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700r4 ?s on shifting at full throttle

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chev4life

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I like driving at full throttle...alot...but it my tranny doenst like to shift until I let off the gas. Its a 700r4 on my 87 350tbi. Are there any vacuum lines to look at or cables I need to adjust?...if so where do I find them and what do I look for. I hope this isnt too general of a question.
 
You mean it won't shift from 1-2 at WOT, or is this solely the 3-4 shift, which is a design "feature".
 
When I hammer the gas it fully downshifts fine but when I get the RPMs up it wont upshift to 2nd until I let off the throttle a bit. My truck starts running rough cause it wont shift and I start loosing exceleration, then I let off the gas a touch, it shifts, and away I go. It does this on all full throttle upshifts, it kicksdown just fine from what i have noticed though.
 
Interesting. Have you tried putting new weights in the governor and rebuilding it? Sounds like it's not working correctly.
 
On the governor? Please explain, location, etc...the only governor I know is on my go cart.
Anyone think it could be a TV cable issue?
 
The fuel filter eh...well I havent changed in about 2 years or so, maybe a touch more. I cant seem to see how that would help but I guess it probably needs to be done. If you ment the tranny filter...I did that late last summer when I threw my tranny pan on.
 
TV cable adjusts line pressure.

When the governor goes bad it can cause the vehicle to not shift at WOT (TV cable pulled all the way). It'll usually still work at part throttle since it's not really used. You probably have a broken governor spring. You can pull it all apart with the transmission in the vehicle. It's been a while since I had one apart though. There's a lot of information on it on the interweb, that's how I learned.
 
deffinetly sounds like a governor problem, the valve may be sticky. the governor is on the driver side of the tranny almost to the rear under a stamped steel cover. pry the cover off and pull the governor out. make sure the valve inside moves freely and there is 1 spring on both sides.

there is a slight posibility that the TV is adjusted too far, but it should shift into second at about 45 mph at full TV no matter what gear is selected.
 
Are you guys talking about this... http://www.tvmadeez.com/article/article/image043_bg.jpg
when you mention govenor? I am assuming you are. To get to that I have to remove the pan and a steel cover? or is it under a seperate steel cover? I am going to see if the TV cable at the TBI is still in function first I guess, from what I understand the position of the cable at the TBI controls everything. If it is ok, what should I look for in terms or wearing? ...maybe its sticking or something?
 
No, it's a bulging round cover on the drivers side of the transmission, near the output shaft housing. It's good sized, you can't miss it if you physically look.

Don't need to take the pan down or anything.
 
Ah....makes a little more sense now. So I pull the cover and yank the governor and most likely replace it. Is it a one piece object? or are there many pieces I need to remove? I would like to do this tomorrow as I have the day off. Thanks for the help and knowledge guys and keep it coming! :D
 
Shouldn't need to replace it, it's what would be considered a transmission hard part.

The drive teeth may be worn, or as mentioned a spring might be missing. Also, the governor is EXTREMELY sensitive to debris, so pulling it out and cleaning it thoroughly can't hurt. Without the governor (no drive teeth, or other problems) I don't believe you will get ANY upshift, yours sounds more like a problem only relating to something changing or getting stuck, not breaking.
 
Cool man, thanks! I will yank it out tomorrow and give it a good alcohol bath and clean it up. If the gear is worn/damaged is it an easy part to find?...typical to my year?..etc?
 
You can buy the whole thing for peanuts from the stealership. There's only about a $20 price difference between a set of springs and a whole new Corvette one.

I believe a transmission will still shift without a governor... just not at WOT. At WOT the governor "holds" the transmission in gears longer. Usually it is based on fluid pressure as to when it shifts. With the governor, it holds a gear until a RPM is reached. If you leave the transmission in say first gear and hold the stupid pedal down it usually won't shift until the line pressure gets high enough to blow past it. Usually lightly letting off the throttle is enough to boost the line pressure enough to grab the next gear.

EDIT:
My 700R4 built way back in 1983 shifts at 3700RPM at WOT. If I need to go fast I run through the gears manually. If I leave it in first it'll shift into second no matter what at about 6500rpm. I usually shift it around 6000rpm. It hasn't done blowed up yet.
 
on a 700r4, the tranny will not shift with out a governor, if the gear is stripped you will only have first gear.

on a th350, the governor has to be there for it to shift, but does not have to turn, but you also have to manually upshift it. the hydralics are different on a 700r4 and you can't manually upshift it.

the gear is $1 at most tranny shops, springs are $1 each (depending on what spring) at most tranny shops, a completely new governor is $30 at most tranny shops.
 
big83chevy4x4 said:
on a 700r4, the tranny will not shift with out a governor, if the gear is stripped you will only have first gear.

on a th350, the governor has to be there for it to shift, but does not have to turn, but you also have to manually upshift it. the hydralics are different on a 700r4 and you can't manually upshift it.

the gear is $1 at most tranny shops, springs are $1 each (depending on what spring) at most tranny shops, a completely new governor is $30 at most tranny shops.
Click to expand...

I'll second that.

I have to swap governors at every truck pull.
As a design feature (flaw), the 700 will automatically shift into second at a certain rpm (governed by the governor) even if the shift lever is held in "1". I geared the truck to pull in first gear so I have to pull the cover (after it cools..... :doah: ), swap the governor out for one with no teeth and pull. Then after another cool down swap the original back in to drive home (no trailer queen here). I could do a manual valve body, but this was a cheap fix (free parts) and I am waiting to put a 4L80 in, so the money is better spent elsewhere.
 
I went through everything a week ago, replace the bent TV cable (cable actually bent and the slider busted)...also replaced the throttle cable and adjusted it so the throttle goes WOT when I hit the gas which it did not. It ran and shifted better, but I still got sputtering above 3k...changed the fuel filter...FIXED! :D The truck is running perfect now!..just need to put my front shocks on :rolleyes:
Thanks for the help all!
 
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