gearbox question.

hey everybody,
I got a 93 z28 and i recently had to get a new gearbox since i fried my old one. Ever since i got the car back though it has never been 100% and has been just F#ckin shit basically. My fuel mileage is shot to hell and the optispark is dying out causing serious hesitation in lower rpms. The throttle response is gone to hell too, before i used to barely put my foot on the accelerator and the car would be flying but now I have to really step on it to get it moving. Anyway, the main problem is since i got this gearbox the car doesn't have that powerful kick anymore when driving it, almost like its lost all its torque. What I mean is when i'm on the highway and just put my foot down all the way my car doesn't accelerate as fast as it used to and the rpms barely get over 4. Feels like my car has 200horses instead of the 290 or so it should have :( Last night I barely kept up to a turbocharged corolla on the highway, so I've decided enough is enough and I am willing to save up every cent i earn to get back my old cr performance. I've had this gearbox in for around 3 weeks now and I've had enough. This is the 3rd gearbox this guy put in my car and i don't think its gonna get any better than this, so I have given up on taking the car back to that idiot. I think the next option is to find a wrecked camaro and buy a gearbox and put it on. The strange thing is that with this new gearbox in my car launches like crazy from a complete stop (goes to like 5800rpm), but if i'm doing 20kph and floor it all the way down the car barely gets up over 4500rpm and gets there slower than a donkey towing an 18wheeler .

So My questions are (1) if I find a wrecked camaro z28 auto between 1993-97, will their gearbox bolt on with no hassles or does it need to be from a 1993 camaro in specific? (2) Also, and more importantly will it perform like the old one did or will it still give me the shits like this one does now. (3) do I need anything else besides the gearbox itself when i'm converting it from one car to another (such as rear gears or anything)? (4) Is it possible he put in a gearbox from a caprice or something, since i read all gm parts are compatible, and could this be the problem?? Sorry, I know these may seem like newbie questions but I really don't know much about the camaro gears and stuff not related to the engine. Thanks for all the help, your feedback is greatly appreciated.

ok, dumb question, but are you talking about a manual or an automatic?

automatic. geese i thought i woulda got more replies adn help by now. guess not many people know a lot about the camaro drivetrain.

well, i've posted this question on 2 other forums, including camaro28.com and still got no replies. how frustrating :(

sounds like the wrong torque converter is in it. or that there is maddddd slippage in it. dont know what to tell ya man, id have to road test it to give ya any kind of helpful stuff. but i think getting one out of a camaro, is a good idea, i think you should also get the converter out of the car you get the trans from, put em in, and see if it fixes it.

oh and the 93-97 autos should all be the same, get one from your year camaro if possible but others should work. and yes the same auto out of a caprice will also bolt right up. however i think the converters are different. and its also an electronic trans, so i dont know if the shift points on the caprice would be different. my advice, get one frmo a vehicle as close to yours as possible. but no you dont have to change everything, as far as rear end stuff, or gears. just the tranny and converter are what you have to worry about.

My 93 Z28 did the same thing, but I never changed the trans. It was caused by 4 different problems (kinda like a chain reaction), first the optispark went out, then because of that, the catalytic converter went out, after that my ECM went out and last the spark plugs and wires needed to be replaced. I had nearly the same symptoms as you described , major loss of power, the engine wouldn't climb to higher RPM's and poor throttle response. I recommend fixing the opti-spark immediatly to avoid further damage. Hope this helps.

yup, I was told last week that my car needs new spark plugs and wires. I think the opti is dying out too but its gonna have to wait another week before i can get some cash to fix all these. Thanx, your reply helped and i'll definitely get the plugs ans wires replaced before going for a new tranny.