im putting together an 86 iroc and the engine was out of the car along with tranny . the car was a 305 tune port.the previuos owner took that out along with the computer and all related wiring. so i have put my motor in and was told that the tranny would not shift into 4 gear with out being wired to lock by the computer.how ever i took it out on the interstate and the car shifts into fourth like it should. the previous owners told me that the tranny came out a diesal chevy van. did all 700r4 lock up? i need to know because i am ordering a stall convertor for it dont know what to order. also the kick down cable is not hooked at all. i know this is supposed to control upshifts but the car shifts great.any info would be appreciated.

 

How hard does it shift? Also what rpm does it shift at? As far as know they all had a lock up feature. Not so sure though?...

 

it shifts pretty hard but when i punch it from first to sec gear its pretty mushy.it may need rebuilt becuase when i put it in i replaced the filter and all the seals in it.

 

Did you hook up the "TV" cable? It sounds like it is unhooked! That is why it shifts so hard. You did not say at what rpm it shifts when you are driving normal?

 

The T.V. cable MUST be hooked up, here's why.
It isn't a "kick-down" cable, it actually controls the line pressure compared to the throttle position.
In other words, it controls the shift "points"(rpm) and "firmness" of the shift. To run without it hooked up will damage the trans b/c the inner cable won't be extended at all. The resulting low line pressure will increase the rpm for the shift and allow clutch slippage which will wear them out sooner. There are many adapter throttle brkts available to put a 700r4 in anything.
It will still shift into 4th"gear",BUT the converter will NOT "lock-up" and you'll lose highway milage and build more heat(slippage). There are kits to lock them up for non computer cars that would easily fix this though.
Ibelieve most all cars with 700r4's had "lock-up" converters, but not sure about some trucks especially HD trucks.
If you put it in the '86 IROC you'll need a lock-up converter. I bought my SLP 2500 unit for $329.

 

Thank you for the info rocz. It is just that when my car is on the dyno we unhook the "tv" cable and it is a much diff tranny. It shifts really hard and late. Just took a stab at it