Civerus

So I pulled an old crate 350 that a friend had blown in the car, before I bought it, and tossed it aside, the previous 700 had a problem with shifting outa first gear, it was that the sprag destroyed itself.

So February I put a 305 Carbed, and 700r4, out of a Caprice into my 1985 T/A (engine/transmission given for free, couldn't say no).

Whel, the car has a 9-bolt rear, with what appears to be high 3.xx gears, possible 3.83, nothing lower, checked with drive shaft rotations according to rear wheels.

This 700 has always shifted high, I heard the previous owner put a shift-kit in it, not sure what type/kind, first is out at 3,500 to 4,000, second out at 3,000-3,500, 3rd out at 4,000+.
If I let off the gas at around 2,500, each gear will shift and then I reapply, this I believe is because the TV cable isn't adjusted right.
But nonetheless, it will still shift at those points.

(problem)
Now, cruising at about 60mph, my rpm range is between 2,800 and 3,200 rpm, with my TC locked up, in 4th gear. I KNOW this isn't right, it cant be.
Its stumped me and a lot of people, the transmission has about 80,000 miles on it, and im not sure if its ever been rebuilt. It has always cruised at extreme rpm ranges, and they are static and never change at a static throttle position.
It spins the tires just fine, it just has me and a lot of other people confused, wondering if anyone here would perhaps know why.

ed o

Could be the throttle valve in the valve body, not to be confused with the plunger. The plunger pushes the throttle valve when the T.V. cable gets pulled. You can remove the plunger and bushing with the trans pan off by removing the roll pin but the throttle valve can't be removed without pulling the valve body because there is another roll pin on the other side of the valve body. Aftermarket companies make an updated throttle valve that has a return spring so it doesn't stick so easy. The plunger never seems to get stuck so it's hard to diagnose without pulling the plunger. You can stick a strong pocket magnet in after removing the plunger and might get lucky to free the throttle valve but I've tried that many times with little success. Note: the throttle valve system and the governor work together to help determine shift points, and pressure in the trans so both need to be in good working order or shift timing will be altered. Update soon if problem found.?!

Atilla the Fun

With a 3.73:1 gear and 235/60R15 drag radials, my '88 I had turned 2180 rpm at 65 mph with the torque converter locked. Is your speedometer accurate? If you have the 3.70:1 gear, you should have the light blue 15 tooth speedometer drive gear on the output shaft, and a 44 tooth driven gear for 245/50R16 tires.

Civerus

This is an entirely different rear-end, the stock rear was a 10-bolt im pretty sure, but the wheel fell off one day (? dont ask) and the car dropped onto the corner and bent it, so we had to replace it, and a 9-bolt was sitting around that fit. So yeah.

I dont have a working speedo so these numbers are hard to come by, but I can tell you on the interstate everyone is doing at least 75.

Atilla - the wheels are 225-60-r16, it has the 16" formula wheels from 85-87 i believe (came with WS6 susp)

ed o - so you suspect my throttle valve is stuck? I'm not really in the position with pulling the trans apart right now, but in about a month or two I'll hopefully be getting a 350/different 700r4 that I will drop in, and then ill pull apart the 700 thats in there now and play with it.

vbMike

iTrader: (2)

Are you sure the Tach is reading correctly. They tend to fail on the high side and become more inacurate as the RPMs increase.

Civerus

I'm certain the tac is at least close, you can hear the engine screaming down the highway, like its turning around 3-3.5k.

Atilla the Fun

The more you type, the more it seems like you are not actually getting OD. The converter can lock up in third.
If your axle is good, not whining or anything, then figure out your gear ratio and getting your speedo calibrated will be easy.
By the way, I'm about to put that size tire on those exact wheels on the front of this '82 Camaro I just acquired, and the front springs have been cut to lower the car, so, is yours lowered, and are your tires even close to rubbing?

Civerus

They rub only when locked in a direction, but that's normal, my car isn't lowered at all, if anything its raised, have about 6-8" of ground clearance.

I can count the gear shifts from 2nd to 4th, which is what stumps me, my converter I lockup myself, and the computer has been gone for a long time.

Atilla the Fun

There're 2 different ways to determine your ratio. If it's not a 9" Ford, the easiest is to go buy a new rear cover gasket and 2 bottles of gear lube, pop the cover, and turn the ring gear until you see the tooth counts stamped on the edge of the ring gear. For example, 10-41 is 4.10:1.
The other way is to put jackstands under the axletubes, put the trans in neutral, and watch how much the driveshaft turns for one complete turn of the rear wheels. I do this by crawling under the rear bumper, on my back, with my chin under the rear u-joint and a tire in each hand. I use a bottle of white out to put a mark on each tire at the lowest spot, and a mark on the driveshaft at the lowest spot. If yopu don't have a posi, you hafta make sure the tires are turned exactly equally.
It is possible that someone put a 4.56:1 gear in the axle.
Thanks for answering about the other thing.

Civerus

I did that, its 3.8x