2004R delayed 2/3 upshift when cold

[Jvette73]

I gotta 2004R from BTO in my 73 Stingray. Ive got a modified govenor and shift kit from Bruce at PT a while back and it helped the tranny by firming up the shift and getting it to hold out to a higher rpm upshift. When I pulled it out of winter storage a week ago and took it for a drive it had a delay and wouldnt upshift from 2nd to 3rd for the first few times. When it does this, I let off the throttle and there is no engine braking as if its in no gear. I push the pedal back down and the rpms jump up quite a bit before it delivers power again. Almost like its slipping. If I put it into neutral and pull it back to drive sometimes it will engage 3rd. When it warms up after driving for a few mins the problem goes away and the trans behaves normal. What could be causing this? The trans is new and has few miles on it and the fluid color and level is good. I dont think it ever overheated. TV cable is adjusted properly and is very taught at full throttle. I do have an inline magnetic filter on the return line from the cooler. If that is clogged could it be causing this problem? Thanks for any response in advance.

John Dirks
Severna Park MD

 

[chris718]

sounds like poor oil viscosity or hard lip seals in the hi drum .www.ckperformance.com

 

[Jvette73]

Thanks for the reply chris. As far as oil viscosity goes, the trans doesnt have very many miles on it and im using Mobil1 synth fluid. Is there a problem with using this fluid? As far as lip seal goes, that sounds like removal and overhaul to correct. I was hoping maybe somethin in the valve body was culprit. Somethin I could repair with trans still in car. Anything I can do to soften up lip seal without removal and overhaul? If I continue to use the trans in this condition can the problem worsen and eventually cause total failure, or is it a condition I could live with? As I said before, when it warms up it works good the rest or the day.

 

[chris718]

4 tablespoons of brake fluid .and you may want to retorque valve body.www.ckperformance.com

 

[Jvette73]

Thanks again for responding Chris. Actually I did not quite describe the problem so well initially. The last time I test drove it was warmed good and the problem resurfaced. With the selector in D it wont catch 4th and has no braking when off throttle. When back on throttle its still in 3rd, and then let off and no braking. If I move the selector down to 3rd, then I can feel the braking. Same symptoms occur with delayed 2/3 shift. With selector in D, it may hang in 2nd with no braking. Then I move the selector to 2nd and braking returns. If I floor the throttle and run up to 5000 it will upshift normally. Im willing to try anything to solve this problem short of removing the trans from car. Ill try the brake fluid idea and also re-torque the valve body. My TV cable is set to the most aggressive setting for higher pressure. If I loosen up a tad on that, and lower the pressure on part throttle, could that help diagnose the problem as pressure related?

 

[Jvette73]

By the way, can you lead me to a link that shows the proper TQ rating and sequence for the valve body bolts? I supose its in inch lbs.

 

[Jvette73]

Could anything in the valvebody be hanging up or sticking? While I have the pan off I want to check every possibilty of things that could be causing the problem. The notable thing is, the trans will first function totally normal, the the problem will arise out of nowhere, then go away and function normal again. Im making a list of things to check when I have the pan off. So ill add to the list, any suggestions of things to check. Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

[chris718]

the only 2 gears with braking are manual 1 and manual 2 .in drive 3 it wont shift to o/d.