400 to a 700r

[walkintall54]

what advantages are there to changing to a 700r?

[bpatrol]

overdrive, better mileage are the biggest.
bpatrol

[myyamr7]

Pros...overdrive

Cons...a terrible 1st to 2nd gear ratio
...will last about 1/3 the life of the 400
...expensive to rebuild when they do pop

In my opinion, if you want the older overdrive, go with the 200-4R. I put one in my truck and couldn't be happier. 4 normal gear ratio's with all good shift points, and the pro's say it's stronger than the 700R4. So far so good in my 71 c10 with e 402BB in front of it.

[67 chevelle]

Originally Posted by myyamr7

Pros...overdrive

Cons...a terrible 1st to 2nd gear ratio
...will last about 1/3 the life of the 400
...expensive to rebuild when they do pop

In my opinion, if you want the older overdrive, go with the 200-4R. I put one in my truck and couldn't be happier. 4 normal gear ratio's with all good shift points, and the pro's say it's stronger than the 700R4. So far so good in my 71 c10 with e 402BB in front of it.

Totally agree , I have 4 2004rs behind various vehicles they are awesome , only had one failure , and that was a huews torque converter , not the trany , but it messed up the trany during its destruction

[cwilkie]

Hard the beat a th400. I had a 700r4 and I went back to my th400. 1st and 2nd years were too low.

[WIDESIDE72]

Have you considered a gear vendors overdrive? One day I aspire to afford one and be able to overdrive every gear!

[Z10]

The 700r4 is a good transmission. Make sure you get one of the later ones which are greatly improved and much stronger. Mine is out of a 91 Corvette. The 200r can be built to be pretty strong but it will cost more to do it than a 700r. Check with a reputable transmission shop and get their opinion.

[bpatrol]

Totally agree with Z10 the 200r4 is the weakest overdrive transmission , much weaker then a 700r4 that's why the changed to it. 200r4 are light duty at best. They did put them in trucks but nor for very long. They do have a longer 1st gear benefit and its the exact size as a 350 transmission.
The 200r4 is rarer(not better) and more costly to build up.
good luck with whatever you do but most enjoy an over drive and would never go back to a 3 speed for daily driving
bpatrol

[olrosa]

BOWTIEOVERDRIVES.COM
you cant go wrong with these guys

[myyamr7]

Originally Posted by bpatrol

Totally agree with Z10 the 200r4 is the weakest overdrive transmission , much weaker then a 700r4 that's why the changed to it. 200r4 are light duty at best. They did put them in trucks but nor for very long. They do have a longer 1st gear benefit and its the exact size as a 350 transmission.
The 200r4 is rarer(not better) and more costly to build up.
good luck with whatever you do but most enjoy an over drive and would never go back to a 3 speed for daily driving
bpatrol

Art Carr, the overdrive drive pro says otherwise.
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...mission_build/

It was cheaper for me to have the 200 built than it was for the 700..and I bought the core off the guy that built it for another $50. The guy told me it took less upgrades to make the 200 take the power vs the 700, which is why it was cheaper

[GASoline71]

If it's behind a BBC then you'll need to have it beefed up to handle the TQ. Or stick with the TH400.

Gary

[GASoline71]

200-4R's were in cars like Turbo Buicks. I don't think there were any in trucks. But I could be wrong on the truck part.

The 700R4's got a bad rap when they first came out. But The General improved on them in a few years and they turned out to be a great OD transmission.

But... they do have their shortcomings in performance applications and behind big torque engines in stock form. They can be made to handle almost anything. But it will cost a pretty penny to have it done. It ain't cheap to rework a 200-4R either.

Gary

[cwilkie]

Gear vendors would be great to have. A th400 with a gear vendors would be my ideal set up.

[bpatrol]

I don't want to debate it. its a matter of choice
but please please take a look at the link and tell me which one looks stouter. In stock form
bpatrol

Art Carr is talking performance build. and just about any tranny is great with that. Im sure that 200r4 that was built wasn't too cheap.
a 400 with a gear overdrive is awesome but super pricey I believe and there is a 400 replacement with overdrive(but that would be for a high horsepower motor)

http://webrodder.com/article/700r4-v...-which-is-best

[Z10]

Originally Posted by bpatrol

I don't want to debate it. its a matter of choice
but please please take a look at the link and tell me which one looks stouter. In stock form
bpatrol

Art Carr is talking performance build. and just about any tranny is great with that. Im sure that 200r4 that was built wasn't too cheap.
a 400 with a gear overdrive is awesome but super pricey I believe and there is a 400 replacement with overdrive(but that would be for a high horsepower motor)

http://webrodder.com/article/700r4-v...-which-is-best

Thanks bpatrol, great info. I think the reason most people choose the 200r4 over the 700r4 is mainly to avoid shorting the drive shaft, when the current trans is a T350. I recently made this swap and the cost to shorten my drive shaft and install new ujoints was $164 and it was ready in 2 hours. Not a great expense, to move to what I believe is a better trans.

[cool68]

walkintall54 - post some pics of your truck and engine. what size motor and what upgrades, if any? what rear gear ratio and how tall are rear tires? daily driver, or weekend warrior? have you done a search here, and other sites, on your question?

[walkintall54]

I,m putting a stroker in it .its a k20 that I,m making into a extended cab. I really appreciate all the great info. Thanks Guys.

[walkintall54]

Will post pics soon.

[walkintall54]

heres a pic

[bbcmudtruck]

By the time you have a 700 or a 200 built for 4x4 abuse, you could be in the price range of a 4l80e. I'm not positive, just a thought. Draw back is that it will require electonics and more work to put one in. Just throwing out another option for ya! I have a 400 and a gear vendors. I traded some bbc parts for both of them and have very little invested at this point and time, however both of them need to be rebuilt and beefed up for a stupid stout 496. I don't think it's the most cost effective way to go about it, but I think it's the most reliable for my application.