700r4 issues

[ThisOldK10]

91 Burb with the 700r4, 2 wheel drive.

Noticed that sometimes the shifts from 1st to 2nd feel almost delayed... It doesn't slam into gear but sometimes it almost seems like its slipping. Other times it feels very different and fine. Reverse takes a full second or 2 to engage and does so with a "clunk". Lockup is working and 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th are not delayed but you can feel them almost clunk a bit. Also seems like she doesn't want to shift OUT of 1st when cruising through a parking lot at say 10 mph. I was told this is just how these trannys are and combined with the 3.42 gears the shift from 1st to 2nd may be harsh. The shift is fine when at WOT, pretty crisp. its at half or partial throttle that it feels this way.

122k miles, tranny was replaced in 04 with a reman from a certified shop (still have paperwork), just did fluid, filter and gasket last week and that didn't make much of a difference.

Is that just how they shift or is mine on the way out?

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

No, that’s not right. Whoever told you that should donate their tools to the Salvation Army and their ‘knowledge’ to the trash can. Mine has the same gearing, engine, and transmission, too. Dummies. First, is there an audible clunk when you shift it into gear? If so, my first suspects would be transmission mount, extension housing bushing, or u joints. Now, have you adjusted your TV cable properly? I’m assuming it’s been done before or it wouldn’t have lasted for almost 14 years. You may try tinkering with that to see if it helps. I had the same issue with mine not wanting to get out of first in parking lots and in moderate traffic. Embarrassing. Anyways, what fixed mine was a new governor (shaft had play, even though the weights and nylon gear were fine), and I did a shift correction kit by Transgo. My issue, however, did include a nasty slam bang 1-2 shift and overall shift timing that was so far askew that it felt like crap driving it around. The thing about reverse may not be anything to worry about. I’ve driven 700R4s, TH400s, and 200-4Rs, and in all of those, it’ll take them a moment sometimes to do their thing. Not long enough to worry me, though. None of those have been like a 4L60E where they’ll shift almost instantly or at least in my experience. If it’s overly concerning to you, it maybe worth having the pressures checked . I’ll leave that one at that because once you start getting into the transmission innards that can’t be serviced with the transmission in the vehicle, my knowledge fades away.

 

[ThisOldK10]

No, that’s not right. Whoever told you that should donate their tools to the Salvation Army and their ‘knowledge’ to the trash can. Mine has the same gearing, engine, and transmission, too. Dummies. First, is there an audible clunk when you shift it into gear? If so, my first suspects would be transmission mount, extension housing bushing, or u joints. Now, have you adjusted your TV cable properly? I’m assuming it’s been done before or it wouldn’t have lasted for almost 14 years. You may try tinkering with that to see if it helps. I had the same issue with mine not wanting to get out of first in parking lots and in moderate traffic. Embarrassing. Anyways, what fixed mine was a new governor (shaft had play, even though the weights and nylon gear were fine), and I did a shift correction kit by Transgo. My issue, however, did include a nasty slam bang 1-2 shift and overall shift timing that was so far askew that it felt like crap driving it around. The thing about reverse may not be anything to worry about. I’ve driven 700R4s, TH400s, and 200-4Rs, and in all of those, it’ll take them a moment sometimes to do their thing. Not long enough to worry me, though. None of those have been like a 4L60E where they’ll shift almost instantly or at least in my experience. If it’s overly concerning to you, it maybe worth having the pressures checked . I’ll leave that one at that because once you start getting into the transmission innards that can’t be serviced with the transmission in the vehicle, my knowledge fades away.

I have been told to try adjusting the TV cable, I will do that this weekend and see how that goes. There are no "alarming" noises, I just have trust issues with transmissions. But yes sometimes the delay is annoying and it will make the whole truck rock, but no slamming. There are not many clunks when going into drive but the trans mount is pretty messed up so I need to replace that. One small chunk of metal in pan when I did the service (about the size of a pop corn kernel) and the usual paste that collects on the magnet.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Ooh, what color was the chunk?

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[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Okay, that would not upload right for some reason. It's a good picture, but the site doesn't like it for some reason. It says the film on the magnet is normal, gold is brass material from thrust washers and bearings, metal flakes are gear teeth and aluminum particles indicate part of the carrier case or gearset, and the black chunks are clutch/band material.

 

[ThisOldK10]

Okay, that would not upload right for some reason. It's a good picture, but the site doesn't like it for some reason. It says the film on the magnet is normal, gold is brass material from thrust washers and bearings, metal flakes are gear teeth and aluminum particles indicate part of the carrier case or gearset, and the black chunks are clutch/band material.

I believe it was a piece of a tooth, although when I did the service change on my TH350 in my LeSabre, there were like 10 of those chunks and it has some slipping from 1st to 2nd but it stayed like that for as long as I owned the car lol