My darned tranny started slipping while I was on my vacation this week. Four automatics is enough!!! I'm leaning toward putting a patch job on this tranny while I work on getting the parts for a 6 speed conversion.

 

I like what I am reading

No really sorry to hear you are going thru trannys like that. I remember a while back you burned up one after 2 weeks or after you first blast with it.
There has tobe some good trannys out there.
Phil,shalin,Some of the other top dogs running 700r4,4l60e.
Dennis

 

I got the final verdict yesterday. I burned up the 3rd gear clutch pack. The really sad thing is that I don't drive it hard that often. Shoot, I hardly drive it at all. It's always broken! Pro-built will rebuild my 700 with a good 9 1/2 inch lockup converter for about 2k. I'm wondering what a six speed conversion will cost. I think I have to have all of the parts from an '89 if I want to convert. I'm kicking myself for missing an entire conversion on Ebay yesterday that went for $1100.

 

Mojo, sorry to hear about your continued problems. 4 autos!!!! where are you getting these things??? a good rebuild should last a while longer then that!

I'm having as much trouble as you this year. Seems like my car has been apart more than it's been together. The lastest is a blown head gasket!!!

Dennis did you finally get your rear end back???

 

You can break 6-speeds too. You might try thinking about a TH-350 or TH-400. Should last a bit longer.

 

Mojo, I think a street Lenco is about $2600-2700. If I had the bucks, I would seriously consider that route. I have paid to have (3) 700r4's rebuilt. I feel your pain. Or maybe a Turbo 400 with a gear vendors over under drive attached. That's the route Callaway went

 

Mojo, is the 408 that much stronger than the 383? i dynoed 420 RWTQ last year, and have not killed my 700r4 yet. i had it rebuilt locally for $500 when i built the motor. probably 100 passes at the strip, mostly in the mid 12's, best was a 12.1. killed a D36 though

maybe i'm just lucky? or George knows how to build a 700r4... i've also got the stock converter and mobil 1 fluid, and a cooler in line with the radiator.

 

The auto to 6 speed change is a pain in the you know what. People have said sell the car and buy one with a stick. In order to do the swap you have to change the whole car. I'd consider the turbo 350 or 400 route. I went to a turbo 350 and it was pretty easy.

 

I've done auto to manual conversions before. They aren't *that* bad. You just have to make sure you have all of the right parts before you start. I'd love to do a turbo 400 with a gear vendors OD, but that's a lot of cash! If I could get my 700R4 rebuilt for the same price samc did it would be a no brainer! Of course, if I do stick with an auto, I'll *definitely* go with a good 9 1/2" lockup converter. Pro-Built transmissions recommended a good converter that's on par with the Vigilante, but $200 cheaper. I haven't entirely ruled out trying my hand at rebuilding my tranny myself, either. I've always wanted to learn how to work on an auto trans.

 

Mojo there has been talk of people in the C3 section installing the Tremec TKO 5 spd into their cars. These trannys are rated to handle 500 ft/lb of torque I believe with the benefit of having a O/D gear in 5th.

Here's a quote from Monty in a recent topic:

I put a TKO in my '82 last summer. Sine my '82 came from the factory with a 700R4 and a removable crossmember, the install was pretty easy.
I got the clutch pedal assembly from Gruhala as well, and rebuilt it with new bushings, springs etc from Dr. Rebuild. I also used a spherical rod end (heim joint) clutch linkage kit from Speed Direct.
While the overall length of teh TKO/bellhousing combo is very close to the overall length of a 700t4, the tail mounting point is in a different location. Compared to the mounting points of a 700R4, and the mounting holes in the stock removable tranny crossmember, the mounting point for the TKO is about 4" forward. I made an adapter plate out of 1/4" aluminum. It was a temporary measure until I could get a braket made and welded to the crossmember, but it has held up just fine. Additionally, there is a triangular bracket used in Mustang applications on the tailhousing that I had to cut off. If you were to move the crossmember forward, you wouldn't need to cut it off. It's no big deal though, a Saw's All took it off in 5 minutes.
However, to back up the statement that overall, the TKO and the 700R4 are basically the same length, I could have used my stock driveshaft if I added conversion ujoints. With the tranny in place and the stock driveshaft, the tranny yoke only needed to be slide out about 1/4" to mate to the driveshaft. I ended up having Denny's Driveshafts make me a new driveshaft with new, larger tranny and differential yokes so I could run larger, stronger ujoints.

These tranny cost much less than a 6 spd & I believe handle more power. Something to think of before you shell out the $$ on a 6 spd.

 

I don't know what you want to do with your car, but I would consider the 6 speed. If you want specifics -- I'm right in the middle of cutting up my '88 and converting it to a ZF -- e-mail me at keithkoyano@yahoo.com.

KEith

 

If it was me and I was going to go to a stick, I would just get the Richmond 5 speed for about $1800-$1900 and say screw the OD, or maybe even a Super T-10 4 speed,,,NASCAR still uses them and they go to about 700-850 HP,,,I used to REALLY trash them years ago and NEVER broke one, and really, how many gears do you need for a quater mile! Sometimees you really have to look backwards to go forwards,,,,T-10, 350 Turbo, 400 Turbo and yes even, the old Power Glide, they can be built to take more HP than you can afford to buy!

 

Problem is that I like to drive the car more than just 1/4 mile at a time. Overdrive is essential. If I could afford a gear vendor's unit, that would be it! They're $2700!!!

Chris

 

I haven't really been on the forum long enough to know your tranny probs, but when I rebuilt a 700R4 (5 times to get it right ), each time I ended up getting upgraded parts. Pretty much all the sprags, carriers, etc I ended up using were from the year right before they went to the 4L60E. Don't know if this could be the solution to your problems or not. I got most of my parts from Jasper Engines and Transmissions mainly because they are a hop, skip, and a jump from me, but most smaller shops would likely be able to produce the parts for you. If you have already done this, I don't know what to suggest.

All I remember is I kept tearing up my darn 700R4 that I put in my Chevelle cause I kept messing up the 2-4 band pin (it always sheared off). That was 4 years ago and I am still trying to get the tranny fluid smell out of my hair -Matt-

 

Matt,

Did you do the rebuild yourself? I've had a local shop do all of my rebuilds, back in the day they were the best around. They built all of our stuff for us back when we were running 3 speed autos. We had great success back then, but we were never putting out the kind of power I am now. I'm wondering if I can't get by with replacing the 3/4 clutch pack and using a good converter.

 

Yeah, I rebuilt it myself, and chances are I wouldn't do it by myself again. Then again, I was only 17 and really just wanted to tear stuff apart without having to put it back together (correctly, at least). I learned a lot from it, especially since I made all the presses and vices out of a long piece of all-thread and a few 1/4" plates.

Needless to say, I really don't know just how much these trannys can hold, and I am definitely not an expert on them by any means. I've gotta hunt down the manual for IWANT2DRIVEMY85, so when I find it, I will at least send you the upgrade-parts list. -Matt-

 

Mojo, you better check http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cg...280191&r=0&t=0 quick before someone clicks "buy it now" on this one too.

 

Unfortunately, I read in a conversion article that I have to have a ZF from an '89. The shifter is supposed to come out in a different spot on the '90+. Also, with no source of parts for the ZF, I wouldn't want one that needs work.

 

Try jimsperformance.com they will sell you th400 that will install in a vette.Or the parts you need to make one fit in a vette 1-877 465-9569

 

You can get ZF parts from a few different sources now. I won't mention what they cost though.

Rockland Standard Gear is the official ZF distributor. Parts are also available from Bill Boudreau - http://www.zfdoc.com/ or Kurt White - http://www.whiteracingproducts.com/home.


[This message has been edited by Red 90 L98 Coupe (edited 07-14-2001).]