We4, need help with my trans

[RustyFrame83GP]

Okay, I have a big problem. I have an 87 Cutlass with the 305/TH2004R and I use this car to get to school everyday, 2 hours of driving every day. My transmission seems to have a bunch of problems and I'm afraid its gonna take a crap on me. Nobody has been able to give me a good idea of what the problem is. I have explained the problem in detail. FYI the car has only 120k miles on it and I think its the original trans, the problems showed up right after I bought the car.

1. Doesn't want to get into reverse right away when cold.

2. Slips a bit on 1-2 shift, slips a lot if I'm just starting to step into it when it shifts.

3. Overdrive too early/slipping. Driving around the speed that it hits 4th it will slips and vibrate between 3rd and 4th.

4. TC not locking up, except on occasion, only when the weather is colder out.

5. When I come to a complete stop, when the car downshifts to first gear there is a vibration/binding feeling in the transmission.

6. Won't downshift under full throttle at some speeds when it should and did before.

7. Tranny fluid on all the bolts on one half of the pan.

8. Vibrates, worse at some speeds than at others. I think the vibration is the tranny cuz I've heard that its a problem with the 2004R. The tires are almost new so I don't think its them.

Just for some more information, fluid level is fine, color is fine, smells fine.

I don't have a lot of money, and I don't think I could afford a rebuild on a TH2004R. Anyone have an idea what it might run my for a stock rebuild in Canadian dollars? I have a TH350 out of a 79 Wagon I'll have to have put in if my trans goes. This might cost me some in gas mileage, but it will cost a lot less than a 2004R rebuild I think.

Thanks for any help.

 

[WE4]

Originally posted by RustyFrame83GP

8. Vibrates, worse at some speeds than at others. I think the vibration is the tranny cuz I've heard that its a problem with the 2004R. The tires are almost new so I don't think its them.

What inherit problem is this? Funny, I have never heard this..... I would have to say that was bad info given to you.

Originally posted by RustyFrame83GP
I don't have a lot of money, and I don't think I could afford a rebuild on a TH2004R. Anyone have an idea what it might run my for a stock rebuild in Canadian dollars? I have a TH350 out of a 79 Wagon I'll have to have put in if my trans goes. This might cost me some in gas mileage, but it will cost a lot less than a 2004R rebuild I think.

Thanks for any help.

You have more than one issue that is for sure. As for your 350 working and not costing as much, start a pullin!!! But you WILL be unhappy not to mention now you got two cars down. I would NEVER do this. If you have to park car till you get funds , so be it.
Do not let impatience and lack of money ruin this car. If money is the issue, let it set. If it will sit too long, sell it and purchase another when you feel you can. Not a flame in any way, just good sound advice.


Bruce
WE4

 

[RustyFrame83GP]

The TH350 was pulled from the Caprice wagon a few years ago. Its connected to the 79 350 sbc that its been with for 23 years now. Both of them worked fine about 6 years ago when the car was given to us for parts (it was rusted to hell, needed brakes but mechanically it was fine).

I planned on having new gaskets and seals put in as long as my tranny guy said it looked fine inside and then have it swapped in. That would be about $300-$400 (Canadian) job. I don't have a lot of confidence that I could put it in my self. The reason I was considering this is less cost, and th350's are a lot more reliable stock than TH2004R's. Thats why your here, people need somebody that can make a good TH2004R, there aren't a lot of people out there that can it seems.

Anyways, I just looked at the rpo codes on my car and found that it has 2.93 gears and now I'm a little more relunctant to give up overdrive, I thought it had 2.56's.

Do my tranny problems give you any idea what could be wrong with it? Belive me if I had lots of money lying around, I'd just send you the core and buy one off you to replace it, then I'd swap in 3.73 posi, have my 350sbc rebuilt and installed.....and the list goes on unfortunately I'm going to school and using a line of credit to get by.

My car is going to be off the road this winter, once I get the frame welded up on my Grand Prix, its gonna be my winter car. So if I had something done to the Cutlass it'd have to be this winter.

Oh yeah and btw, the vibration thing I think a few people had bad TH2004R's that were dying and they had the vibration problem. One of them said he couldn't get rid of it until he swapped a TH700R4, but then come to think of it that swap requires a different driveshaft which could of fixed the problem, so ya maybe I had bad info.

Thanks again for your advice. Any more good advice you can give me would be appreciated.

 

[WE4]

Study fast??????

get through school. Do NOT cheat yourself there. There will be time for the serious car thing later. You will figure and get your priorities straight. As for The Canadian thing, Man, I just dont know who to tell you to go to. I know of a couple near Toronto, but that is it.

Bruce
WE4

 

[HOTTOGO]

Try unpluging the 4 pin electical connector on the side of the the tranny and take it for a short drive and see if the vibration (at least the one when you come to a stop) goes away?

 

[RustyFrame83GP]

Okay, I will try it. Maybe the torque converter clutch isn't completely disengaging, and is slipping? Its also not engaging, so maybe its stuck in between or something?

 

[MeanBuicks]

Originally posted by RustyFrame83GP
2. Slips a bit on 1-2 shift, slips a lot if I'm just starting to step into it when it shifts.

3. Overdrive too early/slipping. Driving around the speed that it hits 4th it will slips and vibrate between 3rd and 4th.

6. Won't downshift under full throttle at some speeds when it should and did before.

These three items could be caused by a misadjusted TV cable. Have you checked/readjusted your cable?

7. Tranny fluid on all the bolts on one half of the pan.

Crawl under there and retorque your pan bolts. They can work loose.

 

[RustyFrame83GP]

I have adjusted the tv cable, I got it just about right now. It doesn't really affect the problem. I'm really starting to think it might be the tcc, today and yesterday the clutch has been locking up like normal most of the time but it does slip sometimes. I think it might be not totally engaging or disengaging sometimes. The bitch is the car was not licensed when I bought it and the old guy wouldn't let me test drive it and he knew about the problems because it did them when I first got it

 

[RustyFrame83GP]

I have adjusted the tv cable, I got it just about right now. It doesn't really affect the problem. I'm really starting to think it might be the tcc, today and yesterday the clutch has been locking up like normal most of the time but it does slip sometimes. I think it might be not totally engaging or disengaging sometimes. The bitch is the car was not licensed when I bought it and the old guy wouldn't let me test drive it and he knew about the problems because it did them when I first got it.

 

[RustyFrame83GP]

Man, I just lost half an hour of typing detailed information on what my tranny does cause I hit post and then it said page not found. This time I will definately copy the whole message before I send so if it happens again I can paste it back on. Here goes:

I had my tcc connector unplugged for the last couple weeks. Made no difference. I still get the same brief shudder for 1 second as the tranny drops into first gear. It also shudders when it tries to go into 4th gear to early, it starts slipping and shuddering in between 3 and 4 until I manually downshift or punch the gas. TC still doesn't lock up.

I get slipping on the 1-2 and 2-3 shift as well as the prevously mentioned 3-4 problem. It doesn't slip much under full throttle shifts or very light throttle shifts, only part throttle. Also if I'm cruising at 80km/h in 4th gear and I step on the gas hard enough to drop to 3rd it feels like I'm driving a manual and slowly letting the clutch out.

The slipping isn't caused by the tv cable adjustment, I've got it adjust so the shifts under light throttle are a little bit too late, but if I adjust it so they're earlier it slips a lot and I mean a lot.

Even though it shifts late at light throttle if I step on it 3/4 throttle from a stop it shifts to 2nd almost immediately. Example: I'm pulling out onto the road and a car is coming and I want to get up to speed quick so he doesn't have to slow down, I step on it almost all the way to the floor (if i do put it right to the floor I'll lay rubber a little way up the road) but then it shifts to 2nd before I even get up to like 2500rpm so I have to jam the throttle right to the floor to make it go back to 1st so I can get moving. When I do this it stays in 1st until I'm revving over 5000 I think.

I hope I described everything clearly enough so you can understand what the problem is. I am putting my winter beater on the road soon and this winter will be my chance to fix my transmission, I know it won't last through another year of driving.
What I'm trying to decide here is whether to dump a ton of pisspoor Canadian dollars into the 2004R or less than $500 to have the TH350 rebuilt and installed.

My tranny guy says the biggest problem with the 2004R is the pump screws up and takes out all these rings on top of it and i think he said the pump alone costs like $500 Cnd.

Thanks for any help.

 

[HOTTOGO]

Unless you figure out what the problem is first, you may just be throwing $ at the 2004r for a rebuild, and may not solve the problem. What code tranny is it? and any mods that have been done that you might know of? The TH350 is an option and is up to you.

 

[RustyFrame83GP]

Well I know that I have to find out what the problem is, thats why I'm worried about putting any money into it at all. I'm quite sure it needs to be rebuilt but there may be other things on top of that wrong with it.

BTW just yesterday my tranny started having trouble going into reverse even when its hot. It used to only do that when it was cold. It sat for 10 minutes and I had to try 3 times to put it in reverse. And the shift points are getting later. And it seems to be shuddering a bit on all the downshifts, not just 2-1.

The good news is i went to the junkyard today and found an 83 Grand Prix with the sturdiest g body frame i've ever seen and I'm having it taken out for $110 and putting it in my 83 Prix. That way I have more reliable transportation for the winter until I can get my good car fixed.