i am about to buy an 87 camaro
the owner says that for some reason the transmission simply refuses to shift into overdrive.
he has had it checked out before, and nobody can come up with an answer.
it is a rebuilt trans with all new internal parts.
the engine is a 350 with tpi.
other than this, the car is in great shape.
should i run away screaming, or get the car.
and if i get it, what is wrong with it.
any ideas would be greatly appreciated
Simple, no OD? Well, lets see. I will name a few reasons for no OD. First you could have the wrong TV relationship. That is, geometry between TBI throttle angle and throttle valve, in the transmission. 2. There could be wrong year valvebody gaskets installed. 3. The side servo pin could be about .050" of an inch too short. 4. The 2/4 band could be worn about .050" too much. 5. Could have wrong govenor installed into transmisison( so you would need to do about a buck twenty,mph) to get overdrive. 6. 3/4 shift valve stuck(from contamination). 7. ...blah blah blah
See where I'm going? The term "rebuilt transmission" means nothing. Wether its built in someones hog pen or built by chev. Obviously, the person that built it, couldn't figure out why it don't work. Or they would have fixed it. So, obviously, they didn't know how a transmission works. So, just throw away the transmission, as its probably completly miscalibrated for anything normal now
Or it could be something as simple as linkage, the pan gasket covering the exhaust hole for the 2nd apply servo, a governor problem, a valve body check ball for the 3rd accumulator, and a fistful of other possibilities. In any case, RexNfx is right - the trans will at least need to be opened, and may need to com out. If the seller will deduct the price of a trans, or the rest of the car is worth the asking price, it may be worth taking on the project.
BTW - A transmission R&R in a ThirdGen is not difficult, and a TH700/4L60 is an easy rebuild (and cheap). Also, the '87 didn't have a TBI. It was TPI or E4ME, and if it is a 350, it's only TPI. There is still a TV cable in any case, however.
its a 350, which was never an option, and it has tpi, which was never an option.
I'm a little unclear about what you mean by "never an option" for the '87 Camaro. If you meant that it was never an option within your consideration, I can understand that. However, for anyone else who might consider something other than a 350 and other than a TPI, the 1987 Camaro was available with a 173" V-6 (LB8), a 305 V-8 carbureted (LG4), a 305 TPI (LB9), and a 350 TPI (L98). Thankfully, the 151" four-cylinder was no longer available in F-Cars in 1987.
