The 700R4 was one of General Motors first over drive automatic transmission and was used in everything from Corvettes to pickup trucks. The first 700R4 had their share of issues. Here is a list of things to look for when considering buying a car with this transmission.Source: Tehpear.com. The first 700R4 had an input shaft with 27 splines.This design was subject to failure because it really need more spline to handle the load properly. In 1984 they introduced a 30 spline input shaft which was much stronger. Steer clearing of the early models with the 27 spline input shafts.he 700R4 often suffers from the loss of the 3-4 clutch pack. The only fix is to rebuild the transmission or replace it with a re-manufactured unit. I recommend using performance 3-4 clutches and a shift kit to modify the holding pressure of the clutch pack. Source: Google. The governor has a tendency to stick.