I had noticed that the gears are slipping 2-3 & 3-4, engine revs like in neutral while shifting (700r4). So I took my rig to the tranny shop today for fluid/filter change hoping to maybe prolong the inevitable for a couple of miles.

But they didn't even want to change the fluid,said it might actually cause more problems given the state the transmission is in. Does this make sense?

They offered to rebuild it for between $1300 and $2000 depending on what parts are worn out. Is this in the ballpark of the going rate.

Thanks for any answers!

(Ok, price was for rebuild stronger than original plus install)

They should be able to rebuild it for 1k even, a little more if they install it etc.

If not, go elsewhere to someone who knows the 700.

They're right though, it ain't gonna help changing the fluid at this part of the game.

Here in Canada i was able to buy a reman 700R4 and converter for $700 with the exchange tranny from a tranny rebuild shop 7 years ago.After 300,000K the beast keeps going.It could blow up tommorrow,but it keeps on chug'in.The fluid is still a pink/red color so everything is still in tip top condition.:)

I'd definately shop around for a better bargain.

Yup, the 700's are going down in price as interest wanes. The 4L80E is the most popular, right now and carries the higher price. Add the cost of changeover and the price almost doubles.

The 700 should be able to be rebuilt by a competent shop for under a thousand. If it needs so many hard parts that the price exceeds the thousand, they should part it out and start with a fresh core.

If you wanted to "beef it up", with all the latest and greatest, whiz-bang stuff, look to pay near the $2000 figure. A slightly improved, quality rebuild is in the $1000 range.

I talked to another shop. They didn't do rebuilds, but wanted $650 just to install a transmission. I've seen 700r4s on ebay from between $550 and $2000 plus freight.

How much trouble is it to install one yourself. It seems like you want to jack your car up so you can stand under it and then you need a special jack for the transmission itself plus god knows whatever other special tools. Not to mention a certain amount of skill.

Well, when I was looking at rebuilds a few months back the cheapest local shop I could find was like $1700. I am sure that prices vary with location.

$650 to install a transmission is insane. If that is the going rate I am going to quit my job and start installing transmissions...

Installing a transmission isn't too bad. It's kind of painful and dirty, but it isn't complicated. I once swapped mine working alone in the driveway with no special tools (or transmission jack) and without jacking the truck up. It only took a couple hours. I wouldn't recommend doing it this way unless you are quite comfortable lifting heavy stuff while in a very uncomfortable position (you kind of have to lay under the truck and lift the tranny with one hand and put the mounting bolts in with the other - I found a plain old floor jack quite helpful the second time I did it), but it can be done. Two people would make the job pretty simple.

If you do install the tranny yourself, just make sure that you never let the torque converter slide forward during the install (or fall off)... If you do and you aren't careful when you slide it back on you can destroy the pump on the tranny. You'll fire the truck up with its new tranny and it'll suddenly have a knock... 150 miles later you'll be stranded on the side of the road with a truck that runs fine and no longer knocks, but won't move in any direction under its own power and needs a new tranny. Been there, done that. Never did it again... ):h

EDIT: By the way, the shop is definitely right... It's time for a new tranny. Fluid changes do pretty much nothing for a tranny when it is too late. I have heard that sometimes additives can help, but I have never tried it so I don't know.

You might try some no-slip fluid you can get from autozone. I'm not sure it if will help, but I do know the stuff runs slower than molasses in wintertime, and that's during the summer in Texas.

Lucas Trans additive. works good, doesn't fix everything, but worth a try.

well mine is in the shop right now for a rebuild. its a friend of a friend so i know im getting it done right. i will be paying 1200 and that is for everything. they drop and re install it. oh and its probably too late for any type of additive... it may get you to the trans shop but not much further.

Lucas Trans additive. works good, doesn't fix everything, but worth a try.

x2. lucas additive will fix a lot of problems...just as long as the clutch packs aren't down to bare metal :D

Don't forget to flush the cooler and lines very well before installing the new unit. They will be contaminated from the old trans and and damage or cause the rebuilt unit to fail prematurely.

Flush with clean solvent/mineral spirits. I have an electric fuel pump with inline filter pop-rivited to the lid of a five gallon bucket. I fill the bucket 2/3rds full of clean solvent, hook hoses from the outlet of the pump to one cooler line, the other cooler line is drained into a pan for disposal. I flush both lines, reversing direction half way through. After the fluid from the return line becomes clear, I direct it to the bucket and reuse it. The inline filter takes out the leftover junk. I run the pump for 10 - 15 minutes in each direction.

Thoroughly dry with compressed air. I hook an airline fitting to the cooler line, regulate the air pressure to 30#, run air through it for a few minutes, reverse the connection to the other line and repeat. Make sure its fairly dry as the solvent could swell trans seals if it had a large amount left in the cooler. Just blowing air through the cooler will remove most of the solvent, if you're in doubt about it, squirt some clean trans fluid into the lines and blow air through them to coat the internal cooler surfaces.

Improper flushing of the cooler has caused many premature trans failures. Do not neglect this important step in your trans replacement.

Well this is definatly not a permanent fix, or really advisable but you could try putting some saw dust in the tranny :p:
But seriously, your tranny in all likelyhood is toast, the other guys are right its time for a rebuild/ new tranny. Honestly if it were my trans. i would rebuild it myself. Get a good book on the 700r4, or a video if you can find one watch/ read it and take notes. Transmission have a stigma about them for some reason. In all actuality they are easy to understand if you have a good mechanical understanding. I Build my first transmission for a friend of mine not to long ago, it was a Th350. Read the book, took notes and took my time. Its been about 6 months and so far it is holding up well. Either way good luck with it and i hope you get it worked out. Oh yeah if you do it yourself, TAKE YOUR TIME and use a master overhaul kit. Should cost you less then 300 in parts provided you dont have and broken hard parts. With the 700 it wouldnt be a bad idea to use a valve body spring out of a corvette it stiffens up the shifts and it takes less time to shift so ive heard.(less time per shift =less slippage) Good Luck with it.

LJ

Honestly if it were my trans. i would rebuild it myself.

Me too. Of course, we all remember my 700R4 fiasco... But if I had spent the money and the time I could have built an awesome transmission. They are really quite simple inside, although it isn't something you want to attempt if you don't have much mechanical background.

"They are really quite simple inside, although it isn't something you want to attempt if you don't have much mechanical background" Yeah your right about that High Sierra. I didn't think about that. By the way how is your NV3500 working out behind the diesel?

LJ

By the way how is your NV3500 working out behind the diesel?


Great... No problems whatsoever (although the throwout bearing is rattling a little - guess I should have bought a new one). :cool: I've been driving 300 miles a week, often loaded heavy with steel, and I love it. :)

I did mine by myself about a year and a half ago. I did buy a transmission jack and that really helped. Less than $100 bucks at harbor freight for a pretty good one.

I got enough confidence from the 700r4 in the Suburban to replace the transaxle in the 93 Dodge Intrepid when it bit the dust. Evidently those Chrysler transaxles have a high failure rate. That job was a little more complex but not overly hard.

I was able to pick up a nice beefed 4th Gear rebuild from a local guy who gave up on a project he was putting together. Tranny has been great. Put the torque converter switch in also.

I was getting quoted high numbers in my area. $500 to R&R and most shops I actually talked to were around $2,000 to R&R and rebuild. I'm into it doing myself for about $900 total.

BTW- I, too, tried the fluid change and additives. Just wasted $75 I could have used for anything else.

Good luck.

When my 700R4 went, (no more reverse and slipping 3&4), I bought a rebuild kit from NAPA for $175. I then spent a saturday in the garage pulling, rebuilding, and installing the tranny. Not exactly what I wanted to do on a saturday but it beats paying $1000 or more for a shop to do it. I also have the added benefit of knowing it is done correctly with new parts. Not that a shop would reuse any old parts from your tranny.:rolleyes: All total with fluids, filter, and shift kit I spent around $250.

Try lucas trans additive. I've SEEN the difference it can make. It wouldn't hurt.

(I had a duramax that I slipped once, watching the edge unit it would sometimes jump to 1% slippage, after adding the lucas oil I never got over 0.7% slippage. And that .7% is electrical noise from what I've read)

Then I'd look at the rebuild route. Kits are only about $200.