Problems with my 88 Caprice Tranny.. My Fix did not solve the problem.

I am new to the forum... I hope you guys can help me. I Posted my problem awhile back on the Forums and i got some posts confirming that people thought my problem was with the transmission control solenoid. I have a recap of the previous post here at the END of this thread to give you an idea about what I am dealing with. My main concern now is that I changed out the Solenoid this weekend, but I still have the same problem. The car seems to shutter less than it did before, but the shutter is not completely gone. So now I Have no Idea what to do. It may not even be any better as the part was just changed and I have not had ample time to drive it 100 miles.

My tranny has a square pan so Its a 7004r Right?

It has over drive, drive, D1, and D2 on the column. I had to take the pan off twice this weeked as the people from autozone thought I had the other tranny(400-4r). and the solenoid I got is installed with shims with the 400-4r and without shims on the 700-4r. I installed it both ways and got the shudder with both. The shims are washers that install between the solenoid bracket and the tranny case (in effect it spaces the solenoid down about an 1/8" or lowers the solenoid about 1/8")

I purchased the Rosta Transmission Sloenoid 52-0203 from autozone $29.99
Could the solenoid be bad? Is this the correct solenoid for my Transmission? could the tranny still act funny if the connections were not made correctly? I have the correct wires hooked together, but I have never used the screw type connectors provided with the Rosta Solenoid. I was not able to get the connectors to completely screw in. The wires would not pull apart, but it worries me that the connectors did not screw all the way down like the instuctions told me they should. Can I use regular crimp connections for those wires in the tranny pan?


Also how is the TCC suppose to fit inside the tranny. When I put the new one in.. I kinda had to push it through a opening that had alittle resistance once past the resistance I had to push it up another 1/4"-1/2" or so to attach the mounting bracket. I wonder if the solenoid is suppose to make a seal with the opening that I had to push it up through? I have no idea I am just trying to describe everything so I can get a Good answer... I am much better at pulling the tranny pan now, but I really do not want to have pull it 6 more times... Any help you guys can give me would be great.

I guess the main thing I need to figure out is whether I have the tranny identified correctly and if the part I have is the correct one. I went to the Rosta Transmission Solenoid Website http://www.rostra.com/ and found that they also have a anti-bleed type solenoid for this kind of tranny. Do I need that one?


Thank you very much.

I have a 1988 caprice 4.3L TBI with 130k miles. My main problem with the car is that lately I have been getting a shutter in the car when starting from a complete stop or when getting on the highway. The car looses power and acts like the car is going to die and I have to completely let off the gas and then try to accelerate again...
Sometimes I must let off the gas like 5 or 6 times to get the car to
stop acting this way or once I get the car up to about 35-45mph.

I had a similar problem with my 95 northstar seville, VIN Y, before it completely died on me. I have no idea what the problem is, but I wouldn't drive it that much unless you want to put a new tranny in (way cheaper in your case...) I also have the invalid signal to TCC code and now the car wont move at all. Of course, the caddy dealership wants $3000 for a tranny with 100k+ miles on it. Im sure you can probably find a nice used tranny for about $200. In my case, I can rarely find one under $1000. If I do find one cheaper, I am skeptikal to buy. I found a tranny on ebay for around $500 including shipping and 1 year warranty ($400 with only 3mo warranty). Does anyone think it would be a good tranny? It only has 55k miles, comes from a deville that was rear ended and was checked before it was pulled out. The seller has great feedback, but I know feedback can be deceiving... I think you should take that thing to the shop unless you are good under the hood. = ) Thats just my opinion though.

I really do not want to install a new tranny if i don't have to. I want to find out more info about the solenoid... As I think That is were the problem is.

I have an 89 with a 305TBI and the TH2004R tranny in it. My problem with my soleniod was that it would not disengage the lock up. After cruising above 45 mph or so, and then slow down to a stop it would stall the car. When I would start it back up, it would be fine but then repeat itself. I disconnected the wiring harness going to the driver side of the tranny that controlled the solenoid. This deleted the lock up function and it has been fine since. In my case I should replace it ( the solenoid) since it will waste gas and create more heat, but in my 3 mile commute to work, there is no real rush. Unplug it and see what happens, but I'm thinking you may have a bad torque converter, again I just think. I'm no trans expert. Will it shutter when taking off with the selector in the d1 postion?

I did get the shutter in both OD and Drive, but it seems to happen more often in OD.... However, I have some new light to shed on the situation. I think I may have fixed the problem by changing out my plugs and wires... I drove it 45 miles this morning (1 way commute to work) with no trouble. I did not even think of changing my wires/plugs, becasue I thought I had done that when I got the car. I was checking the vac. lines and noticed that I had two different types of wires on the car... So I know I never did replace them.

Right now I am hoping it really is fixed so I don't have to take another Tranny fluid shower.

I did get the shutter in both OD and Drive, but it seems to happen more often in OD.... However, I have some new light to shed on the situation. I think I may have fixed the problem by changing out my plugs and wires... I drive it 45 miles this morning (1 way commute to work) with no trouble. I did not even think of changing my wires/plugs, becasue I thought I had done that when I got the car. I was checking the vac. lines and noticed that I had two different types of wires on the car... So I know I never did replace them.

Right now I hoping it really is fixed so I don't have to take another Tranny fluid shower.

yea, bad plugs and wires will definitely make you think there is something seriously wrong with your car. Tricked me into getting a new exhaust, lol. ( I needed a new one anyways).