Hot Rods Removing Shift Kit From 700R4 Transmission?

My new red 32 sedan has a mild 350 crate motor with a 700r4. The shift kit is a pain for just running around town.

How big of a deal is it to remove the shift kit? Any other way to tone it down? I just want it to shift normally.

Thanks in advance.

-Ron

 

Are you sure the TV cable is properly set up and adjusted?

 

I agree with Squirrel. 700's are way more critical. TV stands for Throttle Valve. It's no longer just passing gear. If your unsure what you doing find someone that does for help.
The Wizzard

 

If it's shifting too harsh, it could well be the TV cable is out of adjustment as Squirrel stated. What is it doing that you don't like, and are you sure it does indeed have a shift kit in it ?

 

I agree with all of the above. Make sure its adjusted right and the geometry is right for the tv cable.

If it does have a shift kit in it, it could be a number of different brands or even home made and even have a super type servo in it.

To remove a "shift kit" is usually harder than installing one due to you have to source out all the correct stock pieces to put it back to stock.
Usually, the easiest way is, you need another stock trans to take the pieces from.

Most likely you would have to change the pressure regulator spring in the pump housing back to stock, reinstall accumulator springs that were probably removed or shimmed or both, possibly have to change the servo back to stock and get a reman stock valve body and separator plate.
Bill

 

My first thought was a smaller servo..Easy enough to try. Mostly likely won't do much if the v.b. plate is opened up a lot though.

 

The TV cable was definitely out of whack. In fact the cable was frayed pretty bad and was hanging up because of it. I changed the cable out and adjusted everything which helped a bunch but it's still a little more than I like.

I thought about just yanking the trans and installing a turbo 350 and calling it done but I'm not sure the drive shaft would work or the mounts would line up.

I could just have a new drive shaft built though.

Thoughts?

 

If you get a long tail TH350 the driveshaft should fit, and you'd need to move the crossmember forward a little bit to get it to fit.

if you have one of those shifters that mounts on the transmission, it won't fit the 350

 

What carburetor is this cable connected to, and do you have a geometry correction bracket on it?

 

As Gimpy has alluded to, geometry is critical with the TV cable. At WOT the TV needs to be correct otherwise your auto will be toast. Hooking the TV cable directly to your carb without the correct bracket could be the source of your problem due to incorrect line pressure. Bowtie Overdrives has the correct brackets.

 

I like this idea. The trans mount is a tubular bolt in unit so it shouldn't be a problem to modify it. Car is a column shift too.

All the brackets are correct as far as a common sense observation goes. I guess I could run it by a good transmission shop and get their opinion before I yank it.

Thanks for the reply's.

 

This may assist? I have a 700R in both my cars and there are two (2) mount positions, transmission main case and extension housing.

 

the fuck*n 700 r4 is unnecessarily complicated... good luck on getting it sorted out. i still have two of them. one in my hamb unfriendly '89 sub and another from my previous owner modified '86 van. still hamb unfriendly. both work perfectly. (as far as i know...)

 

I have never found them to be complicated.

I have rebuilt over 20, with just one callback, and the guy's wife ratted him out as having done something stupid.

 

Been using them behind big blocks with no problems since 1999. Why would they want to give up the overdrive ? I like running a 4:11 gear and taching 2500 @ 70 MPH.

 

With the extra low first gear, you can get even the heaviest car out of the hole quite quickly, with no downside.

 

Oh, there are downsides to a 700.

 

As there are to every single transmission.

 

Yup. Some have not enough speeds, some have to much complication, some have too wide gear ratio spread, some are expensive, some require a bit too much effort to "get right" and are unforgiving if not set up just right, some are just too darn new for certain cars.

If you want to pay the price, are happy with the ratio spread, you have the expertise (or are willing to find and pay for it, either from another person or learning on your own), then the 700 can be a good transmission.

I'm not there yet.

 

The 1-2 shift is a bit wide, but other than that I'm happy with them.