Help !!!

[CapriceBoy214]

Hi guys !!! Well I have a 1989 Chevy Caprice and a couple of questions. Today I took my vinyl top off and I notice some holes where screws had been at on the Bottom of the C pillar I believe. How could I fill in those holes ?? Secondly, everytime I turn on my A/C my car start sputtering or skipping and the air only blows from the bottom vents. And finally, In my Caprice I have a 350 with a 200-4r tranny, & at this point I would really like to swap the tranny because this is the 2nd time it has been rebuilt and end up being broke a few months down the road . Would a 700r4 be a direct fit ? I like the overdrive but the 200-4r has just given me plain hell !!! And no, I dont abuse my car at all. I know this is an overload of questions, but could you guys please help a brotha out ?? Thanks...

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by CapriceBoy214

Hi guys !!! Well I have a 1989 Chevy Caprice and a couple of questions. Today I took my vinyl top off and I notice some holes where screws had been at on the Bottom of the C pillar I believe. How could I fill in those holes ?? Secondly, everytime I turn on my A/C my car start sputtering or skipping and the air only blows from the bottom vents. And finally, In my Caprice I have a 350 with a 200-4r tranny, & at this point I would really like to swap the tranny because this is the 2nd time it has been rebuilt and end up being broke a few months down the road . Would a 700r4 be a direct fit ? I like the overdrive but the 200-4r has just given me plain hell !!! And no, I dont abuse my car at all. I know this is an overload of questions, but could you guys please help a brotha out ?? Thanks...

700R4 can be installed in place of the 2004R - HOWEVER!!! - you will need a driveshaft that is 1" shorter and you will need a new crossmember for the 700R4 _unless_ you get a 700R4 that has a mount on the tailshaft housing (in which case it can mount using the 2004R x-member). The throttle valve cable is the same for both transmissions - and make sure you make that crucial TV cable adjustment afterward.

The A/C issue can be a couple of things. First, if the car sputters when it kicks on, check the operation of the idle speed solenoid on the carburetor. Of course, being a 1989 this won't have a carb (unless it's a wagon), so check the function of the idle air control (IAC) solenoid, mounted on the throttle body. Second, for the air coming out of the bottom vents only, trace all of your vacuum lines from under the dash all the way to the heater valve and storage canister *orb* on the firewall. Also, check the hose from that orb to the intake manifold. These cars use hard line for most of this and this stuff gets old and brittle, and can break in multiple places. What I do on mine is bridge the break with a small piece of vacuum hose, sized to fit the hard line (3/32" I believe).

Those screw holes - what I do is sand the paint off, dent them inward a little (so the burrs don't poke through the bondo - next step), and then bondo them.

[Blt2Lst]

Originally Posted by CapriceBoy214

Hi guys !!! Well I have a 1989 Chevy Caprice and a couple of questions. Today I took my vinyl top off and I notice some holes where screws had been at on the Bottom of the C pillar I believe. How could I fill in those holes ?? Secondly, everytime I turn on my A/C my car start sputtering or skipping and the air only blows from the bottom vents. And finally, In my Caprice I have a 350 with a 200-4r tranny, & at this point I would really like to swap the tranny because this is the 2nd time it has been rebuilt and end up being broke a few months down the road . Would a 700r4 be a direct fit ? I like the overdrive but the 200-4r has just given me plain hell !!! And no, I dont abuse my car at all. I know this is an overload of questions, but could you guys please help a brotha out ?? Thanks...

I have the original 200r4 trans in my 89 wagon with 105000 miles on it.
I have installed a b&m shift kit 40000 miles ago and it seems to work great. Hope to get another 20-30k out of it before rebuild time.
I have read other posts saying this is a good trans and i believe it has a lower 1st gear than the 700r4.
I have also read that a gm factory replacement trans is the way to go although I think they are a little pricey ($1500-$2000) but come with a factory warranty.
Just make sure the TV cable is adjusted properly or it will not shift correctly.

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by Blt2Lst

I have the original 200r4 trans in my 89 wagon with 105000 miles on it.
I have installed a b&m shift kit 40000 miles ago and it seems to work great. Hope to get another 20-30k out of it before rebuild time.
I have read other posts saying this is a good trans and i believe it has a lower 1st gear than the 700r4.
I have also read that a gm factory replacement trans is the way to go although I think they are a little pricey ($1500-$2000) but come with a factory warranty.
Just make sure the TV cable is adjusted properly or it will not shift correctly.

Backwards ... the 700R4 is the one with the killer first gear (3.06:1). I've got firsthand experience that a factory 2004R will NOT live behind a mild performance built 350, as I experienced with my own car. Aside from a reaction sun shell failure, I've not had any problems whatsoever with the factory 700R4 behind the same engine. I have noticed, however, that the 1-2 accumulator spring likes to break in these - every single one I've pulled apart had a broken spring in it. Symptoms of a broken 1-2 accumulator spring include a soft 1-2 shift especially under power.

[Blt2Lst]

Originally Posted by silicon212

Backwards ... the 700R4 is the one with the killer first gear (3.06:1).

I stand corrected........

My cars not pushing much in the way of power so thats probably why my stock 200r4 is holding up. Watch it go now that I said that..

However they do use the 200r4 for performance applications I guess with the proper upgrades. Art Carr transmissions in calif specialize in them. There was some mention as to the advantage of them but i'm not sure what is was. Oh yeah, I think they are dimensionally the same as the th400-350 for easy swaps, although i could be wrong about that also..
http://www.cpttransmission.com/