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And just so everybody knows; I'm not bashing the 700R4 I've just heard they are a headache. I've never put one behind any of my motors so I'm just going off what I've heard or read.

 

But like I said earlier my rebuilt TH400 is a tough cookie; I can't beleive it didn't go out when I had my "accident" that I mentioned earlier. blush

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Side note on 700s, TCI makes a valve body that eliminates the TV cable problem. It supplies high pressure all the time so you can't burn up your tranny by mis-adjusting it.

 

I hope you can get your money back!

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Side note on 700s, TCI makes a valve body that eliminates the TV cable problem. It supplies high pressure all the time so you can't burn up your tranny by mis-adjusting it.

 

That valve body sound like the Hot Ticket!

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The guy who builds my transmissions says he will not build a 700r4 for anybody unless they use that valve body any more. Even if the transmission is built well, the user can ruin it by not setting the TV cable right, then you're back at square 1.

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I have been looking at those for when I rebuild the 700 I got out of my buddies Camaro... They sure would make it a little easier to setup the TV cable.. I just read the instructions, and you adjust it like the old 350 kick down cable after you install the new valve body, push the adjustment all the way back, then open the throttle all the way to pull the cable out..

 

Ian

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Hopefully this will solve the problems people are having. The OD

with the lower 1st & 2nd is a great combo IMO. I really like mine

in my truck & I am thinking about putting one in my Monte later on.

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anyone else thinking of getting a 4l80e with full manual reverse valvebody . you can hook some switches up to manually get the converter to lockup as well as od...this is the last thing i want to get done after I race the snot outta my th400

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according to the information I have on the 700r4.. it's only the very early 700's that are prone to failure from incorrect TV adjustment.. the later ones have provisions to maintain a minimum pressure to avoid that problem.. *shrug*

 

hooter.. definately find a different shop, I've taken mine back to the shop 3 times to get him to fix the fact it doesn't shift when it should.. he keeps farting with the TV cable even tho I keep telling him it doesn't solve the issue.

 

he told me when he rebuilt it that someone had tried to install a shift kit before and fouled it up.. and I think they really screwed somthing up in the valve body, so I might just replace my valve body on my own next spring when the warranty is up.

 

I'm going to change out the governor too, becuase of the way it shifts.. the 1-2 shift doesn't move.. it shifts @ 20mph regardless of throttle position. the 2-3 shift doesn't move either @ 35mph.. the 3-4 shift does respond to tv cable properly.. (which makes sense with how the govenor functions)

the trans will 4-3 at low speeds, and will not 4-2 for anything, and will only 3-2 at very low speeds... this sounds like someone might have modified the gov. why the trans shop didn't replace it.. I don't know *shrug*

 

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Hey Hooter, I can’t seem to find anywhere in this thread or any thread you’ve been in what engine you’re running. Small block or big block? How much power are you producing? Rear ratio? Posi, hooking good?

 

The 700/4L60 transmissions really aren’t all that strong. Good torque and traction and you’ll break it.

 

It’s easy to upgrade to the 4L65E level, it replaces the input and output gear set with five pinion gears. There’s also hardened input/output shafts, thicker clutch housings, more clutch packs, etc. Even better sprags and stuff in the converter. Plenty to do BUT it’ll be costly. When it comes to transmissions, you get what you pay for. A fully beefed up unit will cost beyond $4,000.00.

 

OR you could go one better, get a brand new GM 4L85-E. They can be had from http://www.crateenginedepot.com/store/Transmission-Assembly-4L85-E-2WD-24227618-P834C0.aspx This baby's got the five pinion gearsets also making it better than the TH400 or 4L80-E.

 

OH yeah, go get your money back from those guys who sold you on their poor workmanship.

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You'd still need a stand alone transmission controller and a speedo cable converter. There may be some mmods to the driveshaft yolk and crossmember.

 

All together, I think yo can do the conversion with the above 4L85-E transmission for less than four grand.

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OK guys, looking at all the major needed parts:

 

Transmission $2,427.00

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/store/Transmission-Assembly-4L85-E-2WD-24227618-P834C0.aspx

 

Controller: $737.50

http://www.compperformancegroupstores.co...egory_Code=ELEC

 

Controller cable: $140.00

http://www.compperformancegroupstores.co...uct_Code=377502

 

Spedo converter: $300.00

http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/catalog/catalog_inc/viewitem.php?ITEMID=3

 

This puts you at $3,604.50

 

You'll still need to mess with the driveshaft and crossmember. My transmission pros (Select Performance) thinks the trans tunnel may need to be dinged up a bit to clear the unit but I've heard elsewhere it'll clear with no problems. It'll fit into a 93 and up F body.

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Yes, there are a good bunch of mods that can be done to a stock 4L85-E. In stock condition, it'll take what most people can throw at it, certainly more than a 700R/4L60.

 

I've recently priced a 4L85-E with all the goodies that Gearstar shows. Eight grand seems like a lot even with the mods. For that much, it better have the aftermarket hardened input & output shafts and lower gearsets. Does the Yank converter have anti ballooning plates, steel stator, triple set of Torrington bearings and every blade is brazed?

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*sigh* changing the gov'ner only made my situation worse..

 

now it won't 1-2 upshift until 30mph.. PERIOD. regardless of throttle position. that's really fantastic because it means I have to rev out to 5000 rpm at any speed to get it into 2nd..

 

which also means I either do 4,000 rpm to do 25mph or I do about 15 in a 25...

 

a full manual, reverse pattern valve body with trans brake is starting to look VERY appealing.

 

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What carburetor are you running ? If not a Q-Jet from a factory application with a 700R4 , then do you have the linkage correction parts from BowTie Overdrive ? Throttle position linkage is critical .

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Holley also has the correct parts available for their carb. I've seen the bowtie o.d stuff, and I'm not that impressed.

the carb I've got now has BTOD 700r4 stuff on it, and it's got it's own adjustability built in, which just complicates getting the cable right.

 

I ran holley's lever, and their cable support bracket with another carb I borrowed from dave, and that was a simple effective setup.

 

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