700r4 slipping in reverse bandaid??

1988 700r4 is slipping in reverse, no problem in any forward gears......I know it probably needs a complete rebuild (reverse clutches toast) but I'd like to know of any bandaid that might help for the short term???

Thanks

 

I had one doing the same, was a first sign of failure. Reverse went first and then the 1st gear. I believe it may be the same clutch pack.

 

Yes, I know it's on the way out, just need to get a couple more weeks use out of it.

 

Just go forward. As long as everything on it is adjusted properly likely not much that can be done. Things never break when they are supposed to.

 

might be a bad accumulator piston spring or seal or something. might not need rebuilt.





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nada... if its slippin goin backwards... it gonna fail in the forward gear soon.

 

Ive heard a tea spoon of brake fluid will help. No more than that, to much and everything swells too much.

The brake fluid is a last resort before the rebuild. Ive never tried this, So if it scatters, dont blame me.

 

Have you checked fluid level, reverse is what shows low fluid level first, at least in my experience.

 

Fluid level is right on and the fluid is not dark and doesn't smell burnt.

 

It'll last for months with the reverse clutches burned up.
Watch where you park. If it works at all ,take it real slow at a high idle if you get in a jam .
If you really get desperate, rev it up good .The plates will kinda warp and weld themselves together.
Don't ask how I know all this!

 

check the filter to see if it's plugged,reverse will be the first to act up.

 

We are creatures of habit. I drove a car in the 1960s for two years that didn't go in backup. Just careful where I parked. If it's a spot that has to be backed out of, make sure it's uphill. After that, you'll learn to live without reverse.............

 

Yup. The low-reverse clutch is at the back end of the trans.

Why not rebuild it? It's only a hundred bucks for a kit, and they ain't hard to do. (I do about 2-3 per week!)

 

Well, the midsize and fullsize GM wagons used a 200R4 for one thing, the 700R4 made it into S10s and Camaro/Firebirds (Corvette too?) but that I know of did not go into the larger RWD cars - it was primarily a truck trans from 1982-up. The 1988-1991 trans is supposed to be about the best from the factory, and if you got 140K out of a 1982 trans you must have had an angel sitting on your shoulder the whole way.

My '89 has slipped reverse if you punch the gas very hard for probably as long as I had the truck. It still goes down the road fine, even with 54,000 miles of abuse and leaks on top of the 56,000 it had when I got it. I just retired it in favor of a '91, which the trans fluid is kind of brown on. It runs fine, it had an extra cooler on it (which decided to start leaking on me), so I'm thinking I might just change it or have it flushed and put a new filter in and let that be it.

If you look you can buy rebuilt 700R4's for as little as $700 or so - you could buy three for the price of that shop quote.

 

I've heard/done this before as well. Although I've always been told to use a half pint (or cup) of brake fluid to do the job.

My former Father-in-law had a 60s Dodge that he bought with a transmission that wouldn't shift out of 1st gear when he bought it. He added the brake fluid and drove it hard for 6 months shifting properly until it finally scattered from another reason (although I cannot remember what for).