Uh, as the title says. What kind of Shift Kits does everybody have in there cars? Are there any kits that people are dissapointed in? Leave some messages!

:lala:

 

Mine is custom made by a local tranny guy, Took all the spacers out and did some stuff with the clutch packs and stuff. Mine will bark 2nd and 3rd with my LG4, Cant wait till I get my new motor in this next week. Work is taking all my time!

 

I'm running the B&M shift improver kit. It's just replacment plates, spacers and springs and I love it. It shifts mean now until about 180* when the fluid gets hot. After that point, it shifts hard, but not uncomfortably fast.

The only thing that sucks is that the manual said that a novice should have been able to install this kit in in three hours.... it took this novice 12...

P.S. - Tranny Fluid doesn't taste that great so wear a mask.

 

Haha, i imagine that it doesn't taste all that grand! I am too worried that this novice will have some difficulties too.

How much did you drop when you picked up your kit? Have you heard anything about the TransGo shift kits?

 

i've got a trans go in mine, works great. i've heard its better then a B&M kit from a number of people (including friends that rebuilt trannys for a living).

 

How much did you pay for it? Did you do it yourself?

 

the shop put it in when they rebuilt my tranny ($1200 for the whole deal) they said it fixes somethings in the tranny, witch is why they put them in all their rebuilds. you would beable to do it yourself tho, just have to make sure you remember where everything goes.. also, a Haynes GM auto trans overhaul book would help out alot

 

I don't have personal experience with the trans go kits myself, but I’ve heard all good things about them. It was the price of $1200 that deterred me from going that route. For less than $100 I picked up my shift kit and 6 quarts of B&M transmission fluid.

I've had the B&M kit in the car for about 2 weeks now and have not had any problems (knock on wood). It's set on the hardest setting and believe me when I tell you that it does the job quite well. When the engine is cold, I can chirp second gear with no effort at all.

I haven't heard many horror stories so I am not a resident expert on the kits, but I can tell you that I am very pleased with the performance results from what seemed to be too good of a price. If you have the guts to attempt it yourself**, personally I recommend going the B&M route, otherwise if you can afford to have it installed I would go with the trans go kit

**If you do go this route, find a digital camera and snap some pictures along the way... trust me when I tell you that you will love yourself for it later.

 

$1,200 for the transgo kit? Where did you ever hear that from? Depending on the particular transgo kit they are all less than $150. Don't get a B&M shift kit. It will destroy you tranny in a short while. Transgo is the way to go.

 

The $1200 was for the rebuild and install, not the kit itself.

...please don't tell me that I made a mistake by putting that kit in my car...

 

Sorry, but you did. B&M does give nice firm tire blazing shifts, but at the expense of the transmission's life.

 

How cut short are we talking about here?

 

I think he was referring to the guy b4 him that spent 1,200$ for a professional to rebuild his tranny and also placed in a Transgo kit.
Are the B&M ones you guys are talking about are ment for street application?? I never seen or heard of Transgo any1 has any links????????

 

so what do those kits tear up in the trans anyway?

 

PM probuilt automatics. He will tell you everything you want to know.

 

http://www.txchange.com/transgo.htm

 

Wow Rage thanks Man I just read 2 paragraphs and I already learned alot of new things

 

I agree, very usefull information.

 

I've had my B&M shift improver kit in for almost 6 years now and have had no problems. Hard shifts in the rain is a bit annoying tho

 

It seems that about 95% of the people on here swear by the TransGo kit. Is there anyone else with good results from the B&M kit? I need my tranny rebuilt, and I know that the cheapest route is not always the best but, I found someone to rebuild my trans, he says he will only use the B&M kit because he has had good results with it. He builds a lot of trannys for drag cars and mud boggers with no complaints. The price is $950 installed with a 2500 stall converter, Kevlar bands,etc.,every place else around here wants $1200 to $1500 for just a stock rebuild. It has a 6 month warranty and if I were to get it just rebuilt stock(from him) it would be a lifetime warranty ($650 installed). I was even quoted a price of $1300 plus $500 for the converter plus 5 hours labor to install @ $60 an hour from a local performance shop. I do not want to install it myself, I have been working on this car for months, so I will most likely go with the $950 deal. Just looking for more positive input on the B&M.

 

Thank you Justin for posting your positive results. I just hope that my improver kit lasts as long. I felt like I was going to be sick last night after reading all of that, I was actually considering looking into just forgetting the auto all together and installing a manual transmission. (which I still may do eventually)

Has anyone else had good experience with the B&M's?

 

According to the spert at our local tranny shop. The Superior HD kit works best in a 700R4. A transgo works best in a 4L60E. Anyway, I have the Superior HD kit and bark the tires going into third gear, so I'm a believer. I also trust him because he has a full steel body Cadillac Elderado that is in the 6's. That is one BADASS CADI!!!

La92WS6

 

what shift kit would work best in a th350

 

From what I've seen B&M kit along with somone who knows what their doing to set up the spacers right and everything is the best bet for a Th-350

 

Superior HD?? What does that stand for or is that what its called?? Any Links???

 

When they did my total race rebuild, I asked what shift kit he would be going with because I had a Trango in it. He said that over the years, the Supirior HD shift kit hits a lot harder in a 700R4. ie second shift is 2 black marks about 2 feet long, and the shift to third is a brief high pitched bark. My car has never hit like that! I will get more info on it for you and post it in this forum. I've never really researched it myself, but I feel it everyday!!!


La92WS6

 

Whew It most feel good to be you!!!! :hail:
I wish my Camaro could do that!!!!! Man **** burners must stay miles away from you!!!!!!

 

I have a B&M shift kit in my ride and I LOVE it! I can spin the tires shifting into third at 70, not chirp, spin. I have had it for over a year and I drive it pretty hard. I don't have a trans cooler (on the way), and I have had NO TORUBLE whatsoever. I absoultely love this kit. And yes, B&M makes the best shift kit for the TH-350.

 

Good, that's wonderful to know. I spent a lot of time double checking all my work when I installed my B&M and I hate to think that I was only ruining my tranny. I love my kit, it will spin the tires into third as well. I treat my car well, I have a feeling that it's going to be fine.

 

My Th400 shifts quick and firm, dunno what's been done to it though. It'll bark the tires on the 1-2 shift and the 2-3 shift. Driving in the rain is like being on ice

 

How much did everyone drop for their kits? And where abouts can you grab some cheap?

 

the B&M kit is like 30$ from jegs... go to www.jegs.com or www.summitracing.com and look for shift kits...

I just put the B&M kit in my 700r4... i hope it lasts well too... of course i dont think the downfall of my transmission will be the shift kit... i tihnk it will be the torque of a 400 small block and the stock tranny and rear end

 

lmao, good call.

As for the price of the B&M kit, I got mine off the internet for $39 I believe. Just make sure to give yourself about two or three times more time ot put the kit in than the manual says you need. 4 hours somehow turned into 12 for me

 

Hmm, strangely affordable.

Now im all geeked to do it, thanks fellas

 

I need a detailed list of the exact parts which come in a trans go shift kit (http://pro-built.net/index.cfm?fusea...t&productid=82) and I can not find it also a large picture of the kit. Could anyone help me out?

 

For drag racing wouldn't you want the fastest shift possible with out loss of traction. i thought any time you loose tracting in a race you are wasting potental power and inturn slowing you down.

Also where can you buy the Supirior HD shift kit ???

and ahs any one heard of the TCI Valve Body Performance Improver Kits that is what jegs sells.

Thanks
Raptere

 

Either TCI or B&M. Transco shifts too hard. I had my B&m forever, in fact its still in my 700r4 which is now a coffee table on my back porch. Did a manual conversion. The B&M ran 30 or more passes at the track and was a daily driver. Never had a problem. The best out of all of them, having tried all three. Thats my opinion though. It's personal taste I guess.

 

Question could i do this with the tranny in the car... you guys must think im crazy but i go to votech in my highschool so i have access to lifts,tranny jacks etc.

 

Yes you dont have to remove your tranny to put in a shift kit just take the pan off.

 

There's a little more involved than just taking the pan off. But no you don't need to remove the transmission.

In reality, you need to take off the pan, drain the system and remove the valve body and check *****. When you drop the valve body down, you have to remove the shifter assembly and the cables and electrical connections inside. Once that's off, the old gasket has to come off and be replaced with a new one and some new holes need to be drilled into the shifter plate.

This is followed by new springs that have to be put in place of the old ones up over the valve body. When this is all said and done, there are new spacers that have to be installed, and check ***** that have to go in different spots than before. I believe there were 5 in there when I took it off and I only needed 3 when I put it back together.

Do yourself a favor and take some pictures of the whole assembly above the valve body before you start taking things apart. You need to make sure that the electrical connections go back in the right places so that everything reads correctly back to the ECU. The Haynes manual and the instructions did jack sh*t for me when I needed a reference. It is not diagramed extremely well at all.

 

Thanks for the warning man, I'll be sure to take a few pictures when I do it to my th350
One thing I thought it was going to be fairly easy but now you have me in doubt jejejeje. I am so horrible with a drill I mean I use it alot but still I would be very scared on doing this.

 

well i already havea shifter(b&m megashifter) im talking about the shift kit with the clutches and stuff that go in the transmission.

 

Dont know if anyone is still reading this, but my dad and i installed a B&M shift improver in my 700r4 by ourselves. Took us 12 hours, we did the whole thing w/ the car lifted about 18-24 inches off of the ground. Total pain in the ***, do yourself a favor if you go this way, invest in a decent set of snap ring pliers, w/ long pins. You'll know why when you get there. I am extremely happy w/ the results, break the tires loose going into second. I do have to readjust the TV cable every so often. This is prolly common sence, but make sure you put a new tranny filter in when you do this. and let it cool for a couple of hours before the install, that tranny fluid stays piping hot long after the cat has cooled off. wear glasses !

 

transgo in my 86 and the 90 will be getting the same thing soon. i love it! personally, i like it a lot better than my friends B&M kit.

 

Superior Kits are usually available through Professional Transmission Parts Supply outlets. Check the Yellow pages Under Transmissions\ Parts Suppliers .

They are very good BTW.

 

I know that my TV cable needs to be readjusted on my car, but I can't seem to see exactly how to accomplish this. I know that it is something of minimal difficulty, but I am afraid of pulling on the wrong thing. I know that there is a tech article out there about this and I used it to try to adjust it, but the diagram was no help to me. Is there anyone out there that would be willing to give me better directions or pictures so that I can do this? I would appreciate it a lot.

 

I wish everyone would have listed their gear ratios when posting about barking.

I have an 88 auto TA w/ a 2.73. The person I bought the car off of said it had a shift kit,....but I really doubt it. (He even said that it will chirp them going into 3rd,...and I haven't even been able to do that in the rain.) I have found nothing in the paperwork and receipts which dates back to 96 that show a shift kit. Besides, the tranny was rebuilt in '00 I think. It doesn't shift nearly as hard as you would think for a shift kit.

It will chirp them easy into 2nd. I have a friend that has a '97 thunderbird. He had a transgo shift kit in that and it shifted real mean. I know the tranny is completely different,...but I plan on going with the trans go. I can't wait. Then maybe I will be able to chirp into third!

BTW....if I installed a 3.73 would that have any effect on my shifts?

 

Haha yes a 3.73 will have an effect on your shifts, thats like asking if a 6 cylinder is slower than an 8

 

T-5 (There's one in every crowd)

 

i still have the stock 2.73. It could be that your car has the b&m shift improver kit in it. Thats what i put im my 700r4 (which im assuming you still have). Just a note, before my kit chirping into second wasnt possible, bet it wouldnt have even happened in the snow. After kit, it chirps into second even when im not trying too, however i've never chirped into third, Prolly not going to happen w/ a $35 kit. The $110 transgo seems like it provides a quicker 2-3 shift, as it should its more expencieve. I'd say it is very likely that you do have a shift kit in your car if you can chirp when you shift, it may not be an expencieve kit, but it beats the hell out of stock!