TH350 Hard Shift

I have a '71 Skylark with a 350 engine and a TH350 transmission. Everything else on the car is in fine working order, except the transmission. Since the day I bought the car, the transmission shifts really hard from 1st to 2nd, and somewhat hard from 2nd to 3rd. By "really hard" I mean you can feel it shake the car pretty hard. The dipstick is reading full, and I don't see any disconnected/damaged vacuum lines. What else could be the problem?

 

?

do u have a shift kit in there...a stage 3 will make it shift really hard...i have one and it does what u r explaining...

my 2 cents

kyle
71gs 350

 

Ah yeah I didn't think of that. There might be one in there. Unforutunately the previous owner passed away about a year ago, so I can't ask him. I guess I'll just keep driving it and hope it's a shift kit. If not, I'll know when my car is puking tranny fluid while slipping to 8000 RPMs :laugh:

 

Change the trans. oil & filter. This will give you a chance to see what's going on inside. Lots of filings will be a good indication of trouble.

 

Hard shifts? what's the problem??? :Brow:
Mine chirps em going into second, looks like you need to harden them up some more!

 

Maybe it's just a combination of a shift kit and a COMPLETELY RUSTED OUT TRANNY CROSSMEMBER!!! :af: :af: :af: I didn't notice the rusted crossmember until I crawled under the car today. Off to the junk yard I go

 

Smooth Shifting...

If you want it to shift smoother use Ames Oil Synthetic Transmission fluid. Hard shifts can be annoying at times when you got that Pepsi up to your mouth for a drink and Bang! all over your shirt or the passenger. Heehe ;-)
I have a shift kit in my TH350 and could churp the wheels going into 2nd and 3rd.
When I replaced the filter and flushed the old fluid out I replaced it with Ames Oil Synthetic Fluid and also installed a deeper pan with cooling tubes in it.
It now shifts way smooth and still provides great performance.

Mike