200R4 or 700R4?

[1project2many]

I read an article in hotrod or car craft magazine in the late 80s that the olds drag guys liked the 5.7 diesel blocks because extra webbing and the higher nickel in the iron.

Yep. Joe Mondello used diesel blocks for everything. Olds V8 engines aren't bad but making big power requires a lot more work than some other designs. They do take a beating, though. The 403 was a helluva torquer for a stock powerplant.

GM screwed up with the 5.7 diesel alright. I met a guy who claimed to have worked Chevrolet's customer service line in the '80s. They were instructed to handle every call reporting a 5.7 diesel problem this way: "Really? Your [insert failure here]? That's the first time I've ever heard of that." Nice job, guys.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

Chevrolet (not GM) built the 700R4 to help with fuel economy and emissions testing. In order to keep the miles per gallon numbers up and the emissions per mile down, they wanted to use numerically lower rear gear ratios and overdrives. But when you combine a 2.73, a 2.56, a 2.42, or even a 2.26 rear gear with a close ratio auto trans and engines making 200 hp or less, your customers complain about poor acceleration and low power. So Chevy engineers really increased the torque through the 700 1st gear in order to bring back the "snap" that customers were used to in older cars.

I prefer the closer shifts of the 2004R (made by Hydramatic, not by Chevy) over the wide 1-2 of the 700 family. The wide ratio 700 makes vehicle usage, cam selection, rear gear ratio, and shift point programming a little more involved because you can easily "fall out" of the power band on the 1-2 shift, right when you need power the most. That's less likely to happen with the 2004R's closer gears. Both trans can be made to handle quite a bit of power thanks to 30 years of factory and aftermarket work and both trans can be made to live a fairly long life. Ultimately GM decided they liked the wider ratio of the 700 family and dumped the 2004R altogether. If you think you might go with a computer controlled engien and trans at some point, you'll probably end up with a descendant of the 700.

good info 1p2m. i have a 700r4 in truck, under normal acceleration it shifts into 2nd in 25 ft. always thought that was a little weird feeling. currently i get 20 mpg with a 3.27 gear, i wonder what mileage i'd get if i had gone with a 2.73 gear. at some point i realize the mileage would go down.

[mknittle]

Looks like that transmission deal fell through.it appears all of a sudden a 81 olds 98 diesel is a classic
Oh well the low speed shifting and torque converter would have cost more to change than if I just buy one from pick-n-pull to go through. I figure if I get a good core with the right governor and torque converter I will have saved the close to price of a lokar shifter.
We will see what comes my way when I go on a transmission hunt.

[lmdangerous]

Look in your early to mid 80S olds and pointiacs ( 260-307 olds engine usually).The Grand National version is really nice but not necessarily needed.And Ihave evenfound / pulled one from a 84 SS monte carlo( 305) .You will be suprised where they will turn up. Take a couple of pics ( of pan, both sides , etc when you go yard hunting). I must confess Mine came clean and with blood red fluid- as pulled -I pulled the pan ,changed the filter , no crap in the pan ,added fluid, adjusted the TV cable and have been running it to death . I gave 300$ and they pulled it- They are not that popular around here- everyone wants the 700- and in some places I would agree 100% , but for what most of us do they are a great little tranny that doesnt require you to have a PHD to use. And they fit damn near everything but a FORD.And an adapter plate can even make that happen Lol.

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by lmdangerous

Look in your early to mid 80S olds and pointiacs ( 260-307 olds engine usually).The Grand National version is really nice but not necessarily needed.And Ihave evenfound / pulled one from a 84 SS monte carlo( 305) .You will be suprised where they will turn up. Take a couple of pics ( of pan, both sides , etc when you go yard hunting). I must confess Mine came clean and with blood red fluid- as pulled -I pulled the pan ,changed the filter , no crap in the pan ,added fluid, adjusted the TV cable and have been running it to death . I gave 300$ and they pulled it- They are not that popular around here- everyone wants the 700- and in some places I would agree 100% , but for what most of us do they are a great little tranny that doesnt require you to have a PHD to use. And they fit damn near everything but a FORD.And an adapter plate can even make that happen Lol.

I am hoping to go to pick and pull this weekend. so we will see what I can find. last time I was there there were a bunch of potential donors. but I was looking for something else and didn't pay much attention .

[oldcouple]

Nice list

[oldcouple]

This might help too

[lmdangerous]

Indeed nice info to have.

[NEWFISHER]

Great info!

[Coach529]

Thanks for the info!!

[mknittle]

Thanks oldcouple, great info!

[1project2many]

Also note there was a three speed trans known as the 200. The pan is stamped "METRIC" and the entire trans is slightly smaller than a THM350. Most of them are probably long gone but once in a while you'll run across a guy that confuses the four speed trans with the three speed if you're calling yards. I usually ask if the pan's dang near as large as the trans. That tells me right away.

[mknittle]

They do have a big pan. that was the first thing I noticed.

[lmdangerous]

Yep that pan is about as big/ wierd as you will see.Hold a lot of fluid too-lol

[mknittle]

An interesting thread on swapping a Th400 for a 200-4R.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...-pictures.html

[moregrip]

did you ever install the 200R4 with your inline 250?

[lmdangerous]

Yep. Worked great. I actually put several thousand miles on it. Perfect. I am sad to say that this truck is sold to a guy in CO. He will pick it up in May. But looking at a 66 burb for a replacement shop truck.

[72Mountaineer]

If the tranny is not from a Buick GN or Monte SS, don't even consider it with any type of performance motor, it won't live long. Also, a 2004R is not an easy tranny to set up, it shifts on throttle position, not on vacuum as most non-electric trannys. If you're not educated on setting it up when new, you'll burn it up in no time at all. A good site for a 2004R is Bowtie Overdrives.

[whitedog76]

I'd stick with the 700R4/ 4L60.
For what it takes to build a reliable 200 4R, you can build a killer 700R4.

GM has been build the 700R4 for over 30 years and has continually improve it. There is a huge aftermarket for them. The only downside to the 700 vs the 200 is the deep first gear. Sure, it takes longer to shift, sure the 200 has quicker ET's. What does that matter anyhow, you're driving a 6 cylinder truck.

Find a 700R4, put clutch discs in it, throw a shift kit at it, and love it.

These guys have tons of hardcore parts, they were very helpful when I rebuilt a 700R4 for my K10 Diesel truck. http://transmissioncenter.net/