1984 Blazer tranny problems.

I am a newbie to this fourm so tell me if this goes to the right place....I tried this already once and it would not let me post :uhoh: .

I have a blazer that I have been fighting with for manny years now....the emissions controlls have always been a headache {califonia emissions} the carborator is junk and a short time ago the distributor nut came loose and it went out of time 40 miles from home :mad: .

That was the final straw that broke this rednecks back.....

A mechanic told me that I could take all that junk off and plug it up....We have no emissions testing here....my tractor don't have it, my dads old truck don't have it, and now I don't have it :evillol: .

Now here comes the problem....In my fit of rage I yanked out the air injection {see ya} the canister {asta la vesta baby} the E.G.R. and made a block off plate {who needs that crap anyway} along with anything elese that my tractor aint got and blocked it off.

I put an Edelbrock 600 on it with the quadrajet manifold adapter....adapted the accelerator cable to fit, hooked up my brakes to the back of the carb and the distributer to the proper port in the front.

I drove it and it ran strong but the shifting was erratic and lacked power....it was out of time {forgot to pull the vaccume off the front of the carb :rolleyes: }...so i timed it and took care of the power problem...lots of power....but the shifting did not get better.

I had to drive it to work and fix on it at nite for two days....to no good end...then I noticed the T.V. cable hanging there....Opps....well there is'nt any place to put it on the new linkage so I drove it to work and after work I bought a T.V.cable stud and put it on at the store...from that moment on it did not shift out of first gear and I had to drive 20 mph all 40 miles of the way home.

The stud was not in the right place on the linkage so I made the piece I needed to get it behind the carb. shaft where it should be and checked the swing to make sure it followed the same path it did before and adjusted the T.V. cable like the haynes book said....replaced the tranny filter and fluid....this also did not work.

The haynes book does not go into detail about this tranny (THM 700 R4) so I have no idea about the vaccume or electrical requirements of it.

There are three things on the firewall that I have no clue what they are...the first has one vaccume hose going to it and two wires going to the distributer...it is to the left of the carb {looking at the motor from the grill}.

The second is just a little twords the carb from that and has two vaccume hoses going to it and some wires going somewhere that I can not think of sitting here.

The thrid is to the right of the carb above and behind the brake booster and has one vaccume hose hooked to it with wires going somewhere elese I can't think of at the moment.

I hooked up some vaccume to them from the manifold sorce....but without knowing what they are I don't know if I've got them hooked up right or how to test them....heck for that matter I don't even know if I need them.

The haynes book is not helping...so I found this fourm and thought that I could find some help here....the truck runs great....In first gear :banghead:

HELP.....Deran

Thanks for any help I can get.

Did this go to the wroung spot ?

No its in an ok spot

So your trans wont shift out of 1st gear?

Deran--There may be a forum for us dinosaurs with 84's, and if you find it, please message me. There are just not that many of us left . I have an '84 full-size Blazer, and there are a few others who post here once in a while.

About the transmission, I will take a look at my manual. I have a complete shop manual for my '84 Suburban which also has the 700R4 transmission. It has been helpful in the past. It sounds like you have inappropriate vacuum to the (I think) modulator valve. It may be a few days until I have an opportunity to post again.

You aren't alone. Just almost alone. . . Actually I see quite a few of the mid 80's full size Blazers running around Oklahoma City, but I haven't found a forum that specializes in the "great old ones."

Just a thought, have you contacted Edlebrock? This can't be a unique problem.

Out of curiosity, what engine do you have? Mine is the hated 305, to be replaced with a 350 when one becomes available at an affordable price. Transmission is same as yours. Good luck! CB

I have a 1986 Blazer with 700R4. I have put 3 new trannys in it. Two of them broke in half after the output shaft housing. One I burned up towing in OD OOOpps.

Does the tranny slip at all? Or make and wierd noises?

I am looking in the chiltons mannual what size engine and is it set up for high or low altitude? I have vacuum diagrams maybe it will have the right vaccum line for the modulator valve.

Yea, It runs like a bat outa hell in first gear :evillol: but thats it....I tried it out the other day after I tried moving a vaccume line and I tried shifting down through the gears...when I put it in first it geared down but I never could tell it went into second...unless shifting into first puts it in a lower range.

This modular gimmic runs off of vaccume huh....vaccume has been a problem with this truck since day 1 1992...witch is the reason I ripped all that crap off in the first place....it was just the fickle finger of fate that made it a califonia emmisions vehical to torture me to no end.

I love this truck...it was my first 4x4 and not my last blazer to be sure but the old gal has a place in my wallet...er...did I say wallet...I ment my heart.

Yes to the 305...my plan also is to put a beefed up 350...maybe even a stroked one in her and then rebuild the 305 and drop it in a s10 that I own.

I just want to build on this truck till I get it the way I want it before I die and get burried in it.

I don't think altitude would have anything to do with it as it ran pretty good for years...save some broken vaccume lines...and the fact that I ripped the quadrajunk carb off of it.

And last but not least...no I have'nt gotten in touch with edelbrock because I don't think its a carb problem....but stranger things have happened. Thanks Guys keep it comming.

:banghead: Deran :banghead:

Deran--I suspect operating the transmission as you described has put an internal hoodoo on it. Here is what the '84 Chevy shop manual says it could be (under 1st gear range only--no upshift).

Governor assembly: governor valve sticking; gov driven gear (gdg) loose or damaged; gdg retaning pin missing; nicks or burrs on gov sleeve or case bore; gov support pin in case too long or short; gov weights or springs missing, binding, or damaged.

Valve body: 1-2 shift valve sticking; spacer plate or gaskets mispositioned or damaged

case: case to valve body face not flat or damaged; gov screen restricted or damaged

2-4 servo assembly: restricted or blocked apply passages in case; nicks or burrs on servo pin or pin bore in case; missing or damaged piston or pin seals; 4th servo piston in backwards

2-4 band assembly: 2-4 band worn or damaged; band anchor pin not engaged

It may be something external, and I don't feel qualified to guess what it is. The above is from the big shop manual. CB

I have na 83 full size that originally had a 6.2 in it, i took it out after 370,000 miles and built a 305, I know go ahead and laugh, but the only vacuum lines on mine are for the vacuum advance and the heater control, nothing else, and mine has a 700r. Sounds like tranny problems to me. Oh by the way my 305 is pushing about 380 horses. So it really is no laughing matter especially if you think about the 16 mpg i get that the 350 won't find, especially if you build it a little.