ham

Here's the whole story. Last November I had the tranny rebuilt, added a shift kit, heavy duty clutches, etc. It worked great. We adjusted the TV cable to shift hard and it did a great job of handling my stock 1990 to a best of 13:98 in the 1/4. Then in January, I had the engine taken out and built up to a 383 (see sig). When we put the motor back in, (with the new converter) the transmittion acted strange. We found out that we didn't have all the parts we should have had for the miniram/throttle linkage and assumed the TV cable wasn't adjusted properly. After driving the car for a few hundred miles with the tranny acting real funny, (shifting too soon, taking off in 2nd gear, wouldn't down-shift, etc.) whatever was wrong finally did it in. There was no 2nd gear, it was gone. We finally got the right (??) parts in for the linkage and installed the bracket (with some modification). So I had the tranny taken out and rebuilt AGAIN, with heavy duty parts like before. Put it back in and it still won't shift right on it's own.

Here's what it does. If shifting manually (pull the shifter down into 1st), it shifts great, breaks the tires loose in 2nd, etc., but if I put it in drive or overdrive, it shifts WAY TOO SOON. If I take off slowly, it's in overdrive before I get to 25mph. If I floor it, before I can even get the peddle to the floor, it's in second gear, then immediately 3rd gear, then immediately again overdrive. I know it's suppose to wind out further if I'm leaning on the accelerator, but it doesn't. Also when turning a corner, it's doesn't downshift as it should. Sometimes I'm still in overdrive when turning onto another street, sometimes in 3rd too, but NEVER does it downshift into 2nd, even if I floor it after straighening up. Since I have 3:54 gears and ton's of low-end power, it still pulls good in drive or overdrive, but it's just not right. The guy that rebuilt the trans is a factory trained chevy mechanic and I trust him. He's rebuilt a lot of racer's tranny's around here, but he's at a loss too. He tried changing out the govenor to one with more weights, he tried modifying the linkage bracket further and re-adjusting the TV cable from one extreme to the other, but nothing seems to make any difference at all.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :confused: :confused:

65Z01

The part throttle issues could be the TV cable. Does it shift ok at WOT?

5liter eater

Sounds like a tv cable make sure it isnt wedged somwhere. definitaly a line presser problem check the valve boby and check the govener to make sure its not hanging up. If it is as bad as you say it is it will burn up the trans if you keep driving it.

ham

65Z01, I'm not sure. I know that sounds crazy ( just put the pedal to the floor). Problem is, with this much power, I can't put it to the floor and hold it there. From a dead stop, if I push it fast and hard, it spin's the tires too bad and will over-rev the engine, same for rolling start. I guess that answers the question though, it must be o.k. at WOT or I'd never to that many rev's. Like I said above, we've tried every TV cable setting from one extreme to another and nothing changes.

5liter, the cable's not wedged, it's free. You can pull on it and feel where the valve check is (or whatever you call it). The govenor has been changed out with no difference. It's not sticking either ( it was before the last rebuild, it wouldn't change out of 1st gear).

ANyone Else ?????????? More, more more

AquaMetallic94LT1

What failed in the trans that required it to need the second rebuilding ?

Its possible that something got damaged after the 383 was installed and the trans guy just missed something when he rebuilt it or put a part in the valvebody backwards.

My service manual does state that shifting too quickly could be caused by a sticking Trans Converter Clutch. That may not be valid on your trans because my manual is for 94 trans that is the electronic version.




[Modified by AquaMetallic94LT1, 2:08 AM 8/8/2001]

ham

Aqua, what happened to require a 2nd rebuild was that 2nd gear was burn't up. It shifted straight from 1st to 3rd gear. Also had a problem with the govenor sticking and it didn't want to shift out of 1st gear. Put in another govenor and it would shift, just no 2nd gear. That's when we rebuilt it again.
Could the torque converter have anything to do with this? It's a 9" vigilante, 2600 stall.
From what I understand (and I'm no expert) the chip has nothing to do with the tranny at all on this model (1990).

AquaMetallic94LT1

I don't want to be too picky but what exactly burn't up to cause 2nd gear not to work. Was it bands, clutches ? Its possible something got damaged that needs to be replaced when the damage to 2nd gear happened. Some of the clutches etc work for several gears and are not isolated to just one gear.

Your trans guy needs to note the symptoms that you are experiencing and go through the service manual for your year trans to get an idea where to look for the problem. He could also pull the valvebody and double check the assy of it. The manual also talks about doing various

The main symptoms are:

Shifts through gears to quickly, won't down shift, may not shift at correct RPM at WOT or at all.

ham

Aqua, the bands were gone on 2nd gear. I remember him also saying that they had to do with overdrive too. He replaced all the bands though.

drive it

If you're positive that the tv cable isn't binding, then sorry but its time to drop the tranny again! I don't care what the rebuilder says-I just went thru two rebuilds from the same place too! I just sure hope they got it right this time!

Jim85IROC

My 700R4 behaved similarly. It would shift way too soon under part throttle but not until 6k under WOT. The TV cable was not pinched, it worked fine, but I spent $30 and changed it anyway. It was a world of difference. The transmission began shifting perfectly. Well, the WOT shifts were still at 6k, but part throttle was perfect. I swapped to a different trans because I was sick of the 6k shifts, and now my new one is a pig. It shifts too early again, doesn't shift until 5500 under WOT and won't kick down unless I put my foot through the floor, and even then it won't kick into 1st gear. If I can tolerate the smell of tranny fluid one more time, I'm going to put in yet another TV cable. These things seem like some finiky bastards.

corvette1990

I am sure you are feelin pains from trans trouble. So am I. My new engine ate the stock trans with a 2200 stall convertor. That is why my car is at level ten gettin a new trans. I heard over the phone that they got it workin great. now I have to get a ride to pick it up, in NorthWesten NJ. My suggestion is to get a second opinion. like you would with a doctor. Go for the best available.

ham

Man, this is getting expensive. This will be the 3rd rebuild on this tranny. Thanks guys, I will get a second opinion, but knowing mechanics as I do, I'm sure it will come out again to be rebuilt. :mad :smash:

AquaMetallic94LT1

It may need to come out of the car but it should not need another rebuild. Your trans guy can pull the valvebody without removing the trans. He might find the problem there.

No comment on topic just for the heck of it -> :spam...........