I went to a tranny shop today and the guy said he would charge $450 for 6 hours of work to put in my transgo shift kit. he also said that our trannys only last 100,000 miles and since mine has 106,000 im on borrowed time. he said i should wait till my tranny blows then install it. is he right, if so ive decided to just install it my self. i got the video and the steps dont look hard if u pay attention and take your time. is it hard to install? and how long did it take?

 

damn 450$?!?!?!? oh man and i thought the 125$ estimate my tranny shop told me for the install was high...put it in yourself and your tranny will last forever if taken care of...dont pay 450$ to get it installed...i definetly dont think its worth that

 

but with my miles would it be ok. i just installed a polyurethane mount also.

 

That's a load of BS. My trans had 107K on it when I did my shift kit. It's not like the shift kit is disposable. If you put it now and the trans goes in 1000 miles, then you still have the shift kit.

The fellas at the trans shop prolly doesn't wanna open it up because he'll have to deal with it when it breaks.

 

That works out to $75/hr. Thats over $110/hr Canadian.
One of ya either shoulda been a lawyer or needs a lawyer. Find a new trans shop. I've done them before and I'd say 3hours labour
should cover it. There has to be a shop there with labour rate and work ethic you can afford.
Just realize that after they install your shift kit, they have no obligation to warranty your trans. Good Luck

 

As you said, if you pay attention & follow closely to the instructions you should do ok. You will need solvent (mineral spirts), air to blow off parts, a very clean work area, a roll of "blue" paper towels (lint free), and an inch pound torque wrench at a minimum to do this job right.

 

i have a 102k miles on my tranny and im about to install a trans-go shift kit

 

Here is the deal, at those miles even if the frictions and seals are OK, the sprag could let go on the first kickdown after install, just as one example. From that standpoint they are right and also as was stated, if it does go then you already have the kit in there.

Now, I hate to tread into this territory but here goes. $450 is just fine for that. Why? Take a search and see how many people have had problems installing anything , let alone a Valve Body Kit and see what you come up with. Next, if the person is highly experienced in this area and with this kit, they likely know how to set it up so that you will really be happy with it. I for one do NOT follow all of the instructions to the letter in the Repro Kit either from direct experience, or also in my case, direct experience dealing WITH TransGo. Now who would you rather pay what to, to install your kit, a guy like me (just as an example) who interacts with the people from TransGo on a regular basis or the guy down the street "who just installed one in his car last year", for half the price?

Next, suppose the tranny DOES have a problem shortly after install? Now of course you will say it was perfect before So and So worked on it, now whatever is wrong is YOUR fault and YOU are going to fix it free of charge, yada, yada, yada. Well that is part of the price too. Accepting responsibility costs money too. JMO.

 

so then do we all agree that i should put it in, with my mileage. is there any speacial instructions u guys have or any special place i should pay close attention to when installing it.

 

so after i install the kit, one downshift may possibly blow the tranny?

 

As far as the install, reread the instructions until you have it down. Then take a highlite marker and go over the specific steps you will be performing. If you have the video, watch it several times too. Make sure you have time and that you have other wheels if you get in a jam.

Will the KIT make the tranny blow? First off, we are talking about the TransGo kit, right? As long as you follow the proper steps, no it won't hurt your tranny. You should know though that there are mechanical components that you have no control over and with or W/O the kit they may be ready to let go.

I judge whether it is too late like this: A) Does it HOLD in EACH gear, regardless of shift quality? B) Is the oil on the dipstick 'OK' or is it dark and stinky, possibly with particles floating around in it?. If it passes those tests then it is time to see what the pan looks like as to whether to go ahead with the kit or fire up the air gun and keep going, pullling it for an O/H.

I have used this process for years and never gotten burned by it but then again this is what I do for a living.

 

the oil is nice and red, and it does hold in every gear. i have service records from the past owner and the car went in every 3 months for oil and lube/inspection. so im pretty sure my tranny has been taken care of.

 

what type of solvent should i use. carb or brake cleaner?

 

transfixleo,

I want an unbiased reason from you that tells why you do not like the B&M Shift Improver Kit.

I don't want any "TransGo rules" or "Their parts are better" or "They put food on my table" or anything like that.

I want hard-core proven facts as to why the TransGo kit is better than the B&M kit.

What differs from them. What's "wrong" with the way that B&M designs their kit? What will happen to my transmission since I HAVE used the B&M kit? Is it gonna blow up? Will the sungears fly out of the trans and take my foot off?

Please justify your opinion. And base it on your experience, not what TransGo has told you.

This is not to cause a flame. I am seriously interested in this subject. I just wanna make sure that it's not a "Chevy vs. Ford" type of war.

Thank you in advance,
AJ

 

I don't "recommend" any brand since everyone likes or hates all of them but I do agree with everything transfixleo has said.

Personnaly I say buy the kit and do it yourself. When you get the car up in the air so you can work on it the first thing you'll have to do is drain the oil from the tranny and theres' no drain plug.

Once you get the pan off, you'll be able to tell if it was really worth it. Metal "sludge" in the bottom of the pan means the tranny has seen a few miles. It could still survive for a long time but it depends on how much abuse it's going to take. If there are "parts" in the pan then it will need a rebuild and you might as well put the pan back on.

Excess heat and not changing the oil is the biggest killers of automatic transmissions. The heat dries out the seals and dirty oil is dirty oil.

Once you decide to install a kit, you'll usually have a few options of how you want to install it. Stage 1, stage 2 etc. Start with the lightest stage. If you're not happy with the results, you can always pull the pan off and install the next stage (don't throw the extra parts and gaskets away after the first install).

As long as you can read the instructions, a shift kit is relatively easy to install. Install a new filter, put the pan back on and fill it with clean oil. It helps to install a drain plug kit also while the pan is off for later oil changes.

Get an aftermarket tranny cooler and change the oil every few years and a tranny will live for a long time unless it's a race only tranny.

 

I have no problem with the question at all. It is a legitimate question. Here goes.

First, a little history. The name Shift Kit is a registered trademark of TransGo. TransGo was started in 1959 with the intention of finding the causes of complaints and failures in a particular transmission and converting that info into a kit that could be installed in the tranny.

You would be surprised that a true Shift Kit does NOT make hard shifts and is intended for passenger car and light truck use. They (TransGo) spend sometimes years researching a tranny to see what it does right and what it's weak points are before they can finally offer a Shift Kit for it. They also make a Reprogramming Kit which uses the Shift Kit for a particular tranny and adds HP/HD capability, and yes firmer shifts too. They generally speaking will give you the ability to select any lower gear or hold a gear to any speed with the shifter.

B&M and the like, on the other hand always have the same goal in mind: Hard Shifts. To accomplish this they have a set formula that gets applied to every transmission. A) Block or limit the smoothing devices (accumulators). B) Jack up the line pressure. C) Hog out the feed holes. The result is always hard shifts but often that has nothing to do with WHY a tranny fails and is more a RESULT of another problem causing soft, slipping shifts.

I hope this helps and I would also like to say that this isn't what I would call preference, this comes from years of experience seeing blown up trannies with 'Gold' plates in them, not to mention the 'do it yourself' engineering that all tranny guys must go through as part of the learning process. When you see trannies that barked the tires on the shift, and yet somehow the clutches still burned, you have to start asking yourself some serious questions about what is really going on, or just keep your head in the sand.

 

(1) Trans-Go is the "only" company that produces valve body kits that "fix" the TV system, sticking due to dirt, temperature changes, or whatever, etc. This fix allows pressure rise to happen when it is supposed to (without delay). This alone can prevent 2-4 band & 3-4 clutch burnup. (2) It addresses the 2nd gear band release by having it come off at a pre-determined rate. This in turn allows for a much larger feed hole for the 3-4 clutch apply, thereby giving it more capacity, a shorter shift, less wear, less heat build-up at WOT and the ability to take more horsepower & torque and live. At part-throttle the 2-3 shift works out fine with no objectionable qualites. (3) It solves the accidental 3-4 clutch apply when the engine starts getting into rpm's that go over 5,000. This is solved by changing the forward & 3-4 release springs in the input drum, now the engine can go up to 7,800 rpm before having centrifugal apply of the 3-4 clutches. (4) The 700R4 has always had a problem with the 3-4 clutch oil on its release when making the 3-2 downshift, it comes off to slow with some residual oil staying behind. If you road race where there is much cycling of the clutches & band (2-3 and 3-2 shifts occuring often), much heat is created on the band & clutches. Trans-Go solved this problem by installing a "new" 3-2 valve in the valve body, along with modifications to the valve body & valve body plate modifications. (5) By doing these modifications they gave it the ability to hold any gear to any rpm (no other kit can lay claim to that). (6) Trans-Go does not disable the 2nd gear or the 3rd gear accumulator, they work with the accumulator system by changing springs rates so as to give it nicer part-throttle shifts, with the shifts getting progressively firmer with more throttle opening. Only the 4th gear accumulator is blocked so as to give all of the apply oil to the 4th gear servo for better shift feel. There are a couple of other modifications that the kit does, just to much to mention here at this time. As you can see Gil's understanding of the way the 700R4 works is far beyond the engineers at GM, (not to mention B&M, Art Carr, Superior, Fairbanks, TCI, etc.) not that the engineers did not do a fair job of it, it's that Gil comes up with "solutions" to the problems/weaknesses inherent in the particular transmission that GM never addressed and usually years earlier than GM. There is more to making a performance valve body kit than blocking accumulators and drilling large holes everywhere. Does this help you see why we (transfixleo and I) use these kits and other information supplied by Trans-Go?! We want to "fix/solve" these problems, (not just create harsh shifts "anybody" can do that), and at the same time get "quality" shifts at part throttle and at WOT. Nobody but nobody else does this except Trans-Go!!!

 

so can i use carb cleaner to clean the vavle body instead of mineral spirits?

 

Yes as long as it is TransGo Carb Cleaner (just kidding).

 

Well thank you both for that explaination.

I appoligize for the way I addressed the type of response I wanted, but based on the logic that SOME people show on this message board, I was simply trying to filter them out.

I have a new found respect for the both of you now. Answering my question enough for me to better understand the answer is a sign that you don't mind teaching others the 'tricks of the trade'.

I just wish that a 'certain someone' in the Car Audio board felt the same way, instead of being affraid that someone else will steal his secrets.

IMO, what good are secrets if you go to your grave with them, and they die with you. Then all they are is unshared information.

My hat off to both of you. You guys rule!!!

Thank you again,

AJ

 

thanks for all the help guys. i finished putting in the shift kit and it shifts nice now. now we'll see how long my tranny last.