i have had it with this transmission.I have been under it probably half a dozen times now for the same reason. Kickdown valve is sticking. i thought i had it this last time with the spring on the end of it, and it did work great for about a month.
this morning on the way to Cleburne it starts doing the same things again, not shifting down, and redlining when shifting and of course no OD.
I drove it back from Cleburne manually shifting it down and redlining it to get it to shift upto drive, I was so mad I forgot to turn the AC off. All that over revving the motor obviously not good for anything but now the clutch on the compressor is locked up.
Anyways I am looking for a pretty decently priced tranny that i can swap out i am done trying to fix this issue. I called a few junkyards in the area and as good as i can get is 350$. I haven't tried looking for a compressor yet, just want to be able to pull my boat again.

Don't know the year of your truck, but does it have a TV cable? Sounds like it may be out of adjustment.

yea its a 1991 1500. Yea its got a TV cable, and no its not out of adjustment, when i had the pan off unsticking the kickdown valve in the valve body, i adjusted it out exactly to where it was supposed to be in relation to the plunger in the valve body.

Sounds like you know your stuff so probably not your problem but it adjusts at the linkage too I believe. If it is too loose, or not connected it will act that way too. I hated messing with that damn TV cable so much I put in a TH-350. On it the cable is strickly the kick down, nothing else. Vaccuum changes the shift points.

I THINK you can get a GM reman for around $1200 if you plan to keep it a while.

Generally speaking, if you have either a throttle valve or governor sticking it's usually due to debris in the valve from other internal damage. The same holds true with most leaks from the front seal-it's usually caused from internal slippage causing fluid to be pushed past the front seal.
It's a long way from DFW but here's our website (we are not affiliated with the one in McKinney).

http://abcotransmission.com/

yea thats what i thought the first time i climbed underneath it and tore it down. Nothing in the bottom of the pan, nothing on the filter, but when you pushed on the kickdown valve it would click and not rebound. The second time i put it back together i put a small spring on the end of the valve itself. It seemed to work for about a month shifted like new until today.

The TV cable is adjusted at the throttle, not in the pan.

correct! the 700r4 is really a badarse tranny once you do a few minor tricks to it.

that's where i got the information to adjust the kickdown cable from ChuChu. with the pan down i adjust the cable at the throttle body to where the lever is almost on the plunger for the valve, at full throttle the valve is all the way engaged.
Something i didn't mention before but really saw no need in it, is the 1" plate i have underneath the throttle body. I put this on there when i rebuilt the motor in the truck. Everything ran the way it was supposed to for the first 6000 miles or so, but it really shouldn't matter as long as the TV cable is adjusted to compensate for the plate, and the bracket is also spaced 1" also. Right......?

If you did not adjust it correctly when you added the plate, the transmission is most likely dead. Only a few miles will kill the tarnsmission.


To properly adjust the TV cable, depress the "button" on the cable where it is mounted on the engine. Push the cable all the way in. Let go of the button. Then push the throttle to wide open. You will here a series of clicks from the adjustor. Now it is adjusted properly. Done any other way WILL result in a dead transmission.

the plate has been on since the rebuild of my motor. The transmission shifted perfectly for almost 6000 miles. 1" plate under the throttle body 1" under the bracket. Yes i forgot to mention i did adjust the cable after this.
This isn't my first rodeo, just my first 700r4, and if the rear end gears would allow me i would junk it and go to a 400, but since i'm not about to open that can of worms i will keep going on this 700.

Personally, if I make any changes that include the TV cable, even just disconnecting it from the TB I readjust it. The 700r4 is a great transmission, they are tough. I use them in my off road vehicles.
I wish you luck on the transmission. maybe you can get lucky and adjust the TV cable again and maybe it will be OK. I'm just not lucky.

i'm not lucky either, i am pulling the whole thing out and going to get it rebuilt, with a new valvebody, i give up and am waving the white flag.