So, Funny Story

[rjankowski]

So, I went to install my shift kit in my truck at the local MWR DIY shop.

 

It only took about an hour or 1 1/2 to get to the point where I figured out that I have to get that shift cable bracket out of the way before I can get the pan out. That thing really will not want to come out with it attached...

 

Well, I get the pan off and then to the valvebody, get it off and start to put the kit on... I did good, didnt loose any check balls or anything!

 

Now here I am, 3 hours later putting everything back in the truck to drive off (the place is now getting ready to close and I was told to get into gear...) no pun intended

 

Once I have everything back in, I drop the truck, add the fluids and go to back her out... She doesnt seem too thrilled about the whole reverse idea, more rolling out than reversing. shifts were funny and way off. I figured that i was low on fluid or something, nope.

Its 9pm, the shop manager is telling me I need to clean my bay and clear out. So I did.

 

Found this sitting in the drain pan:

 

Figured it was from some guy before me, but thought I would grab it just incase it was what I managed to mess up.

 

Tell ya what, sure does make a whole lotta diffrence when you put it back in. Now that I feel like a complete IDIOT and thinking that some high school drop out can do it, so can I...and tearing into a working transmission, I learned my lesson.

 

BTW, the chick at the shop was nice, she gave me 3 hours of lift bay time for 30 mins of charged time. If she wasnt so old, married or ugly, I might have asked her out

 

Well, anyways, lesson learned, and now I am actually confident that I can do this without problems next time I need to (not for many years I think) and I need to make it back down there to put my vette servo in.

 

So, I hope you enjoyed the thought of the dumbass thing I did... and if you just put a shift kit in your truck, and its not working right, and you have this little rod sitting on your floor... thats probably the problem right there!

[tomo62]

We have all done something like this - so don't worry about it, it's a 'learning experience'

 

Shop teachers can impart knowledge to the best of their ability, but until the student is in a tough spot - they will never appreciate the wisdom.

 

You got the truck going - so you passed the test!

 

(One of my screw-ups was rebuilding an engine and not 'really really carefully' cleaning out the ring grooves. The new rings were tight in the bore, with a little carbon taking up the remaining clearance, and I couldn't work out why the engine was so tight and wouldn't start. Remove engine -tear down - DOH!!!). That was 20 years ago and I'm really really careful about everything now!

 

 

 

So, I went to install my shift kit in my truck at the local MWR DIY shop.

 

It only took about an hour or 1 1/2 to get to the point where I figured out that I have to get that shift cable bracket out of the way before I can get the pan out. That thing really will not want to come out with it attached...

 

Well, I get the pan off and then to the valvebody, get it off and start to put the kit on... I did good, didnt loose any check balls or anything!

 

Now here I am, 3 hours later putting everything back in the truck to drive off (the place is now getting ready to close and I was told to get into gear...) no pun intended

 

Once I have everything back in, I drop the truck, add the fluids and go to back her out... She doesnt seem too thrilled about the whole reverse idea, more rolling out than reversing. shifts were funny and way off. I figured that i was low on fluid or something, nope.

Its 9pm, the shop manager is telling me I need to clean my bay and clear out. So I did.

 

Found this sitting in the drain pan:

 

Figured it was from some guy before me, but thought I would grab it just incase it was what I managed to mess up.

 

Tell ya what, sure does make a whole lotta diffrence when you put it back in. Now that I feel like a complete IDIOT and thinking that some high school drop out can do it, so can I...and tearing into a working transmission, I learned my lesson.

 

BTW, the chick at the shop was nice, she gave me 3 hours of lift bay time for 30 mins of charged time. If she wasnt so old, married or ugly, I might have asked her out

 

Well, anyways, lesson learned, and now I am actually confident that I can do this without problems next time I need to (not for many years I think) and I need to make it back down there to put my vette servo in.

 

So, I hope you enjoyed the thought of the dumbass thing I did... and if you just put a shift kit in your truck, and its not working right, and you have this little rod sitting on your floor... thats probably the problem right there!

[wawa]

accumulator shaft?

[rjankowski]

accumulator shaft?

and bingo was his name-o!

[LewiSILVERADO]

A friend's son and his friend (who's dad owns a Corvette salvage) rebuilt the engine in the 'vette. I heard it running a couple weeks ago and it sounded great! Then they began to have problems. Turned out they didn't put the expanders under the oil rings, so a complete tear-down was in order. The engine is back out and apart, and they are going back together (hopefully with all the parts this time). Not sure if they just forgot them or if the ring kit left them out, but we all go through this type of thing as a learning exercize. There's no replacement for experience, and the only way to get it is to do things! I'm glad it's their young and eager efforts and not mine doing the engine over! I've certainly been there!

[rjankowski]

Yeah, I am one of those guys that doesnt learn anything by reading. Show me 500 times and Ill still forget, let me do it once or twice, ill remember it forever.

 

Too bad that transgo video doesnt show all the steps, or I could have had my beater laptop out in the shop with me and just hit play and pause whenever I was ready for my next step.

 

Hoping that today after work (provided I get out early enough) or tomorrow, the vette servo will go in!!

[rjankowski]

Just an update guys:

 

Got the servo in, no issues, boy I wish that chevy would have given us a little more clearance so we could remove that whole assembly without parting it out, I had to pop the E clip in the bore and it went flying, found it on the shop floor about 7 feet away.

 

So, slightly red hands from the cat being a little warm, but overall, too easy. I dont know why I never took my old truck to the lift bay to do that, only took an hour ($6), used thier pry bar, so much easier! AND she feels GREAT at partial throttle shifts into 2nd... gotta take her out off post to get a WOT check.

 

And yes, I still have reverse!