A month ago I put a Performance Automotive Raptor Jr. 700R4 in my car. Today after a grand total of easy 1500 miles, I accelerate from a gentle turn, and whoops, high revs in third and fourth, and no gears. Luckily I am only about a mile from home so @ 35 I crawl home in second. Check the fluid, and it's nice and pink, but with the smell of bakelite. Since tomorrow's the fourth, I'll wait to call them on monday. I wonder if a transmission rebuilder will touch that tranny since it has non standard parts in it. Hate to have to ship it all the way back to Bossier, LA. from New Hampshire. :sad:


[Modified by NHVett, 3:41 PM 7/3/2002]

 

That really suck! :mad

 

im on my 3rd tranny. i wish they were stronger. :crazy:

 

That sucks. I had to replace mine last year. When this one goes, I'm doing the zf6 conversion.

 

1500 miles and it is dead. They didn't build it right.

Good luck and let us know what the shop says.

Looks like the 3/4 clutch pack let go.

Vic

 

I sure am happy with my TH400/Gear Vendors conversion. Sorry bout rubbing salt in your wounds. I know exactly how you feel. The last 700r4 I burned up cost me $2500!!! And that only lasted 5000 miles. Why more people don't do the th400/GV conversion is beyond me. I hear people saying, "it cost too much." Well, if you wanted to save money why did you buy a Vette?
Good Luck getting yours fixed. Think about my conversion tho. I have no connection to Gear Vendors either. I do have some shots of the conversion process on my web site if anybody is curious.

 

They said that they will fix it free if I pay shipping. I think that's about $150 each way from NH to Louisiana. I'm pulling it today and will ship it Monday.

 

Tell us what's invovled in this conversion? What are the pros and cons? (Obviously longevity is a pro, but do you lose an overdrive gear, or what?) Whad'it end up costing you?

 

Well, as I found out, the 3-4 clutch pack is not all that bad to do yourself,...
in fact if you can r/r the tranny, except for a learning curve.....it's easy...
just pull the pump, and then the drum, it's the set of clutches just apparent on the back end of the drum...one snap ring with a screwdriver, and they are yours....
reinstalling the assy is tricky though there are a million internal teeth to fit ove the internal rotating assy, what ever it's name is, I forget....
and once they all are seated properly, put the pump back and forget about it...
you need not pull the valve body, just that lockup solenoid...easy id as it's the largish coil of wire in front toward the pump assy....pull it, and then the pump.....I did mine with super heavy duty clutches for about 60 bux worth of parts,....but I also did the band too, that was torn...another failure that was waiting for me, but not anything to do with the clutches and your failure....

GENE

 

RocketSled: The cons are that it is about $4000 in parts to convert to a th400/Gear Vendors setup. The pros are that a th400 primary tranny is very much stronger than a 700r4. Then, you put a Gear Vendors unit on the back of the th400. The Gear Vendors overdrives are supposedly very strong also. They claim that I will not be able to break it. They warranty it for 2 years, unlimited mileage. They also say that if I do manage to break it after the warranty expires they will fix it for a fee. However, if the cost is over $500 I just get a hole new one for $500. Sounds pretty good to me. If you study the page on my web site you will see some of the things I had to do to convert. I consider myself very poor mechanical skills. And I did this entire project myself. I was on the phone several times talking to the tech guys at Gear Vendors. I even spoke to the president of the company a couple times and he gave me his personal cell phone # and told me to call him if I have any more questions. Wow. How often do ya get that kind of customer service? One other advantage to my setup. If/when (when because I just assume that I will break everything at some time so it is just a matter of time for me) I break the th400 tranny they are MUCH less expensive to have totally rebuilt with very heavy duty parts. So, there ya have it in a nutshell.

 

Cool but pricey!

I've noticed in the last (first) 2500 miles with the hot rod motor that the fluid's starting to discolor and get that funky smell.

I'll be adding a shiftkit and tune the shiftpoints pretty quickly here, which'll end up renewing the fluid by quite a bit...and I suspect I'll be treating the car a little easier as I get used to the power :reddevil , but I predict a 3.5 foot extension and tranny R&R experience in my future.

Pity I've got Twins on the way...I suspect that'll eat into my garage time. :D