Is it normal for the car to feel as if its in overdrive when its in drive? Like even if i accelerate so it stays in first, it doesn't nearly have the power if i manually put it into 1st or second?

Is this common if something simple isn't adjusted? I'm in hte middle of purchasing the parts for a muncie swap but that will be another month or so and its very annoying right now..

its called having 2.73 gears ;) :D

I agree with Mr 4 speed. Put some 3.73's and a 2800 stall converter in there and report back. Should haul the mail pretty well. 2.73s are going to be a turd with your set-up, especially with a stock converter.

On the tranny, first gear is first gear whether in drive or shifted manually.

its weird cause i swear its not even close to the same performance.

But yeah, first hte muncie swap, its an m20 so ill keep my tranny gears, than after that im saving up for either 3.55's or 3.73's and a posi.

It sucks cause i had to lower my idle to keep it from lunging when put into gear from idle, and now im even futher out of my rpm range, talk about a dog off the line, but a little preloading helps that :P

sounds like something is wrong with the tranny to me

even when i had 2.73 gears it ran decent once the powerband hit, and if it pulls a LOT harder in manual gears, something is wrong, perhaps something is blocking line pressure and allowing slip or something

Could be a broken converter. It would cause it to be even more of a slug than it wouild be with the 2.73's alone.

Does it shift at all? Make sure the teeth are not stripped off the governor, as that may not allow it to shift. If the sprag has failed in the converter it will shift, but have no torque multiplication, and take off like a turd, and then pick up after you've gained some speed. Then it will do the same at each shift point.

Does it shift at all? Make sure the teeth are not stripped off the governor, as that may not allow it to shift. If the sprag has failed in the converter it will shift, but have no torque multiplication, and take off like a turd, and then pick up after you've gained some speed. Then it will do the same at each shift point.

the sprag thing seems to sum it up. Luckily the muncie swap isn't too far off, and I've lived with it for awhile so i can deal with it.

I had the same problem last year and I found out my kickdown cable was the wrong type. I figured all cables were the same. Wrong!. I now have a universal B&M (nice quality) that made it felt like I put a big block in!.

if i accelerate so it stays in first, it doesn't nearly have the power if i manually put it into 1st or second.

If the car accelerates better in manual 1 or 2 than in Drive, I'm betting that your car takes off from a stop in third gear. Perhaps sticking valves in the valve body.

Have you counted the shifts in Drive? Can you feel it go from first to second, second to third?

A converter problem would have the same effect in manual 1 and 2 as is does in drive. So it's not a failed sprag in the converter.

It starts in 1st no problem, however, things just changed, related or not i dont know.

it started being a real slug in drive and now it shifts REALLY slow, (mind you i have a shift kit and am used to be jerked back on the shift, now it shifts like a caddy) and during the shift it loses rpms...

ideas? does it sound like hte muncie swap is inevitable now? lol

Sounds like a broken/slipping sprag in the converter... no torque multiplication. The two times you will especially notice this are on acceleration, and at the shift points...