th350 wont shift into 3rd after axle swap (FIXED)

[greyhoundjc]

I just finished swapping in a 60/14FF (4.56 gears) into my '82 K5 with a th350 trans. The trans shifted fine before the swap but now it just holds 2nd gear.

I have checked my vaccum line and kickdown cable and they appear to be fine. The fluid level was a little less than a pint low but I havn't been able to drive since I topped it off to see if it helped. I just can't imagine that being a pint low would cause it not to shift into 3rd gear. I have searched here for a while and I can't think of anything else to check but I'm sure that I'm missing something. The trans was rebuilt about a 18 months ago and probably has 10k miles on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[YZEATER]

does it only shift 2 times? try manually shifting it?

 

[greyhoundjc]

It only shifts once, from 1st to 2nd.

 

[greyhoundjc]

I fixed it today with a new vaccum modulator. I guess the timing just made it seem like the axle/gear change had something to do with it.

 

[MattK]

good to hear you fixed. i got a buddy havin a similar problem. was the problem ever intermittent? his pretty much doesn't like to shift very much at all last i heard, but it used to be off and on.

also, how much ya give for the new vac modulator? tough install? if it's cheap and easy enough he may as well give it a shot ya know.

 

[greyhoundjc]

It was not intermittent. Just all of a sudden it quit shifting. The part was around $11 at Autozone and they even had it in stock. I was able to replace it in less than 5 mins. It just has one bolt that holds it in. Just make sure there is a drip pan around because a little fluid will come out.

 

[MattK]

good to know thanks.