Help.. 700r4 wont shift!

[greeneon_01]

Ive got an 88 2wd suburban with a 700r4. The trans was bad when i bought it. It came with a good used one out of an 88 c1500. I swapped out the trans and it goes into drive and reverse fine and moves around but it wont shift out of 1st. Whats wrong? Does the TV cable need adjusted? If so, how do i adjust it? I didnt drive it much...maybe 1/8 mile at the most...will that hurt it? This is my first experience with these trannys so im unsure...

[Irish_Alley]

stuck throttle valve could be a problem you have to remove the tv cable from the linkage at the TB with the engine running & in park move the cable in & out very fast a few times

adjusting tv
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=3873.0

[VileZambonie]

First thing to do is adjust the TV cable. If ok checkl the governor

[Irish_Alley]

i think you can do what both me and vile said at the same time  kill two birds with one stone

[greeneon_01]

 The little rod that the TV cable hooks to in the trans. was bent on the trans i put in it. I assume when they pulled it out they had it unbolted from the trans but not unhooked and it must have snagged on something when dropping it out cause it looked streched out. I changed it with the one out of the old trans but its hard to do without bending it a little. So there is a possiblity it could have gotten caught somewhere. I'll try them both and see what happens. Thanks guys!

[greeneon_01]

Well i havent messed with the trans yet but today i noticed that its leaking. It's leaking right at the shifter linkage. I had to change it out. Did i tighten the nut too tight? How do i fix it?

[greeneon_01]

Ok well i finally got the trans to shift. I had to put ALOT of slack in the TV cable before it would shift. Enough to where i have to get half throttle or better before the slack even comes out of the cable. Does that seem right? It seems to drive ok but i noticed it seems to shift at higher rpms. Usually on most automatics when just normal driving on flat roads...if your going through a gear and let off a bit it will upshift or you stay in it and run the rpms up a bit more before it shifts. The suburban seems to shift the same whether im hard in the gas or just cruising....it seems like at low throttle applications it would upshift sooner but it wont. I feel like i have to really get into the gas before it will shift. Is it supposed to be like that? My 4wd truck i use to have with the same tranny shifted high out of first gear but all the other gears shifted normally.

[Irish_Alley]

you did adjust the tv right?

[greeneon_01]

yup

[123 pugsy]

Ok well i finally got the trans to shift. I had to put ALOT of slack in the TV cable before it would shift. Enough to where i have to get half throttle or better before the slack even comes out of the cable. Does that seem right? It seems to drive ok but i noticed it seems to shift at higher rpms. Usually on most automatics when just normal driving on flat roads...if your going through a gear and let off a bit it will upshift or you stay in it and run the rpms up a bit more before it shifts. The suburban seems to shift the same whether im hard in the gas or just cruising....it seems like at low throttle applications it would upshift sooner but it wont. I feel like i have to really get into the gas before it will shift. Is it supposed to be like that? My 4wd truck i use to have with the same tranny shifted high out of first gear but all the other gears shifted normally.

It seems you're on the way to frying your tranny.
If its slack as you say and you have to feather the gas pedal to shift, its not set right.

[greeneon_01]

I think the problems fixed...drove it about 20 miles the other day and everything started working good. Shifts nice and smooth and like its supposed to. I assume it just needed to be run a bit and get warm and loosen up considering the tranny sat for about a month and a half before i put it in. Works great now...only thing wrong is its leaking a little at the gear selector. Any ideas how to fix it? Doesnt leak alot..maybe half dollar size spot in a day or two. Not a big deal but right now thats the only leak it has so i would like to fix it if its and easy fix.

[123 pugsy]

Tool:

http://www.transmissionpartsusa.com/GM_Transmission_tool_p/300-000jt1001.htm

Glad to see you got it working alright.
I've had one burnout that was shifting like yours was.

[greeneon_01]

so how exactly does that work? looked at the pic but seems a lttle confusing. I put some lucas in the tranny and the leak has seemed to slow down..alomst stop completely. For that price i may just not mess with it..lol But im still curious how it works

[VileZambonie]

The shift shaft seal tool works real simple. You remove the linkage, screw in the extractor and tighten the bolt removing the seal. The other part of the tool is the seal installer.

[greeneon_01]

ahhh..cool thanks