Finally after 12 years of work got to test drive my 1934 Buick hot rod for the very first time. Nailhead 401 with T700r4 and apart from the many other problems found the trans won't shift out of 1st. Checked fluid level, double checked TV adjustment and today pulled out the governor. All checked out OK. I did install a TCC solenoid to lock up trans for overdrive. Any ideas ? Please don't tell me I have to take the pan off. My garage floor is now flowing in fluid from taking the governor out and just finding a power steering rack seal has blown and filled the boot with oil ( it's now all over the floor )
Most common cause is either the governor or the TV cable. Make sure you are getting full range of cable movement and that it isn't hanging up in the transmission. You checked the governor gear and that the valves in the stem were moving freely?
The early 700s had a problem where the throttle valve would stick in the valve body, it would suction to the bottom of the bore. The solution is to put a conical spring at the bottom of the bore to: 1) break up the suction. and 2) help push the valve up. Yes, this involves dropping the pan and the valve body, sorry. Just remove the valve plunger, drop the spring in the bore and put the plunger back in. https://www.ebay.com/itm/122034274190?hash=item1c69cf3f8e:g:Y7MAAOSwzJ5XeKA~
That's great, thanks mate. I have many others issues to fix first , then another test drive ----- and if no improvement on gear changing then I'll pull off the pan. I hate that job ! Oil goes everywhere.
I dealt with that in my 85 Corvette. Sometimes you can get it unstuck with a couple swift pulls of the TV cable while the car is idling in park. Eventually that won't be enough to do the trick though. Also, just something important worth clarifying, loosening the TV cable is not a good idea. There is really only one correct setting for the TV cable (provided the geometry is right) and that is the setting that bottoms the TV plunger at WOT. Anything less than that risks transmission damage. If you want to loosen the cable for troubleshooting I would only use the bare minimum throttle necessary to get the car going fast enough to change into second gear. Once you get to that point and determine if the car will shift into 2nd, make sure the TV cable is returned to the correct setting.
Have you checked the line pressure? Easier and way less mess than dropping the pan again… (and x2 on the drain plug).
Can you tell me how to do that Dave ? I wonder if because I have installed the 18" dual pass trans cooler too far away from the tranny ? It's located underneath radiator support just behind where those red sway bar bushes are.
Ah - very cool project! Here is a photo of the pressure port on the left side of the trans, with a gauge adapter already installed. I used this pressure gauge picked up from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OUZBZ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I've also attached instructions for setting up a 2004R/700R4, with proper line pressure for each gear, and TV Cable adjustments. I don't think your cooler is too far from the trans, I have big coolers located behind the grill in both of my cars. It won't effect internal transmission pressures.
Back again. Adjusted TV cable and took for test drive but same result. The shift from 1st - 2nd won't happen until maybe 20 - 25mph and it's an aggressive shift. I looked at the cable again and manually pulled it. Seems there is a soft spring tension for first 3/8" , then a medium tension then a much harder tension for the last 3/8" or so. My question is --- should the TV be adjusted to pull from idle before or after the first soft tension ? Also , do you think the length of the black outer sheathed cable from trans to carb would make any difference ? The original cable was damaged / crushed so I replaced it with a shorter one.
Any time I’ve adjusted the TV cable on a 2004R or 700R4 trans I did it with the cable attached to the throttle linkage, with engine off, open the throttle wide open, the TV cable will self adjust (ratchet) to the correct length.
Correct! If you need to adjust the cable any other way, something is wrong, at least with a factory cable.
OK, so I need help again please. Tried the trick of revving the engine and pulling / let off cable a dozen times but did not work. Eventually had to buy a large low level storage bucket and pull the pan. Not too bad , caught it all only a few drops here and there on the floor. So looks like the plunger will not return fully ie. it's stuck. Got the roll pin out but the alloy valve body is stuck. Can anyone give me a tip please for getting it out before I damage it ?
I got it out. Pushed a piece of 3/8" rubber hose over valve plunger and gripped with pliers and had to tap out plunger sleeve with a small hammer. It was in tight. Even had to slip a piece of thin walled tube over alloy sleeve to get it all out all the way. So I have the sleeve, plunger and spring out, BUT , now the valve itself will not come out. Please don't tell me I have to take off valve body to get to the 2nd roll pin !!
