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i need trans help

crash1369

crash1369

1/2 ton status
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Dec 12, 2005
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Tobyhanna, PA
F'n blazer's broke again. everytime i think i fixed eveything something worse breaks. anyway the point is i cant back up. i have an 88 4x4 auto (th350? is it?) it seems to go forward fine but i cant back up, i checked the tranny fluid and it appears to be empty, now what i dont understand is i just topped if off like two days ago it was just a little under full so i put a tad in and today i went to plow my driveway and cant back up. i didnt see any puddles or any signs of a leak so i dont know how it could be empty. i havent gotten underneath yet cuz its snowing but does anybody have any suggestions to check or ideas what it might be. more importantly if its going to require rebuilding or some kind of major service i am switching to a manual so any idea how much that would cost and what would be the best trans to get? thanks for the help.

edit: thought i should clarify i would be doing the conversion myself so i just need to know the price for parts and if anybody has a parts list. i was looking at the article on the main page wich seems to cover everything but theres specific list, thanks again
 
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I lost reverse, brought it to a Trany shop close by and in 2 days had it rebuilt with a shift kit for $850. Its a 700-R4 tranny, not a th350
 
thats all $850, my 85 6cly firebird was like $3500, anyway i thought cuz of the age it was probably the 700 but wasnt sure. if im gunna rebuild id rater just switch to a stick but if i can get it done that cheap maybe i will, that was for an entire rebuild or just to fix reverse? also i saw the article on switching from a th350 to a sm465 how diferent would that be for a 700r4 to sm465? thanks for the help
 
The tranny fluid may be going into your T-case. Pull the fill plug on the side of the transfer case and see if a ton of oil / trans fluid comes out. They have been known to fill up until the fluid finally comes out of the vent hole on top. Actually kinda common when your t-case input seal goes out. To fix that problem, you'll need to drop the t-case. As far as losing reverse, I'd first put more fluid in and see if it starts to work. Then add some Lucas oil to the fluid to help your internal seals if they are getting old.
Jeff
 
well if its broke, auto zone has th350 i think its only $500 with a core to trade in if you need a tranny right quick. now a 700r4 is high there you might as well get one built for what they charge for them.
 
the transfer case uses the trans fluid?!? so thinking optimistically here if that was the problem what would i have to do just rebuild the transfer case? any idea how much that would cost? i didnt know that that could be a possibiblty but im betting thats what it is cuz the trans was suposed to have been rebuilt and it didnt show any signs of dieing, theres useually plenty of warning, anyway the rest of the truck besides the the trans and motor have almost 200,000 miles so theres a good change theres a bad seal i n the t-case :) i hope.

gunna be positive here :)

edit: just wanted to verify, so should i first just go get some lucas oil (how much should i put in? do i want to use a whole bottle?) and trans fuild and fill it again and see what happens befor i think about rebuilding anything, would that be safe? and also anybody have a recamendation of a good detailed service manual, maybe even where to get it. thanks allot:waytogo:
 
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anybody know where the drain plug is? im on my way to go get the chilton manual hopefully that'll say but so far i have 3 of them (3 different cars) and never had any use for them so im not holding out much hope, thats why i was asking for suggestions. im gunna try just filling it we'll see what happens.
 
doent look like anybody is reading this but heres an update if you are, i just filled up the trans and still no reverse. i think it might me the linkage, anybody know how i can check that? i can hear the rpm's change when i put it in reverse but i dont really feel anything and when i put it in drive it kinnda lurches forward a bit, im not sure what that means but im pretty sure i still have drive. :( damn auto's
 
You can disconnect the linkage on the drivers side of the trans, gotta crawl underneath. With that disconnected you can manually run through all the gears by turning the piece on the side of the trans. Each gear should have a positive detent, but they are pretty close together. You have to be very slow and deliberate when moving it to make sure you are in the gear you think you are.

Stock GM trannies (at least what you've got) don't have drain plugs, gotta drop the pan.
 
Sorry, didn't check the boards over the weekend. The fill plug should be on the back of the tcase about halfway up. That's the one to check the level. Fluid should be just at that level so little or none should come out when you pull the plug. If a bunch comes out, the input seal could be the problem. There is another plug on the back of the tcase but at the bottom for draining.

Since you filled and still no reverse, it could be a valve body or solenoid issue which can probably be fixed without dropping the tranny. You'd access them by removing the trans pan.

Not a bad idea to check the linkage , but does the truck go into park easily? Park and Drive are on opposite sides of R so if you can get to park , then you should be able to get to R on the shifter . Have you tried moving the shift lever to just in front of R or just behind? It is possible that the detents on the tranny don't match the indicator position on the column if you have a body lift, and the linkage wasn't set up correctly (or the linkage rod has slipped_.

I know it's common sense, but if you disconnect the linkage and run through the detents from underneath with the truck running, it will drive over you and that would probably be a bad thing. If you have a good parking brake, put that on as well as chalk the wheels and / or back the vehicle up to a solid structure first. You could also jack up the back tires so the vehicle doesn't roll, but this is not as safe in my opinion as the truck will jerk when you put into gear and could come down.

The lucas oil is highly rated, and I've heard of it helping issues like yours. It will expand old seals and help a high mileage trans work better. You would follow the directions on the back ( use a whole bottle I think). BUT... you said the trans was rebuild so I would hope it has new seals...
 
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thanks allot guys, ill check that stuff when i get home. it does seem to go into park easily but the indicator was slightly off befor so ill mess with that maybe i just didnt have it in gear (i whish) you guys are probably right though its probably electrical so if i still dont have any fluid ill just bring it to ammco and hopefully it wont be to much money.
 
is there a website or book or anything with more indepth info on the 700r4? im going to try dropping the pan and see what the situation is but i dont know enuff about the internals of it.
 
your reverse clutches may be burnt...find an ATSG service manual for your 700R4 and drop the valve body and clean all the valves and the whole assembly, be very careful with the check balls and make sure you put them back on their correct location when you put the valve body back on. This work is somewhat delicate and you have to be very careful when taking the valve body apart, but with the ASTG manual it's a piece of cake, it just takes several hours to clean the damn V-body! I was quoted about 1,300 bucks when my tranny was acting up and when I performed the above mentioned on my V-body, damn thing shifted like a new truck and I even got the Lock-Up to work!! my $.02 If you're a little nervous about tackling this, Ill be glad to guide you...or you could pay someone to do it for ya!!
 
does that book have anything to help troubleshooting the trans or is it just the steps to rebuild it?
 
well ok then, ill order it :)

ive decided im going to change it to a manual though, i got the transmission pan off and decided i didnt want to bother, so anybody know if somebody makes a kit for this? rather then me scrounging up all the parts myself.

thanks-
 
you're probably gonna have to go to a Junkyard and find a truck with a manual tranny and take everything from it, you'll need the flywheel, bellhousing, tranny, clutch linkage/mechanism or the hydraulics for it, clutch pedal assembly, and whatever else I can't think of right now...don't forget to check the spline count on the output shaft so you can tell if it will fit...good luck buddy...
 
thanks allot, im gunna start another post for that i have a few questions i want to make sure i get all the right parts. thanks everybody for the help
 
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