ach1992880

It's been a long time coming, but the car is back on the road. I had an issue with the first transmission I received from extreme not having proper pressures upon initial installation, but lonnie worked with me in outstanding fashion to correct the issue. Got the transmission back quickly and everything checked out perfectly.

Besides the transmission swap, the winter was very busy with other projects. New front wheel bearings, The front suspension was rebuilt with rubber moog bushings and ball joints, new UMI front sway bar with poly bushings and end links. replaced a couple worn steering components (tie rods). Rear got new UMI tubular lowers with poly, new UMI rear sway bar, new rubber bushings on the upper control arms. The rear end also got a new yukon duragrip posi and 3.73 gears (that was an experience... took my time, assembled-measured-reassembled probably 8 times) and put on a repop 10 bolt w-27 cover for good measure.

Drumroll... the car drives great! Can't say enough how much the suspension rebuild helped and the sway bars make corners a whole new ballgame. No noises at all from the rearend, no clunks, thunks, vibrations or whines. I couldn't be happier. The only thing left is that the transmission has a late hard shift from 1-2 that I'm working with lonnie on correcting, but that's pretty petty considering everything. Thought an update was worth posting. happy motoring fellow oldsmobilers.

don71

Nice! I bet it feels like driving a new car..er a new old one I've got some UMI parts in the rear suspension, couldn't be more happy. I'm sure you'll be digging that new rear ratio too, sounds perfect with the 200od. Hope that smile lasts a long time. Thanks for updating us.

kitfoxdave

Thanks for the update! I hope to be at that stage soon!

ach1992880

I forgot to remind that this is all in my 71 Cutlass S. After a few more days of driving I can say it's like driving a whole different car. The ratio is great for me, keeping up with interestate traffic at 75 put me right at 2500 rpm. Around town it's nice to have the extra leverage to get moving. All together I am quite happy. I am a little perplexed by the stubborn late hard shift from first to second though, it makes stop and go traffic a hassle. Under 1/4 throttle it won't shift out of first until around 3000 rpm's and then chirp the tires into second. At much more than 1/3 throttle that upshift won't happen until 4000 rpm. All other shift points are great, downshifts function as they should, and full throttle shifts are good. I've confirmed that my TV cable is set correctly, as mentioned earlier all pressures at no and full TV come out where they should per Extreme Automatic's installation guide. I've tried two and now I'm now going to try a third TV plunger spring to see if it has any effect which means dropping the pan again. Doing all of this on jack stands I can say i'll be glad when i no longer bathe in, smell like or taste transmission fluid for more than a week at a time.

kitfoxdave

Again thanks SO MUCH for passing along the experience and knowledge! What size wheels and tires are you using?

I can relate to the jack stands comment!

Any temperature issues with the transmission? Do you have a cooler installed?

Again, thank you for sharing!

ach1992880

tires are 235/60 14's.

Texas442

Would it be possible to post a picture of your TV bracket & cable hookup? I am having the exact same issue mentioned above. I don't think the TV cable is set correctly on mine and it probably does not have the correct bracket either. The car is a recently acquired 72 Cutlass 455/200R4 with the tranny swap done by the prior owner. Thanks

Allan R

If you want a bit less jarring shift and a bit smoother, put a little more slack in the TV cable. Sounds like it's adjusted a bit tight. That would result in the symptoms you're describing.

ach1992880

Ah, the 2004R... I had numerous issues with the transmission itself, and after many attempts I wasn't happy with the results, so back to Lonnie it went. In the end, new springs in the governer would likely have resolved the harsh 1-2 shift that I had, but I went another direction. Lonnie was helpful through the process but he's a busy guy and I won't get into details aside from stating that I now have one of his 4L60E transmissions that is behind a 6.0 LQ9 I'm in the process of swapping in. I ended up selling off my whole TV/Lockup setup to another member I can't remember if it sold here or on ROP, but those parts were perfect.

ach1992880

It turned out my issues weren't related to either the TV system or the TV plunger spring but rather the governer. Ultimately, the TV is a very complex system. You can't just "adjust in some slack" to resolve anything. You must verify that the internal plunger is doing what it is supposed to when it is supposed to based on throttle position and cable pull. The TV cable can be adjusted from the carb end, but be very careful just putting slack in the cable to try to alleviate harsh shifts, because in making that adjustment you are throwing off the internal pressure of the transmission and shift points. This is the quickest sure-fire way to burn up a 200. To understand more, read the below article a few times, it takes a while but once you get it you'll get it.

http://www.tvmadeez.com/article/index.php

tmaleck

Governors get overlooked a lot in these swaps. I had to calibrate mine toget the shift points right. What a difference!
Tim

Alex72cutty

Will a 4L60E bolt up to a 350 rocket??

ach1992880

the 4L60E is just an electronically controlled 700R4, so with an adapter plate you can physically bolt it to an Olds block. Then it gets complicated, because you'd then be looking at controlling it with a stand alone controller which will run $600-$1k. Along with the fact that the transmission not being capable of being built to the strength that you can build a 2004r makes it less desirable if you are using an Olds engine. If you're staying Oldsmobile powered the 2004R really is the overdrive to use because of the dual bolt pattern allowing it to bolt up directly and the fact that it is the same length as the TH350 that many of our cars originally came with, allowing the use of the stock driveshaft without modifications.

Alex72cutty

Ok. A couple transmission folks I've talked to say that they have always had problems from them.

70cutty

Not if it's built right. In its stock form 200R4 is weak, but when built properly it can take the abuse that Olds engine can dish out.

arcee1951

I agree with 70cutty. I did a lot of investigating, before I changed the Jetaway 2 speed for a 2004r. I had a 456 posi and top end was about 75, and topped out in 1/8 mile. In talking with a tranny expert, I told him that I had heard that 2004r's would not take the 310 hp that the 330 engine was putting out. He took me around the corner, where he had a Chevelle with a 454 in it. He had built a 2004r for it...good enough for me. I let him build it. It made a huge difference. Since then, I have taken the whole 456 rear end out and replaced it with a complete rear end with 273's. OMG, I have no idea what top end would be, but know that it would never stay connected to ground. If anyone is interested in the complete rear end, let me know. It is perfectly good but the gears are too tall for me....great from light to light.