Burned 700r4 advice

[euzoa]

Well I think i burned up the 700r4 in my 89 jimmy driving down to San Diego and back this weekend. Fluid smells nice and toasted.

It has been shifting hard into second and hunting between third and forth

I have done my searches and came up with alot of information, just not exactly what I am looking for.

Any chance a fluid change and a tv cable reset would keep her going reliably for 6 months until i am back on the east coast?
I attempted to reset the tv cable before but I couldn't get the button to depress, I guess I will try that again tommorow

That or I have 4 other options

Bowtie 700r4 (as much as i paid for the jimmy)
Craiglist 700r4 (least favorite option, if I do this I will probably end up replacing it again soon)
Sm465 swap (My preffered option)
Rebuilt by shop (I had this done by AAMCO in oceanside for my sm420, I was not pleased that he couldn't even tell me for sure what trans I had when it was over)

I really would like to convert her to a 465, but i cannot seem to find a diffinitive answer of whether my 241 would bolt up (I don't know if it is 27 or 32 spline, or if the 465 ever came with a 241) or if a 208 would be useable with my drive shafts and such. I have also never installed a standard tranny.

What do you guys think?

EDIT- 2 things i should have added
1, it was hunting when i got it (I was dumb enough not to get it up to highway speed when i bought it, and it was rebuild 4 years ago by aamco)
2, I just dont trust it as is, I lose the trans arround here and I'm stuck where ever I come to a stop

 

[Greg Ducato]

I don't think a fluid change and tv cable adjustment will work for you at this point. A conversion to a stick will probably cost as much or more than a good rebuild on your current trans and converter. As long as the 700R4 has been around, you should have no trouble finding a shop that can do a good job on a rebuild for you.

 

[rfda_454]

IMO the 700r4 is a pos and I wouldn't put any more money in it. Id just swap in a 400 n be done.

 

[diesel4me]

I dont care for the 700r4's much either--compared to the durability of the TH400's and TH350's,they leave a lot to be desired IMO--sure the lower first gear and overdrive is nice,but if they burn up in a few years I dont see much "savings" as far as increased MPG ,etc...(you can buy a lot of gas for what rebuilding a tranny costs!)..

One option you omitted would be to visit some salvage yards and look for a low mileage used or rebuilt 700r4 from a wreck,they usually are a lot cheaper at a junkyard and they'll gaurantee it for a few months or give you another should it turn out to be "bad"..sure you take a gamble,but you face the same odds with having a shop "rebuild" yours too,for three times as much..

 

[Avery4jc]

Everyone says they're a POS trans and yes I'll agree compared to a TH400 or an SM465 they aren't as durable but heck for your stock jimmy (or even rigs with slight tire increases like mine on 35's) they're a good option. Plus it's what you have and everything already works with it.
The low 1st gear and having OD is a huge plus. I still have a 700r in my k10 and I've added a temp gauge and a HUGE transmission cooler. I had a big B&M cooler but it didn't cut it so I got a Tru-Cool 40k cooler and now it's happy in all conditions.

I started having issues with mine on a trip to the coast back in high school so when I got home I changed the filter and fluid and I got another couple months out of it and that was in a truck with 4.10's and 38's so your stock rig might pull out a little more life.

 

[imiceman44]

I will just answer what wasn't:
The 241 you have will not bolt to a SM465 but with a 32 spline input shaft it will. It's the same as a 208 and SM465 came with a 32 spline 208.
If you really wanted this option it might cost you as much as a rebuild but you get what you want.
And you never will need to worry about it, just the clutch.

 

[4xcrazy]

rebuild it, have the shop intsall some upgraded, better quality parts, keep it cool and TV cable adjusted right. (once it's adjusted, leave it alone)

I paid a local shop here $825 to rebuild mine completely, added better quality seals, works great, well, while the truck was still running. It drove from Phoenix back to north eastern Indiana last year with the interior stuffed, the roof stacked another 3 feet higher with things, including TWO 35" BFG A/T's on H2 rims and a waterbed frame & components, PLUS an 8x10 heavily stuffed trailer. Did absolutely perfect the whole trip, didn't overwork it on the uphills, kept the RPM's in a decent range, mainly cause this was a freshly rebuilt motor as well, both motor & trans went in the same day.

I like them, yes they can be tempermental, just don't treat it like a drag race car, drive it normal and it should last awhile.

 

[Fordum]

You are probably better off doing anything other than this, but I wanted to throw it in.
If it was rebuilt by Aamco, you might check on the warranty.

Aamco in general sucks a**, but most shops are privately owned, and sometimes you find one that actually knows what they are doing.

The local shop here was run by a friend of mine. He ripped off folks just like Aamco does everywhere, but he had a guy there that was a good mechanic.
When I needed my C6 rebuilt, I asked him if I wanted to let his shop work on it.
He said he would have his good guy fix it, and put the "good" kit in it.

At that time, apparently they had 3 different kits for most transmissions. And they warranted their work according to which kit they put in.
They put the lifetime kit in mine, but he warned me that if it ever went bad, don't take it another shop, bring it back to him.

I put over 150K on it before I gave it to a friend, with no problems.

If yours is still in warranty, you might get them to fix it and give yourself some time to pursue other options.

 

[euzoa]

Fordum,
the only reason I know it was rebuilt is when i cleaned it i found a reciept from 4 years ago, that was half readable.

 

[Fordum]

Just checked at their website, and the lifetime warranty is not transferable.
How much do you resemble the guy you bought it from.......?

 

[6.2Blazer]

I like the 700r4's and of the trucks with that transmission that I truly know the history of, they have held up really well. I'm talking about the trucks that were bought new or people have had for a long time, not the 150,000 mile beat up farm truck that your grandpa's friend bought in which the previous owner claimed the trans had just been rebuilt.

A guy in our club has a mid-90's Sub with 250,000 miles on the clock. He personally rebuilt the 700r4 (4L60E) in his garage when it was somewhere in the high 100k range. He daily drives it and regularly pulls a tri-axle trailer with two built Sami's on it (one has a V-6 and the other a V-8, 36"+tires...point being much, much heavier than stock Sami) and is approaching 100k on this trans with no issues.

In high school I had an '83 S-10 Blazer with 130k+ miles that I abused regularly (hey, I was a teenager) and the 3-4 clutch pack was going out but otherwise worked fine. My current '90 that I've owned since it was 4 years old with 49k on the clock is going strong with 115k on it, which I also beat up on pretty bad over the years and has had oversize tires on it for years including the current 39.5's.

My dad has had many S-10's and fullsize trucks since the late '80's for work with this trans and usually put 120k+ on them before getting a new one. Out of 7-8 he had only one had a trans failure, but that was at like 30k and caused by a faulty TCC switch that made the trans get really hot. All the rest of them were going strong when he got rid of them, and at least 1 or 2 were bought by employees or local people that used for quite awhile after that.

 

[euzoa]

Just checked at their website, and the lifetime warranty is not transferable.
How much do you resemble the guy you bought it from.......?

Well, I'm a 5'7 140lb white guy, he was a 6' 250 hispanic man, so not much.

Also I am not arguing about which trans is better, I know the 700r4 CAN be a Good trans, I also know I would rather have a standard, but putting it in without a garage available would be way more hastle at this point.

I am just trying to get my thoughts together and get opinions before i decide what i want to do.

Also, I like the th400, but if i am not mistaken, it is a different length, and wont work with my 241 without swapping the input.

Will the 208 bolt up in place of my 241? or is it a major deal?

 

[shady]

Find a shop run by car guys, not a mass production shop out for money. Their out there. then get it rebuilt. as stated Aamco sucks. the 700r4 is a great tranny if taken care of.

 

[supersize75k5]

With a sm465 or th400 you are potentially looking at a lot of work and the loss of that nice overdrive and the 1st gear if you went to a 400.


Cross members, adapters, correct t-case, maybe rebuilding the new t-case, flywheel, clutch, pedals, frame brackets or hydro clutch parts, rework drivelines, in cab shifters, neutral safety switch, trans hump, kick down switches... lots of those depending on your trans choice can slap you and any dead line or timeline silly.


If its a driver, no question I would stay with the overdrive. If it was a dedicated wheeler..th400 or manual and id buy a donor blazer if I had the space to get all the manual parts.. pull yours and scrap/sell the rest to balance out.

Just my rambling thoughts.

-shawn





Plenty of people have good reliable 700's, find someone who has one and go to their builder.

 

[euzoa]

I'm leaning toward the rebuild now, the only reason I didn't want to was my previous experience with Aamco, where i had the SM420 in my 65 rebuilt (i didnt know any better give me a break) and when they were finished they could tell me it was a muncie, but nothing else.

I guess i will start Polling the San Diego area guys for a place to rebuild it.

Seems like evertime i get the money aside for an upgrade (seats, winch, bumper) something like this comes up

 

[79rustyk10]

With a sm465 or th400 you are potentially looking at a lot of work and the loss of that nice overdrive and the 1st gear if you went to a 400.


Cross members, adapters, correct t-case, maybe rebuilding the new t-case, flywheel, clutch, pedals, frame brackets or hydro clutch parts, rework drivelines, in cab shifters, neutral safety switch, trans hump, kick down switches... lots of those depending on your trans choice can slap you and any dead line or timeline silly.


If its a driver, no question I would stay with the overdrive. If it was a dedicated wheeler..th400 or manual and id buy a donor blazer if I had the space to get all the manual parts.. pull yours and scrap/sell the rest to balance out.

Just my rambling thoughts.

-shawn





Plenty of people have good reliable 700's, find someone who has one and go to their builder.

I agree, all depends on your plans... If its a driver keep the 700R4, this is like the 10bolt vs a D60 argument.

It all depends on intended use, and your driving style.

 

[496truck]

AAMCO is like the fast food of the auto trans world. It'll get the job done but you will regret it later. The experiences I've had from the ones around here it's a wonder they are still in business.

Sounds like you're on the right track, rebuild what you have, find a good shop with a good rep to go along with it. Or you can't go wrong with a bowtie od trans either.

 

[82355]

Yours is a 1989 with a mechanical speedometer correct? If so, an SM465/NP208 will swap directly in place of your current TH700R4. You will even be able to reuse your factory driveshafts. Any half or three quarter ton with a 4 speed from 1981-1989 will work (If you found a 1989 donor, it would even have the NP241 instead of the NP208).

I would swap it for the 4 speed and not look back.

Martin

 

[euzoa]

So i guess i was a little premptive in posting this, I adjusted the TV cable and dear lord what a difference. I am going to see if it starts acting up again, and have it rebuilt if it does.

So I will do a fluid change, and start getting parts together for the 4speed swap down the road, back home its all 45-55 speed limit so no need for OD

Thanks for the advice guys