If you're looking for a reference in So. Calif, I would easily go back to Crown Valley Transmission in Laguna Niguel. I had a 1990 700R4 rebuilt there back in '96. I since added 90,000 miles and it's still going strong. Total labor was $600, parts $700 (remember, 1996 prices). My front pump seal went out in Paso Robles, and I drove it back to Orange Co, adding a lot of tranny fluid along the way. As I recall when I had my rebuild, they upgraded the clutch pack(s?) from 3 to 5 (or maybe 5 to 7...whatever). I've always been leery of transmission shops, but this referral turned out very well.

 

Thanks guys. I think I'll abandon the camaro conversion idea - too many potential problems, not enough time. I'll either rebuild mine or get the GM remanufactured. The trans is almost out (what a pain it was to get that support beam out).
jamie shedd: I'm not in Cal, I'm in central Florida. I'm convinced the 3-4 clutch pack is what failed. You'ld think, though, that it would give some sort of warning before it failed completely.

 

[
QUOTE=8388]several things can cause your problem. Could be a stuck valve in the valve body, or the servo not applying the pressure to the band. In either case, that's not good. It doesn't take much to burn the band which is necessary to go from 1st to second. The band is applied in 2nd and then again in fourth. With as many miles as you have on the tranny, an overhaul is probably right around the corner.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this post, most likely you have a sticking valve in your valve body. It sounds like your 3-4 clutch pack isn't coming in at all. On these 700r4's the valve bodies are cast iron with cast valve, but they have aluminum sleeves on some of them. A piece of paper can come off a clutch and get stuck between the sleeve and valve. I have had this happen on 3 trannies. I replaced the first, let the dealer rebuild the second and the third, I dropped the valve body myself and took the sticking valve out, flaked out the paper jam, an reassembled it and drove it for another 100k miles before selling it. I spent about 30 bucks for the repair. That was a lot better than the dealer overhaul that was $1500. While the valve body is out, you can also do air checks on the tranny to see if you have any servo problems. If you didn't have buildup in the pan and the fluid wasn't dark, smelly or contaminated, I'd go for the repair, rather than an overhaul.

 

The 3-4 clutches are a common problem with these units. There are a couple of good HD clutch packs that I use that work well here. If you are taking a non Corvette transmission and want to use it where the Vette unit is now, remove the tail section and carefully grind off .950 off the output shaft and use your tail section, that's it.

 

The trans is out. My latest plan is to try to repair it with the help of a friend's son who is a GM mechanic. He says the overhaul kit is #80 including all wear items and seals. He thinks it's the 3-4 clutch pack and/or band, but the valve body sounds like a likely candidate.
87NassauBlue: Is the valve body a challege to take off (is there alot of ***** and springs to deal with)? Should I do it with the trans on its back? Is there any particular area where the obstruction may be?
If we can't find the problem or get in too deep, the plan is to put it back together and go for the GM replacement.
On the subject of using the non-corvette trans and converting it: I am aware of the differences between the two versions of the trans. The Comaro HP trans that I was looking at has all the corvette mods, but is just longer. If I had more time I think I would try PBA's suggestions.
Thanks everyone

 

since you guys were on the subject my 89 auto has started getting a rough feel at around 40 (i think thats when the od comes on) through 50 if i give it medium throttle but not a little throttle or almost full throttle could this be somewhat of the same problem