The 200c trans in my sons 85 El Camino is slipping baddly in drive.It works fine in reverse, first, & second gear-but if you put it in drive it slips & barely moves.He said it started making a studdering noise if he would take off fast from a light for the past couple of weeks but never told me about it.The fluid looks good.Ive heard this thing has a lockup t.c. but I dont much about auto trannys.Any thoughts?? Just the convert went bad or its in the trans??

trans

Yes, The trans sounds like it is shot. The 200 wasn't that good of a trans to begin with, basically they were designed for the Chevette, then they added a few extra clutches and could be found in basically any rear wheel drive car that GM produced other than pickups. If it is original to the vehicle, then yes it should have a lock-up torque convertor in 85. If it was the torque convertor causing the slipping, then it would effect all of the gears, not just 1st. I personally would recommend upgrading to atleast a 350 or 350C, if you can find one, or possibly a 700R4. JMO, Jim

The 200 in my mother's Nova **** the bed RIGHT on schedule at 50,000 miles give or take a couple of hundred.

We shoved in a TH 350; but if I had it to do over again, It'd have gotten a 700-R4. It would have been worth the extra money to have the much increased fuel economy.

good 1st and 2nd gear, bad D, sounds like trans

Thanks for the info guys.The trans backs a 4.3L F.I. six.Its his first vehicle-hes 16.Super clean car from Alabama with 105k orig everything.I think we will have the orig trans rebuilt.

I think we will have the orig trans rebuilt.
In terms of money, it wouldn't be much more to go to the MUCH stronger 350 platform. A 350C is clearly the best of that group for a cruiser, but the cores aren't as available. Of course, if you happen to have a usable 350 (or better yet, a 350C) hanging around, that'd be much less expensive than getting the 200 fixed. Rebuilt the 200, and the 200 will STILL be a weak POS time-bomb.

The ONLY thing a 200 has going for it is the deep first gear.

My mother's original 200 is still parked in my garage. Anyone need a numbers-matching 77 Nova with ~55K miles?

Someone that knows what they are doing can make the 200 3 speed work fine. TH350 would be cheaper and stronger.

The 200 3 speed is the same basic trans as the 200-4R, but without the OD components.