700r4 rebuild kit

[6.2Blazer]

My 700r4 is ready for a rebuild and need opinions on what rebuild kit and other upgrades I should do. No high dollar bling parts please as I'm talking as I'm talking along the lines of $50 upgraded sunshells and such.

Stock trans in my '90 lasted about 120k and has been beat on since I bought the thing in '94 with 49k on the clock. It's had at least 38's and locked 1-tons for going on 10 years. Dedicated trail vehicle that gets hauled to the trail, but is street legal and sees some pavement between the parking lot and trails. Staying with the 700r4 because it works and don't want to lose the low 1st gear.

 

[AV8TER]

It's been 12 years since I built mine so I dont remember what all I did. I was stupid and thought I'd remember it all and didn't write it down. Sorry. And it's spent its life behind a big block and has towed a 6500 lb trailer too. But I can say, stick with that core for your build. The later trannies just got better. I used a 92 core. Tons of info out there. How much money do you want to spend and whats wrong with it now?

 

[Blue85]

I used B&M super trans kit many years ago, which is a full rebuild and recalibration kit. It uses a replacement valve for the 2-1 downshift, so it actually downshifts without stopping. It also lets you hold 2 or 1 for compression braking. It's really nice having to apply the gas to go downhill in low range instead of riding the brake. Those are the things I recommend for an off-road vehicle. Be aware that some shift kits are recalibrating the 2-3 shift with the Corvette servo in mind (bigger servos are slower). If you get the 2-3 flare after the rebuild it's easy to swap in a different servo after the fact.

Hit up Greg Ducato and he can tell you what's the hot ticket these days.

 

[U-711ipmc]

I am currently rebuilding mine with a TCI Maximizer kit, new bushing kit, boost valve, vette servo, Beast sunshell, Hughes tow master torque converter, and deep sump aluminum pan. Im into it roughly $820 for those parts. A little more with replacement sprag unit since mine was shot, parts cleaner, and cooler flush. VS roughly 1200$ plus tax and driving a handful of hours to Pheonix Transmission for most of the same stuff.

 

[sweetk30]

average reman ful kit transtar best bang for the buck .

good shift fix and imprrover kit with firmmer shifts is noyoyo kits from mr.shift.

dont forget reman convtor as these suckers hold lots of garbage. and a can of cooler flush for the lines and radiator or aux cooler . so you dont blow junk back in the system .

 

[Greg Ducato]

I would also suggest a good rebuild kit from Transtar along with a high energy band, new front and rear sprags, a .500 boost valve and a small shift improvement package like the Superior kit which is very easy to install and understand for the novice. A good set of pump rings will be needed, either the 'No Yo-Yo" kit as recomended previously or just some good Sealed Power black rings.The thing you can't buy is experience and the ability to spot some problem areas; Be sure that your reverse input drum is good and flat where the band rides, pay attention to spline wear on the stator support shaft and reaction sun shell, check for ring wear in the stator tube, and pick up a new governor gear while you are at it. You can make this list as long or as short as you want to, there are certainly many products available to build a very strong 700, but based on the experience you have had with the stock unit you have now, these minor upgrades will put you at a level beyond what you had without hurting the wallet too badly. A good quality Torque Converter is also advised, most distributors will have an upgraded version available with furnace brazing, tig reinforcing etc. It would be wise to see if this is in the budget.

 

[6.2Blazer]

How much money do you want to spend and whats wrong with it now?

I want to keep it as cheap as possible without taking any big shortcuts...if that makes sense. The stock trans has held up well for a long time so don't feel the need for any high dollar "ugrades". The only thing I would like to see in regards to how the trans acts is to be able to lock it into 2nd gear. So when at a stop you could manual shift into "2" and it will take off in 2nd and stay there. This would be for when I'm in 4 low and need a little more wheelspeed. Right now it will always take off in 1st and you have to quickly feather the throttle to get it to upshift into 2nd, and then will want to downshift back into 1st pretty easily under heavy throttle.

Trans never acted up until I switched jobs and moved which had the Blazer sitting at my parent's house for a year. It got driven by other people and probably was low on fluid because of a leak...sounds like they got it stuck in 2wd in a snowy ditch and tried to use 4 high to get out, so a lot of stress and slipping combined with low fluid was probably the last nail in the coffin for a worn trans. Changed the fluid and acted fine for most of an easy trailride but starting acting funny again towards the end of the day. Wouldn't upshift and delayed gear engagements. Fluid is not burnt but a lot of clutch material in it.