Now I am really confused. I just returned from the KYana autoparts swap meet at Louisville KY. There I talked with a rep from Performance Transmissions in Louisville KY. He told me there is no difference in the internal components in the two transmissions that is 200r4 and 700r4. Now if there isn't any difference in internals what is the difference in the two trans? Okay trans experts help me out. Thanks in advance for all comments. Bernie Steffen. zstef@mchsi.com
Ask him what he was smoking before he talked to you. The 700R4 has a 3.06 first gear, 1.63 2nd, and .70 overdrive. The 200R4 has a 2.78 first gear, 1.57 2nd, and .67 overdrive. The 700R4 is Chevy bolt pattern only, the 200R4 has a universal bolt pattern. The 700R4 is longer, and heavier. The 200R4 has an integral tail housing(1 piece case), the 700R4 has a bolt on tailhousing. Some of the components may be shared (like torque converters, and some internals), but these are 2 different transmissions. The 200R4 is easier to bolt to your Buick engine, and can be built to take more, I believe.
I was reading about the overdrive transmission in a car magazine recently and the funny thing about the 700 r4 and the 200 r4 was the reason why the 700 r4 was given a lower first gear than the 200 r4 was because it was put to engines that didn't make as much torque as those put to the 200 r4s. When you remember that the 700 r4 has a chevy only bell pattern and the 200 r4 has a BOP bell pattern (sometimes chevys were put to them by the late 80's) it tells you something about chevy engines! They also have different crossmembers. Boy was that a headache once we found that out during an engine and tranny swap! I believe the crossmember is more forward on the 200r4 than it is on the 700r4. The tranny on the 700 r4 uses a mostly square tranny pan (or it might have been completley square I don't remember) and the 200r4 has a more odd shape kinda like a turbo 400 and has the word "METRIC" stamped on it. Patrick
Larry. thanks for the comeback. I guess I didn"t make clear what he was talking about. What he actually said was if you took the internals out of both transmissions and put them on the table you couldn't look at them and tell the difference. He also said the 200r4 had a higher first gear. so sorry if I didn't make myself clear. Bernie Steffen
I think that might be true of any 2 transmissions if you didn't know what to look for. Bernie, what are you confused about? Are you trying to decide whether to go with a 200R4 or 700R4? If so, the 200R4 is the better trans for a Buick motor, hands down. There is no comparison.
Transmissions Larry I guess its the mechanic in me I've been a mechanic for most of my life. 69 years. I've got a 85 Buick GN and a 88S-10 with a 455. I'd like to have a overdrive in the pickup. I really appreciate your input into the matter. If I'm going to spend big money to do this project I'd just like to get it right the first time. Thanks again Bernie
