HELP PLEASE... the 700r4 in my son's 89 chevy 1/2 ton is giving us fits. it goes into gear fine and shifts to second fine but when it try to go to 3rd it just freewheels like there's nothing there. you can put the selector on 2nd and it will stay in gear but if you shift it up it's like you go to neutral. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks chuck :(

could be any number of things how many miles are on it? if u have over 100k id prolly get it rebulit could be torque converter or alot of stuff

i think it's got a little over 70,000 on the tranny.

I had the same problem. Here are the things to check (preferably in this order)
1. Check your TV cable. Insure it is adjusted correctly (check with B&M or bowtie overdrives for the best instructions on doing this)
2. Pull the pan. Change the filter and fluid. Check for metal shavings or anything shiny. Black residue is natural. It comes from clutch wear and such.
While you have the pan of you can remove the seperator plate revealing your valve body. Check the location of your check balls and springs. Insure nothing is broke or bent. You can get all these diagrams from B&M. This would be a good time to install a shift kit which will firm up your shifts and extend the life of your tranny.
3. If it all looks good on the driver side there is a circular outcropping cast into the tranny. You can the pull the cover off this. It is your governor. Check the gear isnt broken and the plunger is not stuck. This will prevent it from shifting. It is like $30 for a new gear if it is broke.
4. Lastly add some TRANS-X to the tranny. It is an additive that works very well.

if it just started doing this and you haven't massed with anything do do with the trany lately its junk rebuild it. I bet whan you get it apart 3rd is fried

Sounds exactly the same as what I did to my TH350 (except I lost reverse also). The 3rd gear clutches are most likley cooked. Best to pull the tranny and either swap it for a junk yard one or re build it.

yea, def time for a rebuild, dont waste ur time doin all the remedy/troubleshootin stuff, yank it and replace. the 3rd gear clutches are prolly dead, i have 3 of them layin around that all behave like urs

sounds like a stuck governor i hads one do that to me but it was caused by foregin material from a thrust brg failure so you are probably best getting it rebuilt

Sounds like 3rd is :nuke: . I blew OD in my E4OD around 65-70K miles while mud riding. Its never been the same. Right now I'm stuck with a problem no one has been able to determine in years.

kinda what i was afraid of, well looks like he will have to drive his mom's van to school until we can find him something else. this may teach him a valuable lesson on how to take care of a vehicle. i sure wouldn't want to drive my mom's mini van when i was in school. thanks chuck

Time for a rebuild.
I know exactly what happened. You shouldn't have reverse either, and only a matter of time and you will not have 2nd either. My '90 went out at a lil over 80,000. 700R4 pretty standard way they go.

Sounds like 3rd is :nuke: . I blew OD in my E4OD around 65-70K miles while mud riding. Its never been the same. Right now I'm stuck with a problem no one has been able to determine in years.

Determine or fix?
E4OD's like to pop the snap ring out that retains the O/D return spring for the O/D piston. :D

Time to take it apart and look around. Pay special attention to the input housing assembly. Common fail on no 3rd gear issues.

some of you guys really should'nt reply if you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. this only adds to the confusion and "mystery" of automatic transmissions.

sounds to me like it's shifting from first to second just fine, then tries to shift from second to third but basically goes into neutral (severe slippage). that means that the third gear clutches are worn out or the input shaft housing has a crack letting pressure bleed by.
it's probably going to need to be rebuilt, but i would definetly take it to a reputable transmission shop first and have them at least "roadtest" it to do a full diagnostic check.
this failure could also have been cause by a mis-adjusted TV cable, or just plain wear and tear on the frictions.
it's definetly not the governor gear, cause then it would'nt upshift at all.
and if it had no reverse or second, it would be caused by a broken sun gear shell. very common failure.

now do yourself and your son a favor and get a professional opinion on this problem, and don't let some shade tree mechanic diagnose a problem that they know nothing about. :rolleyes:
when you have a toothache you don't go to the grocery store and ask them what ought to be done about it, right?!

thanks orangefj45 for the response, i think we are about done putting money into this truck (my money), he said some kid a school has a 4wd nissan for sale cheap. thinks it needs a head gasket, common problem with aluminum foriegn crap. although i think the extra gas mileage would be nice, i'm not sure about a project, still have 2 to get finished. thanks chuck

you're welcome.
careful with the nissan. if it has a blown head gasket, it's probably gonna need some head work. hopefully the head itself is not cracked, cause then you'd have to replace it. not necessarily gonna save you much compared to fixing the th700. :(

3-4 clutches smoked just did a teardown on one tonight with same issues. if you caught it early enough you could just swap that pack for new stuff. but you really shouldnt do that unless your not afraid to pull it again. by a master kit and get to work

woah there fj...dont go assumin that were all shadetree and dont know what we're talkni about...the clutches in the 3rd and 4th gear of the 700 are a common weak spot. and marly, dont be blaming your son for this, it was most likely the previous owners fault...700s need to be maintenced and kept cool to survive, and most peoeple dont do it and thats one of the biggest contributors to their demise. and as far as buying a truck with a bad head gasket, dont waste ur time, fix the chevy, especially if u have done alot to it already, u know whats good in the truck, why throw it out for something that might be more of a basketcase

you know i was'nt referring to you with my statement. :)

k:) but are u sure that a bad combunculator isnt the problem here;)

that would be another option, yes! :rolleyes: