Rebuild or just replace

[Damon23]

The 700r4 that is in our 63 Catalina crapped out today. It did fine but on the way back from church 2 miles from the house leaving a intersection it shifted into second and went to third and just revved and didn't move any faster. Uv read this is a common 3-4 clutch pack failure. So, what would a rebuild cost? I've seen mad dog transmissions listed for $800 plus a converter.

[Polyhead]

Well, unless you plan to rebuild it yourself, or have a very trusted person in mind to rebuild it for you, I would just make it an R&R job. Use a trusted source though because trans fluid burns good.

[squirrel]

If you can find someone local to rebuild it for a grand, then the price would be similar. Shop around, we have no idea what's available where you live. Beware that dealing with warranty issues might be easier if you are dealing with a local shop that has a good reputation.

also keep in mind that many 700 issues are due to lousy setup or adjustment of the TV cable.

[yellomalibu]

If you can find someone local to rebuild it for a grand, then the price would be similar. Shop around, we have no idea what's available where you live. Beware that dealing with warranty issues might be easier if you are dealing with a local shop that has a good reputation.

also keep in mind that many 700 issues are due to lousy setup or adjustment of the TV cable.

Yep. A lot of people hook up the TV cable to the bottom hole on a Holley carb - the geometry is wrong.

[chevybuytroy]

It depends... is it and 82-86 700r4? I wouldnt recommend it. If it is a 87-93 Auxillary then yes I would rebuild. They were upgraded and stay cooler better.

[Damon23]

Not sure about that. After reading up I'm going to have to crawl under it and check for numbers before I call around.

[anotheridiot]

I bought a stage 2 from Mad dog. Still really dont know since we have not put it in gear yet. They seemed really helpful, my only question is when we put the torque converter in, it really seemed to have alot of space to wobble and it felt like it came out too far to get to the the SFI flywheel. I asked if the trans was dyno'd with the converter they sold me with it and they said no, which worried me a little, but they claim this is normal.

[Damon23]

I've read about mad dog. Heard some unflattering things and read a thread on thirdgen.org where they signed up to give props to themselves. But I've also read a few good things about them so like with anything it's a gamble. I have some time tomorrow so I'm going to call a local place here about a rebuild and a friend knows a mechanic that rents his building from a Trans shop about building it for me. I just need to recruit some help for the R&R.

[chevybuytroy]

Theres a shop in Monroe, Ga called Viking transmission. He builds really sweet transmissions and they specialize in 700R4's If you want his number let me know and i'll pm you

[anotheridiot]

I've read about mad dog. Heard some unflattering things and read a thread on thirdgen.org where they signed up to give props to themselves. But I've also read a few good things about them so like with anything it's a gamble. I have some time tomorrow so I'm going to call a local place here about a rebuild and a friend knows a mechanic that rents his building from a Trans shop about building it for me. I just need to recruit some help for the R&R.

From what I made out, there was a really disgruntled customer that made it their personal vandetta to take out mad dog after they offered to replace his transmission, but pretty sure the disgruntled customer took it to a different shop to disassemble so mad dog could not verify what was their issue and what the other shop did. Pretty sure the guy wanted the bill from the different shop to be paid by mad dog.

Everyone has a bad day, but with this TV cable being such an important adjustment for the life of the transmission, its always gonna be a trans that will give you issues when you trust amateurs to install your work properly.