Kim Moulton Miller

I got it back and drove it a few times in the city and I told my son-in-law that the rpm's seemed alot higher than before. (I don't know much about cars and thought maybe it was supposed to be that way...) He came and got it and drove it one hour back to the mechanic when he noticed high gear wasn't shifting right. Then that guy said I needed my trans rebuilt for $750. He said he swapped out the 350 turbo modulator valve to a 400 modulator turbo valve to see if would make high gear better because sometimes when you switch to a 40 mod valve it will take up the slack from weak clutches. Also, a 400 mod valve is adjustable into making it shift harder or softer. And the mechanic said afterwards he had it adjusted tight enough where it was barking in second gear. Then he backed it off to shift regularly but it did not help high gear. The mechanic said everything was connected when he first saw it and when he was finished. This is all relayed info from my son-in-law from the mechanic today.

My Dad - who is an awesome car guy - thought I needed another opinion. So I had it trailered to another shop owned by my friend. He and his friend thought they heard the torque rattling and smelled the trans fluid and thought it smelled burnt. When test driving it, I was in it for this, if you drove normally it would sometimes shift into third but then when gave it a little more gas it would down shift to 2nd and stay there until it hit 5,000 rpm, then it would go into 3rd and be fine until you gave it gas.

My friend at the current shop said he thinks trans is already ruined.

Kim Moulton Miller

I do remember my son-in-law telling me yesterday that when the original mechanic had the vette the second time due to the high rpms/3rd gear issue when he was changing the modulators he had to bend something to get it in there. ???

jim2527

I know its been mentioned already but I'd double the kick down adjustment.

hamck

I've had my engine out numerous times. The last time I had the transmission rebuilt and experienced the same issue as you. I hooked up a hand held vacuum pump (harbor freight ) on the line to the modulator at the manifold , and it wouldn't hold vacuum. It turned out that the steel line had a crack along the side of it by the distributor causing a leak. You couldn't see the crack, but it was there. I cut the tube off beyond the crack and added a longer hose and that cured it. Check the tube that goes down along the trans. They get twisted ,bent ,kinked during engine r&r and get cracked. That's what happened to me anyways.

Kim Moulton Miller

I'm so friggin bummed! But I am thankful for everyone's input and I have forwarded it all to my son-in-law, my Dad in Florida, and my friend whose shop the vette is currently located. I'm crossing my fingers the trans isn't shot and it's one of the fixes from this forum.

Rescue Rogers

What state are you in. Maybe someone close by could give you a hand. It sounds like it will shift, just that you have a vacuum problem or an adjustment problem. What did the mechanic bend to get it to fit?

I wouldnt get to depressed yet, it obviously happened when the motor was swapped so its something connected wrong or vacuum leak. If you can get a vacuum pump on the shift hose and see if it holds vacuum

gungatim

based on your latest post about them changing the modulator, I believe whoever is working on that trans at the shop is feeding you a line and doesn't know what they are doing. find another shop. way too much BS in what they are saying about the modulator. if there is noise by the torque converter, I would be double checking their motor install, making sure the flex plate is tight, etc. not getting a lot of confidence from what I am reading, hope you don't have other problems later on...

definitely post your location in your profile so a member close can either help you out or recommend a trusted mechanic to look at it...

MotorHead

I wouldn't throw the tranny away just yet, there are many things that can be checked. Some of the lines, linkage etc. might have got damaged during the engine R&R. Was tranny taken out with the engine or just the engine taken out ?

lurch59

How many miles are on the transmission, and when was the last time it was serviced? My experience has been that transmissions that slip between gears are not going to last much longer. Yours may be an adjustment problem, but rebuilding an old neglected transmission may not be a bad idea for reliability, IMHO. Take some new fluid, drop in on a paper towel, and drop old transmission fluid next to it. Compare fluid colors to pictures on the internet.

Kim Moulton Miller

Just got this pic of the trans pan...said metal in it. It just got worse huh?

Kim Moulton Miller

It probably has about 140,000 miles...never had trans serviced. I've had it 7 years and is just a recreational car....just today i was told the fluid smelled bad/burnt.

Kim Moulton Miller

I am in Greenville, SC, but the car is currently at a shop in Whitmire, SC, about an hour away.

Kim Moulton Miller

I don't know...I assume both had to come out.

ddawson

Wow that looks like a lot of sludge stuff. With that many miles behind a new engine just rebuild it and enjoy it for a long time.

Make sure what every shop does it makes sure its all working correctly in the end though.

Kim Moulton Miller

I passed on your message to the mechanics...I don't understand about the soft and firm shift. When I was riding in it the other day, when we hit 5,000 rpms it just shifted and rpms dropped down to normal, but when given a little gas it immediately shifted down to 2nd and stayed.

Kid Vette

Anybody check the governor? Possibly the valve is stuck or the gear is stripped.

Some metal filings in the pan are normal. The picture of the pan doesn't look too bad to me. No clutch material or metal chunks.

diehrd

Are you serious ?

jim2527

A firm shift will jerk you back in the seat. A soft shift will feel like a Caddy...

So if your driving and the revs are high in 2nd when it shifts to 3rd it'll jerk you back into the seat (firm shift) or it'll lazily shift to 3rd and you wont feel much (soft shift).

Kim Moulton Miller

Okay...it was a soft shift then.

Rescue Rogers

You said earlier that he adjusted it stiff then back to soft, so thats not a big deal. I think a transmission shop might be your best bet. If you can find a trustworthy one, and you sound like you know what your talking about, so I would talk to them just like you are here. Give them the facts and dont be shy about it. They might be able to test the vacuum connections or the modulator. If they can fix it and attribute it to the other mechanic, give him the bill. I think they messed it up and are trying to hide their mistake. And if it is a transmission issue, then have a transmission shop deal with it.