No reverse and "sluggish" in drive

[89WhiteBlaze]

As some of y'all may know, I tore my front axle and hubs down to replace seals, bearings, ujoints, etc... I usually work 50-70 hours a week and due to this and some other complications, it took about 2 months to complete the project. Finally finished it a few days ago. I was excited cause I'd been driving a piece of crap Mercury Mystique. But when I was tightening the lugs a stud snapped. So I'm gonna have to tear the hub back apart...

Decided I would tackle that the next day. So, I went to my girlfriends house and right before I got there I was at a traffic light and when I went to accelerate the truck didn't wanna go. Not in much of a hurry anyways. I make it to her and kind of forget about it til I was about to leave. Get in, cranks up fine, put it in reverse, and... nothing! It seems to shift into drive, but I didn't get to really test it in drive again as her car was in front of it.

So what are some simple things I could try to get it going without having to remove the tranny? I did check the fluid level and it seems good. If it is something as serious as rebuilding it, I'll probably have to pay someone as that's not something I think I want to tackle right now especially since I have very limited time.

FYI it's an 89 blazer and I believe it has the 700r4?

 

[MEANSTREAK K30]

Does the fluid smell burnt and/or look dark or brown? Hate to say it , usually, when reverse goes out, and it starts slipping it means the trans is toast, Hope this isn't the case with yours.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Yeah, I hope so too. It was dark last night and late... So didn't look at it a whole lot. Nothing smelt "burnt" and the fluid still appeared to be red, but like I said, it was dark. Just trying to figure out some simple things to check cause I don't want to rip into anything major in her yard.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Guess I'll try dropping the pan, and change the fluid and filter and hope for the best. And maybe check the tv cable and shifter linkage....

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

That didn't help... I guess the $40 in fluid and stuff was worth the shot though. Would y'all recommend having the old one rebuilt? Or just try to get another reamanyfactured one? My family knows the guy pretty well that I'll be taking it to to fix it, should I just ask his opinion?

 

[diesel4me]

If he will check the line pressures for a reasonable fee I'd have him do that--it might be a problem he could fix in the vehicle without pulling it out..if not,at least it may give a better idea of how bad it is internally..

Though the 700R4 usually needs a rebuild after something minor goes wrong (like the TV cable failing or slipping out of adjustment ,that can kill one in just a few miles)--sometimes you might get lucky and have it be a valve body problem or a stuck servo or something..

My friend lost reverse in his 80's T-Bird and the forward gears were slipping badly--he tried changing the fluid & filter and a transmission shop owner up the road he knew well, told him he may as well drop the valve body while he had the pan off,it may have a gasket that failed between passages or something .

--he was hesitant to do that,knowing some check balls might fall out and dissapear,my friend just buys a used good tranny if one dies or sends it to that guy to repair-- the guy was nice enough to stop by after work and did it for him--under the valve body was a piston type thing with a pin sticking out that looked like a boob--he pulled on the pin ,and the piston sprang back into position,it was cockeyed in the bore....he put the valve body back on and they put the pan back on,and filled it up--the transmission worked perfectly again,and never acted up for the duration of the 2+ years he drove it..

 

[Greg Ducato]

Generally speaking if you have lost reverse on the 700R4, then you have lost the trans. Rebuild or replacement is the unfortunate probability.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Generally speaking if you have lost reverse on the 700R4, then you have lost the trans. Rebuild or replacement is the unfortunate probability.

Yeah... I've pretty much come to that conclusion. I was going thru the messages between the previous owner and I from last year and he said that it was rebuilt "last year" (2014) so I sent him a message today asking what kind of problems he was having that led him to have it rebuilt and if there is any kind of warranty on it. I doubt a rebuild would come with a 2 year warranty, but it's worth a shot. Also, I just find it odd that it would die again so soon. Probably only has 10,000 miles on the rebuild!

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

It's also a crazy coincidence that it would start having problems the day I put the axle back together and start driving it again... It did sit for a little over 2 months.

I failed to put this in the initial post cause I thought it was just the e brake stuck or something, but it literally wouldn't go into reverse the VERY FIRST time I tried it. I tried it again and it worked, so I just ignored it. Then the next night is when it really screwed up.

 

[Greg Ducato]

Well, given those circumstances I would be inclined to check the brakes/cables and be sure something wasn't binding in reverse. A long shot but I have seen it before

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Well, given those circumstances I would be inclined to check the brakes/cables and be sure something wasn't binding in reverse. A long shot but I have seen it before

That was one of my first thoughts... As I just worked on the brakes. Thought maybe the caliper locked up or something, but I could move it in neutral. I also figured it would atleast move in reverse.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Gonna have it towed to a shop tomorrow. Found another shop that's been recommended by some people at work. He says he'll rebuild the current transmission for $1450 or should I choose to buy a remanufactured one, he'd do the swap for $400. Which I think is very reasonable. Do any of y'all have experience with "monster transmissions"? They have a heavy duty remanufactured transmission that is rated for up to 500hp and 450lb/ft torque. Overkill, I know for a pretty much stock 350. They don't have a 4x4 one listed at a lower rating though, it probably wouldn't be much cheaper, and I figured it wouldn't hurt.

The reman will cost $1237 + $400 for the swap. So $1637 total, or $187 more than the rebuild. I'm kind of leaning toward the reman.

Oh, and I can always sell the old one and maybe come out even with what the rebuild would cost anyways.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Here are the options that are included.



Do y'all think I'll be good with the 9 3/8" converter pattern? They also have a 10" listed, but says the 9 3/8 is more common.

And here are all of the "upgrades" listed in the reman

 

[Blue85]

Well, given those circumstances I would be inclined to check the brakes/cables and be sure something wasn't binding in reverse. A long shot but I have seen it before

Yeah, a missing caliper bolt can prevent the vehicle from moving in reverse and the fix is only a few dollars. Even if a caliper is hung up hard, you should feel the transmission going into gear (engine bog, truck leans, etc.)

Do any of y'all have experience with "monster transmissions"?

Oh, and I can always sell the old one and maybe come out even with what the rebuild would cost anyways.

Search this site for monster transmissions. A few members have posted their experiences. The chances of selling a broken 700 for even 1/2 the cost of a rebuild are about as good as picking 20 more MPG after it's done. The cheap way is to buy a used working transmission. The long term results are a crap shoot. Or you can dive in whole hog and R&R/rebuild the unit yourself by getting a manual, watching DVDs, etc.

Before paying shipping on a trans, shop it locally and see if you can get a warranty.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Yeah, a missing caliper bolt can prevent the vehicle from moving in reverse and the fix is only a few dollars. Even if a caliper is hung up hard, you should feel the transmission going into gear (engine bog, truck leans, etc.)

Search this site for monster transmissions. A few members have posted their experiences. The chances of selling a broken 700 for even 1/2 the cost of a rebuild are about as good as picking 20 more MPG after it's done. The cheap way is to buy a used working transmission. The long term results are a crap shoot. Or you can dive in whole hog and R&R/rebuild the unit yourself by getting a manual, watching DVDs, etc.

Before paying shipping on a trans, shop it locally and see if you can get a warranty.

My brother was checking out the brakes as I was pumping them and didn't see anything wrong... Was able to push the truck back a few feet in neutral a couple of times and drive it forward in gear a few feet and it seemed to take the same effort to go forward as it used to. In reverse, I probably revved it up to a few thousand rpm and nothing. There does seem to be a "click" when I try to put it in reverse, but it used to be very prominent and it would make the truck jerk a little bit or "lean" as you say. Now it's just a subtle click and ne "lean".

I'd rather not chance buying a used one, I'm not really trying to see how cheap I can get this done. Just trying to get out the door with a quality transmission in a reasonable amount of time. I'd like to try my hand at rebuilding one, but don't see me doing that in my current situation. I have the money in my pocket, but don't have the time to rebuild it myself in a reasonable amount of time.

The rebuild at this shop comes with just a 6 month warranty. The reman comes with a 3 year warranty, although I'd have to pay the local shop labor most likely should a problem arise.
Also, there is a loading dock at my workplace so shipping would be free.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Alright, don't wanna jump the gun, so I'm Gonna hold off on ordering the monster. Just gonna see if I can get it towed today and go from there. There are some horror stories of the Monster Tranny's, but there are also people that say they have great customer service and great products.

Maybe I'm leaning towards him rebuilding it... the warranty is 1/6 of Monster's, BUT atleast all the work will have been done local and I've only heard good things about him from several people at work. AND if it turns out well, then I will have found a good transmission guy that I can recommend to other people I know.

I'll give an update after the final decision is made.

 

[Greg Ducato]

If your local builder has a good reputation I would be more inclined to lean that way than to go with the mail order unit. The parts list you posted is very generic and would be part of any quality build, I see nothing in that list that would be deemed special or extraordinary. Show that list to your local guy and see what he has to offer by comparison.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

Yeah, it was very generic... not sure why I really posted it. lol and I Talked to him on the phone yesterday and he said all the parts are pretty much the same. The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking I'll go with the local rebuild. Just found some more horror stories about the Monster's as well... a lot of issues right after the install.

 

[89WhiteBlaze]

I've done some searching and I think I have already come to a conclusion. As far as shift kits go, I'm thinking a stage 1 will serve me well. I discovered I only have 2.73 gears and I'm running 33's. May go up to 35's when I get rid of these and will look into moving up to 3.73 or may go ahead and do it with just the 33's. This is mainly a daily driver that I also use to haul a trailer around to do lawn care. The total weight of the trailer is about 2k lbs with the equipment in it. I hear about a lot of people going with the stage 2's and then regretting it after the initial "coolness" of the firmer shifts goes away.

Everything is stock. 350 with a 700r4. What would Y'all suggest?

 

[diesel4me]

I'm no expert,but I think the bigger the tires,the more strain on the transmission,the hotter it'll get--especially with 2:73's...and in a 700r4 the overdrive will probably not engage until your going 45+ mph with such high gears..if you must have the big tires,I'd plan to get it re-geared asap to avoid burning the rebuilt tranny up in a short time..