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ATX Experts Needed! F4A33 in a 3kgt, No reverse

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Shadow TT

Probationary Member
18
1
Oct 17, 2013
howell, Michigan
Well new day different problem, just got my 91 3000gt sl running after a 2 month rebuild but now am having transmission issues. The trans has only 90000 miles on it and looked very clean. You guys here know a lot more about these automatics than the 3si guys, so hopefully you can point me in the right direction.

While the engine and trans was apart I installed the translab 175-hp shift kit and threw in new fluid, filter, and gasket. Started the car up and now am getting no reverse and shifting issues.

I made sure the fluid is right below the hot line after cycling through all gear positions and ending at neutral.

Here are the symptoms

1. Reverse: The car creeps back a tiny bit but feels like neutral for the most part, reverse did work once after I first started the car but now always feels like neutral
2. Drive: seems to start in second sometimes and shifts erratically
3. 2 & L: both seem to work just fine

Also note: I did not install the restrictor in the manual valve as I heard it is not necessary and has a chance of breaking the valve. I also used ATF + Full synthetic fluid.

So my guess after reading a lot is that I screwed something up in the valve body and will have to take it all apart again, can you guys throw some more opinions at me before I tear into it again? Sorry for the long post and thanks!
 
Check the o-ring ontop of the valve body when you install it and make sure it's there and sealing. If that seal is not there you will have no reverse. After the shift kit install.. Did use an inch pound wrench when you put the bolts in for the valve body and make sure the separator plate is aligned perfectly? There is a special tool for that but can be done without.
 
Sorry for the late response guys, thanks for your help, but I did figure the problem out. For anyone else installing this shift kit make your you use the correct springs LOL.

For the restrictor valve there are two spring choices, a dark blue and a light blue depending on which generation/type of trans your have. It is easy to see which spring to use by following the instructions, but heres the hard part....

The springs are like the SAME color, when I first installed the kit I actually argued over which was dark and which was light with my buddy and we ended up installing the light blue one instead of the dark blue one... ):

Bottom line here is that when finding which spring to install look at the picture of the springs in the instructions and match the actual spring to the pictured ones and find the color that way.
 
Hey ShadowTT, I'm having the EXACT same problem with the exact same shift kit. Not sure if my problem is with the kit as we have taken the trans out 4 times to check everything. Did you happen to hear an excessive amount of solenoid chatter while shifting gears? We are calling the trans good without knowing 100% for sure and looking into electrical but finding nothing. The trans also has a screaming noise no matter what gear it's in. Any extra info would be fabulous. Car has been sitting 6 months with this transmission problem.
 
Hey ShadowTT, I'm having the EXACT same problem with the exact same shift kit. Not sure if my problem is with the kit as we have taken the trans out 4 times to check everything. Did you happen to hear an excessive amount of solenoid chatter while shifting gears? We are calling the trans good without knowing 100% for sure and looking into electrical but finding nothing. The trans also has a screaming noise no matter what gear it's in. Any extra info would be fabulous. Car has been sitting 6 months with this transmission problem.

First, not sure about the solinoid chatter because my car had no cat+catback exhuast so it was VERY loud, I seem to remember hearings a little bit of noise when I would select the gear from the shifter.

Also are you sure you have the correct blue spring in the restrictor valve?

Did you dig farther into the trans than the valve body? If so, check this thread, particularly post # 10
http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/help-no-reverse-after-rebuild.365973/
 
It's the blue spring I'm wondering about, but with one in the trans I'm not sure which one is out. That's why I'm asking about solenoid chatter and the screaming noise coming from inside the transmission while it's running. We have completely rebuilt this tranny with a Raybestus stage 2 kit and the translab shift kit. I read through the whole thread you posted and we made sure to mark things inside to ensure proper alignment. The o-ring is in place on the valve body, three people jokingly pointed at it before it was placed back inside LOL. The solenoids and valves have been checked for movement while inside the transmission, actually just two weeks ago we did that. We have even cleaned and relocated the grounds. One was grounded to the starter and we moved it to the manifold. The only thing we haven't checked is the voltage from the harness into the valve body and the blue spring, but if reverse is mechanical and everything worked before the rebuild then I'm going to wait to check the voltage and claim "I forgot something... again." Just trying to figure out where to start looking instead of randomly digging around.
 
Compare the blue spring that you have left over to the pictures in the instructions and see which one it is by looking at the spacing/size of the spring coils, and then report back.
 
Have the kit with leftover parts in front of me, the dark blue one is most definitely inside the transmission.
And your sure your trans uses the dark blue?

Also did you install the torque converter onto the trans and then the trans onto the engine?
 
either way, reverse is totally manual so electronics should not affect it... so here is some other problem,
 
Thanks TalonKaos, if we pull the valve body back out then we'll check all the solenoids individually. Still trying to get 12v from the main harness to the valve body. Can't get any codes from the tcu, not that it's clear but we just can't get it to spit them out. Got an analog multimeter and it will give one bump then nothing else.
 
You can check the solenoids without removing the valve body but if you have an electrical problem it won't probably test right. You check at the plug that comes out of the case.
 
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