200-4R won't shift into 3rd or overdrive...

N

nothingman

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2012
After rebuilding the carb and turbo, removing emission, cleaning, etc. etc.... I've been driving my 83 T for about 2-3 weeks, only about 50 miles a week and not beating on her either. Maybe a brake torque or two. I checked the trans fluid a few days ago and it looked a little low so I added less than half a quart which brought it up to full... didn't realize till later that the car was not level and the land was leaning to the drivers side so I over filled the trans but not by a lot. Must have been a day or two later that the trans wouldn't shift into 3rd or overdrive. Remembering my brake torque burnout a few days earlier I thought maybe the trans tossed the governor spring so I dropped the pan this morning and no spring in the pan... Plus the fluid was not as dark nor did it smell as bad as I'd expect if the clutches were burnt. I've attached some pics to show the fluid, filter and trans with pan and governor removed. Also while I have the pan off are there any upgrades I can do if the repair is easy enough? I am under time constraints as I leave the state in about a week and won't be back to my t-type for about two months :(

Haven't done much trans work myself and I don't have the access to a shop or the money for a shop to work on it, just a carport in a shitty neighborhood. Any help would be appreciated, thanks folks!

filter.jpgfilterbright.jpgtrans.jpgtranspan.jpg
 
Does it just stay in 2nd?
Or is 3rd like Neutral?
Tried manually shifting?
TV Cable adjusted correctly?
 
It kind of feels like it just stays in second but a few times 3rd felt like neutral until I got the RPM up... Manual shifting will not work, same results. I checked the TV cable last night and it appeared to be adjusted correctly... I've really no idea where to start trouble shooting?
 
 
Bummer, guess I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions now with the pan being off and the fluid drained... Is there anyway I can run tests with the pan off, visual or other? guess i could bolt the pan back up with the old gasket and run the tests?
 
Can't run it with the Pan off, would be no fluid for lube or pressure. Just filter the old fluid & use it for Pr. tests.
You can check to make sure the TV Cable is completely depressing the TV Plunger in the Valvebody @WOT while Pan's off.
 
That trans looks like it has a lot of miles on it. Make sure you clean the pan before you put it back together.
 
the trans actually only has about 72k on it... does anyone have a picture of where i should be looking for the tv plunger? been googling it's location can't seem to find a good view of it... thanks again
 
nothingman said:
the trans actually only has about 72k on it... does anyone have a picture of where i should be looking for the tv plunger? been googling it's location can't seem to find a good view of it... thanks again
Click to expand...
Have someone move the gas pedal up and down while you are looking at the trans,
you will see it moving back and forth if the cable isn't broken!
It also looks like you got water or moisture in the bottom of the pan, those spots with no red color in them.
 
ok i'll see if i can get a helper... the moisture must be from the previous owner, could that have burned up the trans? also heard that if the trans is over filled with fluid it could foam the fluid up... could that have damaged the clutches or be responsible for not shifting?
 
nothingman said:
ok i'll see if i can get a helper... the moisture must be from the previous owner, could that have burned up the trans? also heard that if the trans is over filled with fluid it could foam the fluid up... could that have damaged the clutches or be responsible for not shifting?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't blame him for the water, if that's what it is. It can accumulate moisture just from sitting for long periods of time. Plus you said it didn't smell burned and no clutch material in the pan?
From the pic you have taken of the trans,I can see 1 clutch pack assembly and the plates look separated evenly so at least those aren't burned up. They may be the reverse plates.
See if you can locate other clutch packs in the trans by looking thru some slots or small open areas in the valve body, sometimes you can see them.
 
Nice pics! Looks like you do the same thing I did 40 years ago when I started
rebuilding automatics, take pics as you disassemble them to look at later if needed.
;)
 
ok so before i put it back together for pressure checking i snapped some more pics... but i've no idea when it comes to the inner workings of the trans; my knowledge is limited to this is a valve body, place where the governor goes, speed-o gear and possibly clutches plates... so some of these pics may be useless. one pic is of my helper(who happens to be my 86 yr old grandmother) to pull on the carb linkage to see the tv plunger moving also couple pics of that. any input would be much appreciated. thanks all!

closeupcluthes.jpgclutchesclose.jpgclutchesoverall.jpggovernorspace.jpgin.jpgout.jpgoutdistance.jpggovernor.jpggovernorspring.jpggrams.jpg
 
That's not a brf governor. What did you say you are working with?

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It also has a green speedo driven gear which isn't right for a 3.42. That wouldn't cause any shifting problems though. If the car still has a strong reverse range then the direct clutch, used for third as well, is still with us. At that point I'd suspect a sticking 2-3 shift valve assembly in the valve body as a possible culprit.
 
thought it was a stock 1983 buick t-type but i should have known something this classic is never stock lol. deem, wonder how it got the wrong governor in it.... What governor should it have, do you know is this governor from a non-turbo 200-4r or something? what color speedo gear should it have? that is how i would describe the feeling when i drove it, felt like it was just about to shift into 3rd but never did :(
 
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