dailo

Went for a drive today, and noticed the car had delayed shifting, I had to let off the accelerator pedal for it to upshift.

after driving for a while it wouldn't upshift from 1st at all unless shifting into neutral and then back into drive.

I think its time for a rebuild, (lots of buzzing from the trans recently, and also clunking when shifting into drive and reverse) but don't think anyone in Hong Kong is going to be qualified to rebuild this, any recommendations on where I can order a reliable rebuilt that will fit into my stock '91, or for that matter, if rebuilding isn't that difficult, a reliable rebuild kit?

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

87 vette 81 big girl

Remove the transmission pan.

So You can check and change out the transmission filter.

It may very dirty or has worked partially loose from the front pump inlet.

Where the buzzing noise is coming from, the pump is sucking air or the trans filter inlet oil flow is restricted from being old and dirty.

Any Major Debris or metal chunks in the bottom of the transmission pan,

And its time for a Auto Transmission rebuild.

Recommend Buying a Rebuild Kit from Dana At Pro Built Transmission In California.

I can rebuild your trans but we are great distances apart. Shipping would be outrageous I am sure.

Search for Dana's shop phone # on this Forum, dont have it handy now.

He is the Best anywhere !

Pete K. is real Good with automatics also. A C4 Forum member too.

Merry Christmas

twin540

dailo

Thanks guys, im going to have it taken to the garage tomorrow and have a look in the pan.
say I do need a new trans, or rebuild, what would you recommend for a stock car?

car wont shift gears at all now, unless shifting into neutral after accelerating and back into drive.

87 vette 81 big girl

Check the GOVERNOR UNDERNEATH THE ROUND STEEL COVER ON THE DRIVERS SIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION LIKE PETE K. MENTIONED.

He may be correct that the plastic drive gear is apple cored.

I had a turbo 400 transmission that wouldn't shift out of 1st gear in one of my Pontiac musclecars unless I let off the Gas and stabbed the gas hard again very fast.

I found that the governor fly weights and internal valve were sticking.

A cleaning with solvent and polishing with 600 grit wet & dry sandpaper, then I

Reinstalled the governor, topped off the Turbo 400 Trans with ATF.

The Turbo 400 transmission shifts perfectly again in my Pontiac like its brand new.

Cant say who to recommend to rebuild your 700R4 transmission from Your Corvette.

You are in Hong Kong. Never traveled there.

Find the best transmission mechanic you can afford if you dont have the tools, knowledge, experience, skills and patience to rebuild your own transmission.

Even if they are in the USA.

Flame Red

I agree with Pete, probably the governor. I had this happen to me once upon a time. Was all sick to my stomach thinking about the cost of a rebuild and when I got home the shop had already left a message saying they fixed it for $25 - governor. Thanks goodness he was honest!

dailo

Will check the governor, I'll have a look in the FSM and see how thats done.

Hopefully its just that!

Thank you all!

dailo

So finally got back to Hong Kong, and had a look in the pan with the mechanics.

The governor came out alright and it looks perfectly fine.

However the fluid is slightly brown, looks like its from this fine black powder material, no large chunks at all.

The magnet in the pan is completely coated in a thick layer of very fine black metallic goo. What could it be from? Am I looking at a rebuild? If so I think I would prefer to drop in a new/rebuilt trans rather than doing a rebuild in HK. Would a rebuilt from Dana be good for my stock 91?

Thanks!

dailo

Hi PeteK,

I took these photos, perhaps you would be so kind as to have a look and let me know your thoughts.






very much appreciated!

dailo

Cheers

Can you recommend which reman to go with? I saw previously you had one for sale, is it still available?

HK is full of extremely steep hills and summer temps are high 90s with 100% humidity (thats probably taken its toll on the trans over the years), so will also need to get an external cooler.

dailo

Hi Pete,

Thank you very much for all your help. If you ever make it out to the orient, beers are on me!

Was wondering if you could help me out selecting a good reman, (I'm assuming that I've burnt something up in mine that cant be fixed with a rebuild kit?)

I will definitely want to ship the converter with the trans, and am thinking this will have to be shipped by sea (trans must weigh 100-200lbs?)

I'll need to start ordering a new trans asap.

Cheers mate

dailo

Hah I might have some ability, but rather time is harder to find. What is the normal rebuild timeframe?

There is one shop in HK that specialises in transmissions, but this will be the first GM trans they have worked on. Plus they probably lack the english skills to follow the book (you would not believe the number of times I have to whip out my FSM and prove to mechanics here what they are doing wrong, I use the top Ferrari/Lambo shop in HK, and I have never seen them use a torque wrench... everything is done by feel, so they are more part "fitters" than mechanics haha)

They said the price to rebuild a transmission normally runs around US$ 3800 including parts. I figured a trans from Dana would be much cheaper including converter and shipping. The warranty issue is the only thing though, you're right shipping back and forth will be insane.

dailo

I've actually had a look at your build ups on corvette guru and also janarvae's here. Very informative.

Perhaps I'll have the trans removed first and taken apart to see. Hopefully all of the damaged parts are in Danas rebuild kit.

dailo

Would you say its safe to go ahead and place an order for the rebuild kit from Dana now, it will probably take a week to get here and in that time they will have the trans removed and disassembled.

dailo

Before I decided to order any parts, I had another look at the governor, myself this time. (Like I said the mechanics here are half-a$$'d) The valve was completely stuck (the springs and weights moved freely) so we let it sit in carb cleaner for an hour, and now it moves quite freely... Could this have caused the clutches or whatever was in the pan to burn up?

Am I still looking at a complete rebuild?

dailo

OK, so cleaned up the governor, cleaned up the pan, and put some new fluid in and went for a drive. I figured I need a replacement anyway so might as well drive this until its completely gone. (its going to be cheaper to get a replacement than do the overhaul)

Car was shifting fine but after a while starts to experience delayed shifts here and there.. im thinking that the governor is getting stuck because of the old dirty fluid.

Is it safe to disconnect the cooling pipes from the radiator, or are they easy to break because of their age? I think this needs a good flush.

dailo

Thanks Pete will give it a try tomorrow!

dailo

If I'm going to have to replace the transmission, is there any other maintenance you guys can recommend to do while its out? Car has about 63,000 miles. Sits in traffic, in the heat most of the time.

I have an oil leak from the back of the block dripping through the bellhousing dust cover, thinking to replace the rear main seal?

Thinking to also do the U joints.

Cheers

dailo

Car is shifting fine now after cleaning the governor, thanks for that advice.

Although there was some material in the pan before, seems to be working ok.

just wondering how much more life I am going to get out of the trans. It does make a clinking noise when putting it into gear...

Maybe I should have Dana slowly start working on a rebuild for me in the meantime?

Appreciate all suggestions..