Poor Shift Quality

[OldsSW]

I have a stock '85 Olds 307 "Y" with a factory TH200-4R behind it. This car is just my daily driver, and I don't intend on modifying, as thus far it is a very cheap and very reliable ride. However, I am getting sick of the poor shift quality of my TH200-4R. I know that in stock form (especially the non hi-po versions like mine) these trannies don't have the greatest shift qaulity, but this one is shifting a lot worse than it used to.

Right now, the 1-2 shift is usually good under all conditions, but the 2-3 and 3-4 shifts are terrible. Under very light throttle, the 2-3 shift is quick and relatively firm, and under WOT it is about the same. But at part throttle, this shift is slow and soft. It feels like the shift doesn't have enough line pressure or something. The 3-4 shift is very firm under all conditions but very slow. If I keep the car in drive and manually upshift the car at around 45mph it shifts much better, but when in OD and I let the auto shift in to OD at about 30 - 35 mph it is very slow and firm.

The TV cable has been recently adjusted and I did a tranny filter and fluid change about a year ago. I plan on doing another change soon. The fluid was pretty dirty when I did the filter change, so I am wondering if my valve body is dirty and sticking. Is there anything I can do to help improve the shift qaulity of my tranny? I think if it keeps shifting the way it does now, it's going to crap out on me. This tranny only has about 75K on it, and many of those were "old man" miles. So, I would like to see a lot more life out of this tranny.

[A. G. Olphart]

Sounds like you are due for a rebuild... Tranny fluid isn't like engine oil, which gets dirty as a matter of course. There should be no products of combustion involved, so any dirt/stray bits of crap is from friction facings, steels and hard parts. Not good. (You can see if the fluid on the dip stick smells burned- That's a good indicator of slippage).

Sure you weren't looking for a new car anyway?

[OldsSW]

Well, the tranny isn't slipping, the shifts are just slow. The WOT shifts are still good and firm and quick. If this thing were worn that badly, I would think that it would slip under full load. The tranny fluid was dirty, but it wasn't as bad as I have seen in many other trannys that still worked fine. It's still pretty red since the last change too.

In anycase, I am not looking for a new car anytime soon. I do have a couple of spare TH200-4R's but they're used and I was saving them for other cars. If this thing craps out on me, I can always swap one of them in, but I'd prefer not to do that. I'd be pretty disappointed if this thing died with only 75K on it.

Once the weather gets nicer around here, I will do a fluid and filter change again. The car still drives fine except for the crappy shifts, so I will drive it until the tranny dies. I was just hoping someone on here would be able to offer me some advice on anything that might be repairable to improve the shift qaulity.