Iroc-Z - Hope Not Lost??

those who know I fried my tranny twice say 'I'

WRONG!!! My dad checked the ATF fluid again and it's red on the second one, so there's still hope. But it acts like it's frying, and the other one most certainly did (dk brown atf fluid). I was about to torch it myself (so close), when yesterday I was at an indoor Car and Bike show and I started to talk to the guy standing next to a black chevelle with airbrushed flames on it, thinking they must know what they're talking about.

My dad brought up the fact that my Iroc's not working, I didn't care much and infact almost asked him to stop talking. He said his friend knows camaros, so he called him over. The new guy said 700R4s that aren't modified have problems all the time, and when I explained to him what mine was doing, he said something no one on AF mentioned, the computer is giving it the wrong signals/commands. It blew my mind, you ever hear of this?

700R4's aren't computer controlled trannys. They use hydraulic pressures to know when to shift and lock up.

http://www.bowtieoverdrives.com/catalog/catalog.php?Action=GETSUBCAT&CATID=O

What was the problem you was having?

Ive rebuilt several 700r4's. I might have seen the problem you are having before.

Well ECM lock up feature is just done to let the tranny know it met the condition for lock up. This is done so it wouldn't engage while stopped where it would stall the engine or basically any speed below 30 MPH but it would still need the hydraulic pressure to create lock up.

Ive seen them get shorted out and engauge lockup when they wasnt supposed to. Ive also seen them act up until they get warmed up , or act up when they get hot. Those types of problems usually are within the valve body or gov.

I watched a friend put three 700r4's in a chevy truck, they blew out one after the other before he figuried out the rear axle had a problem. Fourth times a charm.

Ive seen them get shorted out and engauge lockup when they wasnt supposed to. Ive also seen them act up until they get warmed up , or act up when they get hot. Those types of problems usually are within the valve body or gov.

I watched a friend put three 700r4's in a chevy truck, they blew out one after the other before he figuried out the rear axle had a problem. Fourth times a charm.

That sounds just like what I was doing. It will accelerate and shift till 30mph then it slows down and won't shift. This has happened twice on seperate trannies.

I'm so tired of this problem and I know formula might be also, because he's moderated every thread I had about this lol. If the transmission is still technically not fried, how much would a garage charge me to fix it, once and for all? I obviously can't do anything about it myself anymore...can I? I can't right? So how much? Ballpark estimate?

If the problem is in the valve body, the parts and labor will run like $150.00-$300.00.

Will it come out of first and go into second at all. What all gears does it have? I still dont really understand what its doing. Throw a link to the old thread about it, or describe what its doing.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=588546

That would be it.

The way you described the sluggish performance made me think the rear axle has a problem. A friend of mine as i said, put several transmissions in a chevy truck, and they kept failing one after the other. We couldnt figure it out the rebuilds were always the same scenario as all the rest. We never had one come back with a problem after it was built. But with this truck, it just ate them. And as for the performance, it felt like it was holding back or somthing. Until he figured out the rear axle was bad. I dont recall how he figured that part out but after it was replaced the very next transmission worked perfect and didnt fail up until the time he traded it in for a gxp.



The way you said it gets worse and worse made me think of the governor.

I would get a transgo shift kit and kit the valve body. Even if you end up having to rebuild the transmission, at least the valve body will be good to go. Dont get a high performance one, just a regular kit that way it works exactly the way its intended and you dont have to modify anything.

The kit will come with a few selections of how you want it to act as in its natural shift points ect.. The kit will come with new governor springs and everything you would need to get it shifting right when it comes to the valve body.

Check the governor close for wear. Ive seen them look a little rough and cause shifting problems like that. Ive replaced only the governor in some and it completely fix the problem . Ive seen them many times be the reason for late or no shifts. I put the wrong governor springs in mine and it shifted exactly the way you described. I took it back out and put some of the other springs the kit came with in it and now it shifts pretty good.

EDIT: the kit also comes with detailed instructions.

I drove it for 2 full weeks and then it happened right away, any idea what would have been the catalyst?

Well if the gov. all the sudden got a single grain of dirt in it, or just decided to stick or just plain take a dump, it very well could have been the catalyst.

Its really hard to say without actually having my hands on it. I would go through each thing one at a time until you find somthing that isnt right.

It could be the torque converter or the axle too considering the performance problem along with it.

Ive heard it a lot that the problem just suddenly presented itself and the things ive mentioned cured them without a total rebuild in most cases. Some just have to be rebuilt plain and simple, others just get a sticking valve or other valve body problems like seals and have to be gone through. A single piece of dirt or crud in the valve body or gov will end all the fun.

Has anybody else looked at it like a transmission shop or anything, since the problem started?

its the canooter valve

There are stll a ton of unanswered questions, and contradicting statements to this whole problem, which I still don't think is the trans.

One thread the fluid is brown and burnt, the next it's pink and fine :dunno:

I was wondering if the same torque converter found its way onto the second transmission. If it had some left over crud inside it from the last transmission that failed, it could have sent crap throughout the transmission, eventually causing problems.

I was wondering if the same torque converter found its way onto the second transmission. If it had some left over crud inside it from the last transmission that failed, it could have sent crap throughout the transmission, eventually causing problems.

Agreed, plus initial indications were there was not enough ATF filled in the second trans. Plus, not only the T/C but don't most IROC Z have the remote cooler that holds a bit too?

Agreed, plus initial indications were there was not enough ATF filled in the second trans. Plus, not only the T/C but don't most IROC Z have the remote cooler that holds a bit too?

Im not sure on that one, i believe the irocs had a oil cooler and power steering cooler, but all the third gens ive seen (stock) have the two lines that run to the radiator too cool the transmission. I could be wrong tho maybe some gen 3 iroc owners will chime in and give a better answer to that question.

700r4 have their sensativities and all, but for the most part if the one who rebuilds them knows what they are doing, they are fairly problem free. But they are real sensative to filth. When i rebuild those i usually clear the old fluid out of the cooler lines and replace the torque converter. On occasion if the problem is just normal wear and no actual metal was lost i will drill a small hole in the converter and drain it, then weld back over the hole and grind it flat if the owner simply cannot afford a new t/c. I dont like doing that but if its the only option you have i feel it best to at least drain it than hook it back up to a tranny with a gallon of spent fluid inside of it.

Back to what dyno was saying, the clean fluid is a good sign but was a magnet put inside the bottom of the pan to draw out metal shavings? If so did it have anything stuck to it when the pan was dropped?

What was on the filter, any metal or obvious pieces of clutch material or anything?

I didn't even check the old filter, the magnet didn't have any shvings in the new transmission.

No trans coolers on any 3rd gens from the factory. They did have a power steering cooler....a simple metal tube that ran a loop across the front of the car above the front sway bar.

No trans coolers on any 3rd gens from the factory. They did have a power steering cooler....a simple metal tube that ran a loop across the front of the car above the front sway bar.

Except the tranny cooler built into the radiator. Did the irocs have a oil cooler?

dyno247365 : did you re-use the torque converter?

Except the tranny cooler built into the radiator. Did the irocs have a oil cooler?

Some did, it was an option

Except the tranny cooler built into the radiator. Did the irocs have a oil cooler?

dyno247365 : did you re-use the torque converter?

That's the weirdest part about this predicament, it's the new TC on there. Why in the name of John Force would both transmissions act exactly the same but one didn't fry the oil. I removed the dark oil from the pan (old one) and then drove it again, same thing, and it was just as dark, so THEN we get the new tranny on there and it does THE SAME THING, DIFFERENT TRANNY but we take the trans pan off and it's red. Are you starting to grip why I hate this transmission and have a hard time understanding why people love it and use it for drag racing? I'll take it to a specialist to get it fixed, hopefully 150-300 (nice low cost) but I even have a feeling they're going to screw me over on it so I ask, is there anything else I can do?

Alright, so what about the TV cable adjustment?

I'll ask them to do that too, the thread is BACK. I'm going to ask some shops what I should do and figure out who I'll trust with my problem child.

I'll ask them to do that too, the thread is BACK. I'm going to ask some shops what I should do and figure out who I'll trust with my problem child.

As much as your spending on AOD's, maybe it would be more cost effective in the long run to convert it to a std.

If the actual transmission case is bad you can put whatever parts inside of it, and it still will not work right.

I don't think it would be cheaper Hotrod, but I would love a standard.

In the spirit of it still being an automatic, I went to a transmission place today and talked to an expert. You know what he said? It's probably the Cat!! the catalytic converter will restrict power and the transmission won't want to shift. If I had originally left bad fluid in the first transmission and that caused problems, it would be more like the gears were slipping. I want to get AF's opinion.

I thought of that but didnt say anything, because you said that it worked fine for two weeks, then messed up again. When a catcon starts resticting exhaust flow it usually just stays that way so i didnt figure that was the problem.

He said it was that way because when my family and I replaced the transmission, they did the same thing. That could also be the TV cable adjustment, or it could be both. This means, it's probably not on the transmission itself.