Automatic Issues

[Zknight008]

Hey guys, I just recently bought an 88 Z N/A for $750 and I've been starting to fix it up. Yesterday I flushed the transmission and changed the filter when I discovered more than just some metal shavings. I found what looks like to be an orange/brown plastic washer and I'm concerned. My guess is that it's the causing the car to shake during acceleration from a stop and a slight slip when shifting from 2nd to 3rd. So..
- What exactly is this broken piece called?
- Am I right to assume it's some sort of spacer/cushioning for the gears?
- Besides a complete rebuild (which any shop would tell me to do) is there anything that could be done?
It's a project and money is somewhat an issue so anything that can be done at home is a plus. Thanks in advance by the way!

[evildky]

I got nothin. Pictures would help, not many of us mess with automatic's as we tend to prefer three pedal cars. I've rebuilt a ford C4 but short of tearing the trans down and comparing it to the FSM I have no idea. If you do tear into it the friction surfaces will likely cost as much or more than swapping to a manual as most do when their auto fail.

[Zknight008]

I'll try to get a pic up as soon as I can. I visited a shop and they estimated a rebuild at $1,400, which seems a bit rich, and I've been floating the idea of making it manual. So where do I look to first for info on a swap? Like, which transmission, year,etc would I need to have this project work?

[Zknight008]

After a quick google search I've found what I think is the piece (from an explorer) pre-breakup.

[evildky]

The swap is pretty simple. just need the trans,clutch, flywheel, driveshaft, master, slave, both pedals, the hard and soft lines. You can either bypass the neutral safety switch or wire that relay into the clutch safety switch.