If it's not one thing it's another..

[69MyWay]

I am right there with you brother. Ripping the rear diff out is quite a chore. I bet our cars look alike in terms of having no transmission, no drive shaft, and no rear end. I too am waiting on parts.

If you have the extra $$$, this is a good time to replace the rear suspension bushings. They all press in and out really easy except the main carrier donuts bushings.

 

[BlackNBlue95]

I'm in am oney crunch other wise I would be doing alot more to my car. My shop is really slow right now and we work on a combo of book time and hourly rate so I am loosing my A$$ here.. thats why I can't get the vigilante for another month probably.. plus my car insurance came and that always sucks.. Keep in mind I'm only 21... anyway.. I'll keep you guys posted..
-Rick

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Pump Came

I got the pump in the mail this week along with my Trans Go Shift kit, looks much better then the TCI kit I got with my last kit comes witht the boost valve for the pump and much much more.. anyway the pump that I recieved was kinda damaged it looks like a rebuild the rear of the case, the sealing surface has some damage it might be usuable but it was also dropped on an edge I mad a mistake and filed it flat but you can see where it was dropped still.. I really should not have filed it but I was not thinking about sending it back at that point.. anyhow I talked to my wholesaler Mark at www.bulkpart.com and he said I could send it back and he will oreder another one for me.. we'll see so more down time awaits no big deal.. I barely got a chane to work on getting the old diff carier out today. anyhow I'll post a pic of that pump I am sending back and you can see why I'm kinda pizzed off about it..

 

[BlackNBlue95]

here is the pump pic i had a hard time attaching it in the last message

 

[69MyWay]

These little details make the difference between a working trans, and a piece of junk trans. Good thing you are good at picking up on the small things so that this trans is going to work perfect.

That rear diff comes down fast after you knock the last support bolt out. Just don't do like me an have your leg under it when it drops!

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Thanks for the words of encouragement... as it seems this rebuild is long and drawn out because I have been waiting for parts and money and time.. with I have very few of at one given time.. anyhow I am sending the pump back tomarrow.. this past weekend I was able to pull the old diff out.. I left the cover/case/support whatever it is called bolted up to the frame.. i am looking forward to the 3.07 set it's a nice small upgrade from the damm 2.59's that kill my lower end performance.. one day it will be the 3.73 in there thats why I am saving my old diff (pumpkin) so I can put a 3.73 set in it one day and swap again..

Anyhow I got to looking at the TransGo shift kit I bought man it is friggin cool.. I think it's kinda funny I was skimming through the directions and it says to use a paperclip to pull out a roll pin or something and they show you how to bend it.. they even include the paper clip very detailed nice kit so far my impression before the install is that it's worth the 100 bucks.. it's far more involved then the kit that TCI gave me with the master overhaul kit I bought from them.. as I mentioned before in my postings I will be using a kevlar 2-4 band which is not only made of a better material then stock but also is a bit wider so it has more surface contact with the drum.. not supposed to be reccomended for street driving because it has firmer quicker engagement.. so I'm kinda worried I may have my trans shift to hard.. but atleast I can mess with the shift kit and setup of all that and also when I get the LT1 Edit I will be able to mess with the trans.. I'm shure.. also need it for the speedo recal.. anyway I'll post something next weekend if nothing happens sooner..
-Rick

 

[69MyWay]

Rick

Back a number of years ago I blew the trans sky high on my 85 vette with a 383 stroker. It had torque on demand, and the 3.07 rear gear ratio. It would rocket to 60 mph and leave you breathless (of course the engine became breathless after that as well because I had a stock intake).

Anyway, we beefed the heck out of the trans with all the heavy duty parts we could find. The shift kit was a kick in the pants. It hit SO hard in second gear, that it would chirp the tires at just off an idle in cooler weather. It started taking a terrible toll on the integrity of the motor mounts, rear U joints, etc.

So, you may get into the same kind of thing. It was wicked wild to ride around town, but after a while the whiplash that was generated from just slinging second would give me a headache! Add that to the fact I was sporting a set of cool super traps for mufflers, and it not only sounded cool, but it would slam so hard that people riding with me would swear the car had 1,000 hp!

 

[BlackNBlue95]

got the new pump

I got my new pump today looks much better still has some small scratches but I'm shure it's a rebuilt core.. atleast the caseing.. anyhow.. I sent the old new one back i was supprised the new one came so fast.. I'm verry happy with www.bulkpart.com Mark one of the Managers over there has really taken care of me.. anyhow.. hopefully I will find some time to get the gear in this weekend and the trans re-assembled and then I just need to get my Torq Converter I am looking for a vigilante converter.. anyhow.. then after that I still need to get the laptop and my LT1-Edit to reprogram the speedo.. I want winter to be over.. i want to drive my vette!!! ahhh All work and no vette make me very erritable.. hee hee anyway ad :cool

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Of Course I had to help my sister move this weekend so that took away some of my time there.. but I did get to pick up some gutless cats from Vettn94 so that was cool but I didn't work on the gear install and as for the trans I need to have the teflon rings installed on the new pump which I donot have the sizeing resizing tool to do and my trans shop we go through probably will do it for nothing or next to it for me.. so we'll see hopefully next weekend will work out better... btw check out my post about the neon I put in behind the side gils..
-Rick

 

[vettn94]

Rick with the way the weather has been around here lately it's gonna be a while before you get to drive the vette again -lol .
good luck with the trans, let me know how it turns out.
Also let me know what happens with the cats/exhaust.
Depending on when you get everything done it may not be a bad idea to keep an eye out for a used Hypertech, like I said I picked mine up for $150 and if all you need for the time being is to adjust the spedo it may be worth it until you have the $ for a laptop & LT1 edit. You can always sell the hypertech programmer later. I got mine for bascially the same reason, adjust the spedo & fans. Just a tought. Of course Lt1 edit is only like $200, you said you already have the cable right? which would have been another $95. I would think you can find a nice used laptop for around $300?

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Rick with the way the weather has been around here lately it's gonna be a while before you get to drive the vette again -lol .
good luck with the trans, let me know how it turns out.
Also let me know what happens with the cats/exhaust.
Depending on when you get everything done it may not be a bad idea to keep an eye out for a used Hypertech, like I said I picked mine up for $150 and if all you need for the time being is to adjust the spedo it may be worth it until you have the $ for a laptop & LT1 edit. You can always sell the hypertech programmer later. I got mine for bascially the same reason, adjust the spedo & fans. Just a tought. Of course Lt1 edit is only like $200, you said you already have the cable right? which would have been another $95. I would think you can find a nice used laptop for around $300?

Yep the weather sucks I need to get a better heater setup in my garage.. as for the LT1 Edit I did buy the cable.. It will be a while before everything is back together anyhow so I have time to wait to buy the software and laptop I may even borrow my uncles but I rather have my own.. just havn't had time to work on it.. the neon was the only thing I started on this weekend.. i think tonight I may clean the diff cover up so that hopefully sometime this weekend I can get the diff re-installed.

And if I get the teflon rings installed on my pump this weekend I can get the trans re-assembled.. and the other thing I started (I have 4 projects on going the trans, the gear, the trans cooler, and the neon which is almost done I need to put the wiring in a loom so it doesn't look so cheesey under the hood you can see the tubes too and that is kinda cheesey but there is not alot of room to try to make some type of cover.... thats the trade off I guess... anyway let me reitterate what I have left to do...

Trans:
finish installing shift kit
install 2-4 band and piston
install pump
install valve body

Trans Cooler:
Make some mounting brackets
Run Hoses
Cut factory cooler line (reason for cutting I bent it and accidently crushed the tube a few inches from the end so I will cut it and put a flare on the end)

Neon:
Finish routing power feed and mount a switch in console

Gear:
Clean cover
Reinstall Diff
Fill with fluid

And a few more things...

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Got the cover cleaned

I actually accomplished something tonight I got the diff conver cleaned and ready for installation.. also cleaned the trans pan that has been sitting under my car with the dirty fluid and friction particles...

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Well I finally got to my trans shop to have them install the solid teflon rings on my new pump kinda lame that the new "more like" rebuild pump didn't come with the teflon rings.. anyhow I was supprised when I called them to ask them to do this that they didn't have the tool do it.. it's a sizer/resizer tool.. to strech the rings and then shrink them.. but he said they did it by hand.. I tried I almost got them to work but I streched them too much each time so I had them do it.. and so they got them on and took some duct tape and wrapped them tight on the shaft of the pump and then put a hose clamp on it to resize it I did the same thing on the 4 teflon rings on the input shaft and it worked so I'll see when I take the clamp off tomarrow or so.. also they did give me a back up plan incase the rings did not shrink back.. they use teflon rings that are cut on an angle I will try to get pics of them posted so you can see what the heck I'm talking about.. but anyhow I'm still looking for a vigilante converter.... probably will be a few more weeks before I can afford one.. due to the fact my 2 car insurances came and my motorcycle one too... yes I'm 21 have 2 cars a truck and a motorcycle.. the vette which is torn down.. my 66 ford galaxie which I should sell.. and it sits in my driveway.. my 88 s10 4 banger work truck... and a 75 honda CB 550... which I should sell along with the ford and buy a nice bike.. anyway I'm rabling as always.. time to get to bed so i can get up and work on some more cars...
-Rick

 

[69MyWay]

Rick,

Got my diff back yesterday with the fresh set of 3.75 Richmond gears, new bearings and seals. I am putting my rear diff back in this weekend. Last night I simply squirted on the RTV and let it skim over, then I bolted the rear carrier to the diff and torqued it down. I am letting that dry overnight and plan on filling the diff with posi fluid and gear oil outside the car, then jacking the diff into place.

I think before I do I will take a high speed wire wheel brush over the whole housing and drop a coat of clear paint to keep it looking fresh.

Don't you just love this stuff!

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Rick,
Don't you just love this stuff!

Hell yea Brother... Anyhow got the diff bolted up today just need to let it sit and dry and then go get me some gear lube for it.. looks like the solid rings on my pump are going to work. So maybe tonight I'll start re assembling the trans or maybe just mount my trans cooler we'll see, I have alot of other stuff to do today..
-Rick

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Actually did get some more done

Hey it's snowing today..
anyway I did get my trans cooler all mounted up came out pretty nice I just need to get some more trans hose and route the other end of the cooler.. I was supprised I had some nice brackets in my garage to use for it.. anyhow next I'll be working on getting the trans back together probably next weekend..
-Rick

 

[BlackNBlue95]

I was going to route the other cooler hose today.. found out I got too small of a size.. I guess it's 3/8's anyhow filled the diff with lube and some GM additive.. we'll see tomarrow if it stays dry the diff case that is.. anyhow next will be working on putting the trans back together..
-Rick

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Man I miss the nice weather and I miss my vette.. I am in this phase of wanting to buy everything for it.. and i can't afford it it's killing me.. AHHH.. anyway I installed the TransGo Valve body components I just need to drill the spacer plate before I can bolt it all up.. but I'm not doing that unless it's a weekend and I'm well rested because thats how I made the mistake of putting my 1-2 accumulator together wrong and using the wrong spring in the 3-4 accumulator last time.. I'm begining to think that the trans failure was due to the fact those were not doing what they were supposed too.. but I can't confirm it all I can say is that I'm replacing all the eletronics in it.. and re assbembling it all over again and we'll see what happens... here is a list off all the mods I will be doing to it which I'm shure I probably posted them before but I'll reitterate them..

These are just the upgrades:
Kevlar 2-4 band (Wider and better friction material)
13 Vane Reman pump (More volume then stock 10 vane)
Red eagle frictions, Alto Kolene Steels
Trans Go Shift kit (Gonna make this puppy BARK'em)
Vigilante (NEED TO BUY YET, probably a 2200-2400 stall)

Just to add some words of self confidence I WILL BE THE TRANS MASTER!!!

LOL anyway past my bed time again.. I should not work on cars all day and work on vettes all night .. I should just work on vettes all day... God please give me that opportunity..


OH Yea almost forgot.. I did get the right trans cooler hose today too.. so I will probably route that tomarrow and get it all buttoned up to the point where I need to install the trans temp gauge which I think I am going to order tonight..

-Rick;worship

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Orderd My Gauges

I orderd my gauges trans temp and vacuum Autometer Lunar Series and there 2 gauge a pillar pod..

I drilled the space plate today got my valve body set in place and all the bolts started.. i will torq them tomarrow once I move my tool chest to where I can open the drawers and get my torqe wrench out. then I just need to take the internals out again and install the new return springs for all the apply pistons they came with the trans go kit I think they may only come with the professional.. but since I had the trans out anyway I figured I would install them now.. they just help to ensure pistons return quicker and to overcome centrifigul force when there is still fluid in the piston bore.. anyhow should have the trans back together by this weekend.. then I will finish bolting up the rear lower control arms and route that trans cooler hose I have yet to route and get that ready for the trans temp sender which will be here tuesday... the only major part I'm waiting for is the money to get that damm vigilante.. shure I could put a cheaper torq converter in but why when I could put the best just requires more patience...

-Rick

 

[69MyWay]

I want to see a pic of the pillar gauges when you are done.