Stuck in 1st Gear - 200r4

AKTURBOTA

Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2003
I have a 200r4 in an 89 Turbo Trans Am. I was going to drive my car to work Monday morning and when I got out of my subdivision onto the state highway the car would not shift and I was stuck in 1st gear. I checked the dipstick for fluid and it was about 1/2 quart low and didn't smell burnt. The transmission was rebuilt 20,000 miles ago and the car has 77,000 miles total. What could be the problem?
 
TV valve could be stuck. How far did you rev it up to in first before you figured it wasnt gonna shift?

Push the gas pedal WOT and release in quick motions 20 times in a row and that will free up a sticky TV valve most of the time.

Was it driving ok before/last time?
 
I drove it like a granny when I noticed that it wasn't going to shift. The car was shifting fine previous to being stuck in 1st.

I'll try to "unstick" the TV valve tonight. Hope it does the trick.
 
TV valve could be stuck. How far did you rev it up to in first before you figured it wasnt gonna shift?

Push the gas pedal WOT and release in quick motions 20 times in a row and that will free up a sticky TV valve most of the time.

Was it driving ok before/last time?

OH yeah and do this (the wot release) with the engine off:eek::biggrin:
 
Hey Mark

Funny thing Bro, Mine just did that Thrusday as well.

Not sure what it is, so I yanked the tranny and put in my a spare I had.

After getting the tranny out we noticed a whole lot of play in the output shaft, I mean like ALOT like, as in the tranny is hammerd. Not sure if that is your issue or not.

I was told that you might have some valves sticking and their is a snap clip on the side of the tranny that you can pull and be able to blow some aire in and clean some valves out that may be stuck. I dont know much about these so hopefully someone with some expertise will chim in.

PS. After doing my heads and finally getting them right + valve springs, the car is sick nasty fast!

Give me a call and catch up..

Den
 
After getting the tranny out we noticed a whole lot of play in the output shaft, I mean like ALOT like, as in the tranny is hammerd. Not sure if that is your issue or not.

A lot of side play in the output shaft is normal. The driveshaft yolk is what keeps it centered.
 
Funny thing Bro, Mine just did that Thrusday as well.

Not sure what it is, so I yanked the tranny and put in my a spare I had.

After getting the tranny out we noticed a whole lot of play in the output shaft, I mean like ALOT like, as in the tranny is hammerd. Not sure if that is your issue or not.

I was told that you might have some valves sticking and their is a snap clip on the side of the tranny that you can pull and be able to blow some aire in and clean some valves out that may be stuck. I dont know much about these so hopefully someone with some expertise will chim in.

PS. After doing my heads and finally getting them right + valve springs, the car is sick nasty fast!

Give me a call and catch up..

Den

Hi Dennis, I am glad to hear that your GN is running strong. These cars are really money hungry girl friends aren't they? I have yet to drop the transmission pan to see if that pesky governor spring is lying at the bottom...maybe this weekend. I'll give you call to catch up very soon.

Mark
 
Given my hectic work and family life I wasn't able to drop the transmission pan until this last weekend. I found the following:

1. Oil clean
2. Very little material clinging to the pan magnet.
3. No governor spring at the bottom of the pan.

What now? I might add that the morning that my car would not shift out of 1st gear it made an odd sound when I out movedd the shift lever out of park into reverse. It wasn't very loud but I felt it in the shift lever. It was one of those instances that something just didn't feel right.

I replaced the filter and added an drain plug to the trans pan. Presently I have the pan back on the transmission, but the bolts are finger tight. What should I do next to figure out what is wrong?

Frustrated in Alaska
 
With the car idling in Park. Remove the TV cable from the TB and pull it to full TV and then let it pop back several times.

IMO its either theTV valve stuck or the 1-2 shift valve. Bet its theTV though.,

If you cant get it to free up with the above mentioned. You ll have to drop the valve body and manually check/free them up.

Reason I say TV is when its stuck the pump is under load since the PSI's are maxed out.

In this situation the pump can groan/growl and then you will feel it when you shift to gear. Typically feels like it fighting against you..thats due to the elevated PSI.
 
I buttoned up the transmission filled it with transmission fluid and went for a drive. It shifted like before, but it felt like the TCC was not locking up. The next day I drove to work and 18 miles into the drive I lost all gears forward. I pulled over and the car revved, but it didn't move. I shut the car off and restarted, pulled the gear select into drive. It moved and I sped up to speedlimit. 30 seconds later, no forward motion...it revved freely. I pulled over and repeated the previous drill and this time only 15 seconds of forward motion. I called a tow truck and had the car towed to the transmission shop. It appears that the pump is losing its prime, or worse.

I have been told that something is broke and the trans needs to be pulled to determine what went wrong, and more than likely will need to be rebuilt. Ironically, I can't say why it is failing, but it is. It just would be nice to know for cause and effect. It is gonna be hard to get the wife to approve the $$$'s for this repair. The bill will probably start at $1,600 and up. I am up a creek without a paddle.
 
Did you make sure you got the old Filter neck seal out of Pump?
Use new seal on filter?
Sounds like the Pump is sucking air, not fluid.
 
I hope the shop you are getting it fixed at is up to date on these tranny's. I am only going by what i have been told that these tranny's are not your typical 200r4 model like in the monte ss or buick regal. I wish you luck with your problem and will be following on here. for what it's worth my transmission did the exact same thing @ the drag strip. it turned out that the tv cable slipped all the way forward coming off the line and the car wouldn't shift out of first. after adjusting the tv and driving around it eventually started shifting again, but the damage had been done. $2600.00 later it works awesome! again best of luck!! I hope it turns out good for you. Bill
 
I hope the shop you are getting it fixed at is up to date on these tranny's. I am only going by what i have been told that these tranny's are not your typical 200r4 model like in the monte ss or buick regal. I wish you luck with your problem and will be following on here. for what it's worth my transmission did the exact same thing @ the drag strip. it turned out that the tv cable slipped all the way forward coming off the line and the car wouldn't shift out of first. after adjusting the tv and driving around it eventually started shifting again, but the damage had been done. $2600.00 later it works awesome! again best of luck!! I hope it turns out good for you. Bill

If the TV exhaust Checkball & linkage were in place this shouldn't happen. Many remove these. The ATSG manual even recommends leaving the checkball out. :confused::rolleyes:
 
I buttoned up the transmission filled it with transmission fluid and went for a drive. It shifted like before, but it felt like the TCC was not locking up. The next day I drove to work and 18 miles into the drive I lost all gears forward. I pulled over and the car revved, but it didn't move. I shut the car off and restarted, pulled the gear select into drive. It moved and I sped up to speedlimit. 30 seconds later, no forward motion...it revved freely. I pulled over and repeated the previous drill and this time only 15 seconds of forward motion. I called a tow truck and had the car towed to the transmission shop. It appears that the pump is losing its prime, or worse.

I have been told that something is broke and the trans needs to be pulled to determine what went wrong, and more than likely will need to be rebuilt. Ironically, I can't say why it is failing, but it is. It just would be nice to know for cause and effect. It is gonna be hard to get the wife to approve the $$$'s for this repair. The bill will probably start at $1,600 and up. I am up a creek without a paddle.

Make sure they don't decide to "trade" your good (BRF?) parts (valve body, servo, etc.) for something else that will be less than satisfactory.
 
It appears that I have hard parts that are broken. Looks like the trans needs to be taken out of the car and gone through to assess what broke. This was a problem I sure didn't need at this point. I can live with getting the trans repaired and upgraded to better stand the abuse I intend to inflict on it at the dragstrip, but it will be a hard sell to my "non-car enthusiast" wife. Pray for me that I can sell this bill of goods to my wife. :rolleyes:

Mark
 
Top