Old school machanics

[kickinbull]

We purchased an '84' Chevy 4x4 pu in Sept. It is a nice one with a few issues we thought we were comfortable with. Main issue was it had some problems with elec. that didn't work, cab lite, reverse lites and simular. When we bought it we noticed it had a crate motor. Someone upgraded it from a 305 to a 350.Cool. I started using it to haul rolls of hay, the tranny started to slip so I parked it. This was right between Christmas & New Years. Soon after the new year we took it to a reputable transmission shop. 4 days after we took it in they called and said the trans was finished but found the cooler was plugged. It would be a couple of days. they called back to say the converter was not staying engaged while in overdrive. And looking further they discovered the tranny was not original but an '89'. Also found that the wiring was burnt in the steering column and they thought that was the cause of the converter not staying locked. Get right on it. They found that the solenoid wouldn't match the tranny to the truck. Gonna try to find match. In the mean time, while sitting in the lot the passenger door was bumped into, which they had fixed, new paint couldn't just bump it out. I am sure I have left something out as this is going over 8 weeks since we took the truck in. We still have confidence in the transmission guy. I would ask it anyone knows what are the problems with the different tranny? Will it work? Also what can we do other then continue to be patient?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Around here it would likely jump out off park on top of a tall hill.

 

[plumber_greg]

Back in '93 in the flood, I knew a guy that bought a truck like that. Don't remember all the things that were changed, but when the rear end locked up and he tore it down he found it full of sand. THe truck had been flooded and the motor, tranny, front end, I forget what all had been matched and mismatched. It ended up like RBB said, fell off a hill or something. gs

 

[tytower]

If you give your vehicle to somebody for repair then you inevitably become susceptible to being conned out of your money. As much these days as they can possibly extract, and remember, these guys do this for a living so they are good at it.

My suggestion is to watch the papers and ask around for some young person who will do such repairs at your property.
That way you see what is going down and get to have an input . You get to know the mechanic and can judge whether he is giving you a load of BS or not .

If you can get a young bloke just out of college or where-ever they train motor mechanics these days , he will have a superior knowledge of the latest technology , will be keen to build up his reputation and will not yet be a BS artist . He'll be a practical learner and won't feed you a loadof rubbish about damage while it sits waiting or at least while they play games with you trying to make you dependant on them as much as they can. He will have a family to feed and you may well make lifetime friendships this way.

When you are dependant on them they can stick you for any chosen price ....and they do.

Cynical ...yep
Realist....yep
DItYourselfer...yep

 

[kerley]

Which mechanic screwed you?

 

[JHH]

We purchased an '84' Chevy 4x4 pu in Sept. It is a nice one with a few issues we thought we were comfortable with. Main issue was it had some problems with elec. that didn't work, cab lite, reverse lites and simular. When we bought it we noticed it had a crate motor. Someone upgraded it from a 305 to a 350.Cool. I started using it to haul rolls of hay, the tranny started to slip so I parked it. This was right between Christmas & New Years. Soon after the new year we took it to a reputable transmission shop. 4 days after we took it in they called and said the trans was finished but found the cooler was plugged. It would be a couple of days. they called back to say the converter was not staying engaged while in overdrive. And looking further they discovered the tranny was not original but an '89'. Also found that the wiring was burnt in the steering column and they thought that was the cause of the converter not staying locked. Get right on it. They found that the solenoid wouldn't match the tranny to the truck. Gonna try to find match. In the mean time, while sitting in the lot the passenger door was bumped into, which they had fixed, new paint couldn't just bump it out. I am sure I have left something out as this is going over 8 weeks since we took the truck in. We still have confidence in the transmission guy. I would ask it anyone knows what are the problems with the different tranny? Will it work? Also what can we do other then continue to be patient?

Should be no real reason that the 89 wont work in the 84. The brake switch will cause problems on them older ones and not let the convertor stay in. Also many people took off the electric solenoid on the firewall that was for the transmission because they thought it was pollution stuff. Need to check for that. That trans is a simple 700r4 and built right should last the life of the truck.

I dont think anything in the column is related to the TCC lockup.Brake switch would be the only thing Maybe.Good luck. Might consider putting a TH400 in place of it. Wont have the gas milage but will last and work and might be cheaper in the long run.