If it's rebuilt with a premium kit or should I get a newer gen. tranny?

 

one of teh main failure points of teh 700r4 is teh sunshell. get a good one or pony up the bucks for a good prebuilt unit.
here is a good site full of info and i have been told they make great trannies. www.transmissioncenter.net
personally i have never used them, but liek i said, i have heard good things

later
tim

 

www.probuilt.net

 

Thanks for the reply's. I found a local place that sells HP rebuild kits and mods.
In case anyone in the NW is interested, here's the ebay store:

Oregon Performance Transmission

 

I bought a bunch of parts from Oregon Perf. Trannies last year for my 1LE. Got sideswiped on I-95 a week later and have had them sitting for almost a year now.

Funny this post is here. I just decided this week to go forward with fixing the 1LE, and have been in my garage disassembling the car's tranny for the last few hours. I have tranny fluid all over as I type.

The company has great prices, and their customer service was good too. I bought through their ebay store.

 

If you want to have your current one rebuilt find a shop that DEALS with Race trannys & Research them well. Ask them questions like who have you built trannys for & who can I talk to about the type of work you do.

 

I had one in an '83 Camaro with about 450hp with 4.11 gears and it did fine for about a year - then I sold the car. Trans-pak was the only thing I did to it. BTW, don't drink beer while installing the pak unless you like pulling it apart 4 times...

It should take 450hp in a light F-body with some good gears for playing around. If you are burning tires every stop light, get something stronger. If the tires hooked up well, as in street slicks or slicks for a 1/4 mile car, I'd say it wouldn't last. Something built for mid-range or top end it will probably do better.

Ask for Corvette servo and heavy duty clutches. The Corvette servo will make it shift harder I believe.

Would I run one? Certainly, if that was what was in it. Run it til it drops. With the understanding that I would be ready to change it out if needed.

Would I go to the expense of getting one special built? Hell no. Put that good money building something better.

Now, there will be some (or most) who say they have used 700r4s and they worked great! Well, as noted above, I have too and my motto was "Blow or Go". I do know when you start putting transmissions under serious abuse - the 700r4 comes out at the bottom of the trans rated for V-8 service. Don't throw good money in this direction unless you are getting a good cheap deal.

Doug
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Here's a thought that I have not checked on and you may be interested in finding out. The ones that come in a 4x4 have a "K" on the bell housing section. The K is about 1 1/2" to 2" tall and raised. (I know this because I have been building 4x4s for about 12 years now. I got a 700r4 for my 1978 K5 Blazer about a year ago. It had the Corvette servo and heavy duty clutches.)

These K-cases are extra thick compared to a car case. The tail of the case has an adapter bolted to it for the transfer case to bolt to. IF, and that is a big IF, the tail of a car 700 can be bolted to the K-case instead of the adapter, you would have a very strong case for a car.

The Blazer is a heavy truck, and I have no doubt whatsoever, that if I bring it off-road, the trans will fail quickly. The 700r4 is not a very strong trans. I have driven it about 400 miles/week for the last year to work (never off-road) and I think something is about to fail. It screeches loudly in first and second just before shift, but it stills functions perfectly. BTW this is behind a 400 sb factory stock, stock TC, with 3.73 gears.

 

I don't know how much a "stronger" case would help. The case isn't what fails in the tranny.

And as far as a 700R4 being at the bottom of the performance heap, I don't know about that. They aren't TH400s, but so what? If you replace the parts prone to fail, the 700s are great trannies. Why do you think so many people put them behind big-inch engines in heavy old cars?

And they have another advantage: they came in all of the F bodies for years. You don't have to get special parts to make them fit the chassis like you do with a TH350 or 400. Visit Bowtie Overdrives (google their address) if you would like to see how strong the 700s can be built.

My tranny is getting Alto clutches, a corvette servo, a bigger 0.5" boost valve, a stronger sunshell gear, hardened rings, and a Transgo reprogramming kit. I'll also be putting in a 2800 stall converter. I fully expect this tranny to hold up to repeated 1.6-1.7 second 60" launches on drag radials. The car will run 12s n/a and still cruise the freeway at reasonable RPMs. Try that with a TH400.

 

I have 450 plus and my 700r4 tranny works just fine. You need to find someone who can build it right. The local tranny shop can't do it. Buy one from someone who is reputable and who is known for building strong trannies.

 

Dana at Pro-Built Automatics is the man.GREAT customer service, extensive knowledge and research,never seen a single negative feedback on any of his stuff.Very reasonable price too. check it out.

 

Have to throw a third in there for Dana at Pro-Built Automatics.

Had him build me a Street/Strip 700-R4. Have not had a single issue with the tranny at all. He knows what he is doing.

Go with him....you won't regret it.

Frat