700r4 with a 3 speed shifter

[waltergronkite]

Gents,

I think i have a 700r4 overdrive trans on my 72 blazer and ive been having issues keep her in 1st gear whilst wheeling.

Does anyone know of a 'how to' or what to do to get the 1st gear selected. I only really car about P,R,N,OD and 1st.

Any suggestions to sort it out. I took some pictures of the selector to help people.

 

[dremu]

You can determine transmission type for absolute certain by looking at the shape of the pan, for example

The shifter doesn't care how many gears you have; the transmission is what snaps into the various positions. It may be that you need to adjust the shifter slightly to get it in all the gears.

Your early truck is a bit different from mine, or somebody has hacked together something non-factory, I can't tell which. Anyway, follow the linkage and look for a hex head which will allow you to loosen, then adjust the linkage rod, and retighten.

-- A

 

[Blue85]

Yeah, the indicator on the column has nothing to do with what position the shifter is actually in. You just adjust it to match. What makes you think it's on overdrive trans? Maybe your shift linkage is hitting something. If possible, have somebody work the shifter while you watch from below. Keep in mind that at high enough RPM, the 700 will still upshift, unless it's had valvetrain modifications.

 

[6872xtc]

Unfortunately I can't remember how much I changed the position, but the trick is to change the length of the lever at the pivot. I am talking about the linkage arm that is between the frame and the transmission. The hole where the linkage from the column connects to the lever needs to move closer to the pivot in order to shorten the distance needed to get full stroke/ rotation of the trans lever. I believe that I moved the hole about 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch. I can't check against stock as I made the original hole go away. But I remember checking it out with the lever unhooked to get an idea of how much to move the pivot. That arm/lever is hardened so modification of it is a challenge. You might be able to measure against a factory 700R4 truck to get an idea as well. ( '84 ? and up) I adjusted for the neutral position, then got the neutral start / reverse light switch to a livable place. That gave me a definite movement into park and 1st. It used all of the stroke that the indicator had without trying to break it.
I think I might have moved the hole where the pivot goes into the arm, based on what mine looks like compared to yours.