I did a transmission swap last weekend I can't get the thing to seat for the life of me. I got it about 3/4 of the way seated but it's not enough to keep it from leaking.

Any help would be really appreciated.

 

Never been able to install the tube without repulling the trans.

I have to put the tube in as the trans goes in.
Stick it up in the body then put in the trans and seat the tube.

 

I used a wrench just big enough to fit around the tube but not the flare and got it down last time I installed a hard tube, might be able to pry with something on top of the wrench for more leverage. Or just do what I ended up doing, install a Lokar flexible dipstick tube. Made things so much simpler!

 

Ugh...not what I was hoping to hear. I'll try the hard way some more before going this route.

 

Is yours a Trans Mount or Firewall mount style?

Would it be possible to get a couple pictures of how you have it in the car and how it looks in the engine bay (I'm not expecting an under car picture unless you absolutely feel like it)?

 

Firewall mount, it's a flexible steel braided hose with chrome ends and handle, and the dipstick is grey plastic that is fairly rigid when cool and like a wet noodle when hot. The nice thing is both the dipstick and tube have built in o-rings, and it has a flange at the top for easy mounting. That's it on the left in this pic;



Back when I was working on my heater box, but a good view of it. It's been moved since to keep it off the manifold.


And then here again, to the right of the Mallory box, where it is now. Only gripe I have about it is the hole is too small for normal funnels so you need a narrow spout one to add fluid. Other than that it's made things much easier than dealing with those &*#$ing hard tubes. I think it was $20-$30 to buy? No leaks from it at all, and have had it several years now, even swapped it between 2 different trans without issue (yes it got cleaned first).

 

That's a pretty sweet set up!

Would you recommend the firewall over a bellhousing mount? I have A/C so my passenger side firewall area is more busy than yours.

 

The firewall mount should still let you fit it behind the head like in my last pic, even with the full A/C box in there. I'm not able to compare against the bellhousing mount style, but I know my Lokar cable is pretty forgiving as to positioning.

Thanks for the compliment btw. My car is definitely a low-buck build, but I've tried to make it as nice as I can. The biggest thing in the last pic I hate to see is the manifolds, especially since I have a set of headers for it (just have to build a Y-pipe).

 

Do you have a picture that's slightly further out? The only reason I ask is because where you have yours mounted, I have a ton of wires running right there. I just want to see how it looks from a little bit further back.

 

Did you buy the 36" or the 24" version?

As for the firewall, I plan on using the chassis ground on the firewall behind the motor as the mount point. Way easier to get to than a transmission bolt, don't you think?

 

I think mine is the 36", will have to measure. Will try to take new pics at same time. I got mine from my local machine shop, Kendrick Performance, and it was something he had in stock so I didn't order it and don't have specs on hand (it was a few years back). It has worked well for me though.

 

That would be fantastic if you could measure it! Looking in my engine bay, I think mine would come up right about where you have yours currently. I just need to make sure if I need to order the 24" or 36". I could guestimate I suppose based on the length of my factory tube.

Last question,

Do I need to leave the grommet in the trans that currently holds my factory tube or does this replace everything?

 

Pretty sure it doesn't use the grommet anymore. It looks like they've changed the built in attachment flange from what mine is, otherwise it's identical to what I have. Also looks like they come with a fluid adapter, and the price has gone up considerably (I may have also gotten a deal from Kendrick, wouldn't be the first time!) Will go measure and take pics now while I still have light outside.

 

It looks like I have the 24" version. As I said my flange is different, it only has a single bolt hole instead of the two the new version has. You can see how I routed it in the pics, it's kept off the manifolds and clears the lip of the cowl. Sorry for it being a little dirty, time to clean my engine bay again.

 

That last picture is perfect and gives me a great idea how it's going to look in the engine bay.

So you measured yours from the handle to where it goes into the transmission? 24"?

 

I measured the dipstick, since I can't really measure the tube without removing it. It's definitely the 24" one though. It's not pulled tight on mine, you can see the soft curve to it around the firewall. I think the 36" will be too long, even with an A/C unit on the firewall. Glad the pics worked out for you!

 

I will order the 24" then and hope she fits!

 

So I ordered the 24" firewall mount Lokar dipstick, got it installed and learned that the one you have is the trans mount version, has the single mounting hole. Also moves it about an inch lower which is what I need so that's also the one I should have ordered. I'm going to have to order that one and switch them out. Since I already installed this one summit won't take it back now.

 

I have one of the Lokar ones in our GTA. I had to put larger O rings on it and a lot of RTV at the tube where it went into the case to get it to not leak there. It also requires an adapter tube (ships with it) to fill and does not fill as rapidly as the factory dipstick tube. If I could get a factory tube to fit with the current engine setup, I would.

 

I'm not worried about filling it, but that you are saying it leaks has me worried. My original tube was cracked where it went into the trans, myf ault because I was trying to force it in when I was putting the new trans in. I haven't run it yet so I hope it doesn't leak.

 

Did your Lokar trans dip stick leak at all once it was installed?

 

I've had it on two different 700R4's now, and no issues of leakage with either. Mine didn't have the filler adapter, so I have a small funnel I use. It does take longer to fill, but that seems like a minor inconvenience at best. Seeing as how I never have to add fluid anyway, it's not an issue.

 

alright, well good news!

i fired it up today after getting all the rest of the work finished and let her run for about 5 minutes while up on jack stands. No leaks that I can tell from the base of the filler tube!

too bad I don't have another $80 to buy the one likes yours. Guess I'm going to have to suffer for a while. Not that I will check my fluid level often hopefully...

Next project tonight...the new U-joint...ugh. lol

 

They are out there for cheaper, I did a Google search and came up with some under $35 as well. I still recommend one in the future when you can afford it, I know how conflicting budgets go when there's more pressing repairs needed. Mine really has made life easier, looks way nicer than the hard tube ever did, and hasn't ever given me any kind of leaks. Good luck on your build.

 

Thanks!

Since the new trans went in I'm suffering a bit of low RPM drive line vibration. Not exactly sure where it's coming from so I'm starting with a U-joint and going from there.

Do you have a link for the $35.00 one? Summit has them as well as Amazon but they're $80+.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-700R4-FIREWALL-MOUNT-FLEXIBLE-BRAIDED-TRANSMISSION-DIPSTICK-W-ALUMINUM-****/321033623878?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20141212152715%26meid%3D74c2359187b347a1901918bda11004db%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D22%26sd%3D331492236098Not sure what the length is, but they do have an "ask question" feature. That one is also carried by Jegs for $46. Like I said, Google has a bunch of them. I know I didn't pay much for mine locally, and I've had zero issues.

 

I'm just gonna go ahead and order the cheapy.. The guy is looking up the length for me now. Thanks for the link. He called me back pretty quick said it was 29" total length.