I'm at a loss for words. I have 2 r4's and I've had no issues with them. I don't doubt what you say is true though.

 

Small blocks had crank sensors in the 80's???

 

I never said that, I said GM did. There was also no racks in full size cars.

 

gorn, what exactly were you talking about then?

 

I was only joking about crank sensors and he was just going on a little Rant, course every manufacture had it's problems.
The 1 thing Chevy's were known for is rear main seal leaks, and look how long that took to fix

 

When you work on warranty at a medium to larger dealership you see a lot of the same things over and over again. Like the 2.8 remain seal OMG, I used to hate the 2.8 blazers just because of the rear mains. I have rebuilt dozens of rack and pinions on 84-88 cars. 2.5 head bolts breaking. Heck I remember do two of those in one day. Cracked 2.5 blocks ect.. So when someone tells me something like 700R4 is a good transmission I have to laugh. Yea its good now but man it was a nightmare back in the day and unless you are the original owner you have no idea how many times it was taken in to get it right. I am sure there at some untouched 700r4s out but it sure did not seem like it in 87.
Chevy had some issues with its internal crank sensor but Buick and Olds had these external crank sensor, I swear we replaced every single one. There was even a class action lawsuit against GM that made GM cover them 10 years 100,000 miles.

 

haha, thats funny. i know that the 700r4 can be serial number specific from 84-88. mine had been original until the po nuetral dropped into reverse wot at 20 mph. so its pretty much entirely new. ill upgrade enough to handle the motor, but when its old and worn, ill rebuild it for fun but wont go back in

 

Micro, I didn't get all that.

 

LOL. That is why I did not buy any american built car between 1968 and 1994. During those years all three brands put out some of the most unreliable crap, hell, they made Fiats look good.

 

I hear ya. Lots of plastic, cardboard, and vinal. I do and always have liked the sbc, some way more than others, but they were one he** on an engine. As far as trannies, I don't know about the r4, but the 350 and 400's were bullet proof. You do own an 86 Z