another tranny thread, but i swear its somewhat original
01-24-2011, 05:30 AM
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another tranny thread, but i swear its somewhat original allright, ill get it out of the way, ive searched, and i read enough of the threads here to know this specific question, or group of questions hasnt been asked like this ... and its even more of an opinion than a truly technical question ... so if you grill me about repetition 
first of all, i know my warranty is about to be up in may, so the likelihood that the tranny is going to fail between now and then is probably low, despite my recent run in with the missed take off and clunk, its been moving for nearly 5 years and almost 60k miles, another 4 months and a few thousand just probably isnt going to do it ... or my luck, it will be about 2-3 months after the warranty and rrrrrrrr ... thunk
and secondly, i know i need to change the tranny fluid, as ive never done it, and im sure the previous owners didnt,
so my question ( couple parter ) is ... while im getting the tranny serviced/ should i have the same shop install the shift kit, cooler, and or anything else ... you know while its drained, seems smart to get it all done at once ...
and if im going to start modding the tranny, if i could do simple things other than the shift kit now, you know, that dont require a rebuild, or dropping it from the car, it is a DD ... what else should i look into doing
and seeing as ive never had anything done to a trans, what should a shop realistically attempt to charge me for regular maintenance fluid and filter swap, and or fluid/ filter change and installing the shift kit ...
if i can get whatever mods most people feel make our tranny the most reliable, done when i get the service done, and save a bit of money doing them all at the same time, then id be more willing to drop a larger amount at one time, rather than successive smaller increments over a longer period of time
like i said before, kiss my *** if you feel its a repetition
oh and thanks, btw
first of all, i know my warranty is about to be up in may, so the likelihood that the tranny is going to fail between now and then is probably low, despite my recent run in with the missed take off and clunk, its been moving for nearly 5 years and almost 60k miles, another 4 months and a few thousand just probably isnt going to do it ... or my luck, it will be about 2-3 months after the warranty and rrrrrrrr ... thunk
and secondly, i know i need to change the tranny fluid, as ive never done it, and im sure the previous owners didnt,
so my question ( couple parter ) is ... while im getting the tranny serviced/ should i have the same shop install the shift kit, cooler, and or anything else ... you know while its drained, seems smart to get it all done at once ...
and if im going to start modding the tranny, if i could do simple things other than the shift kit now, you know, that dont require a rebuild, or dropping it from the car, it is a DD ... what else should i look into doing
and seeing as ive never had anything done to a trans, what should a shop realistically attempt to charge me for regular maintenance fluid and filter swap, and or fluid/ filter change and installing the shift kit ...
if i can get whatever mods most people feel make our tranny the most reliable, done when i get the service done, and save a bit of money doing them all at the same time, then id be more willing to drop a larger amount at one time, rather than successive smaller increments over a longer period of time
like i said before, kiss my *** if you feel its a repetition
oh and thanks, btw
01-24-2011, 08:49 AM
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Shift kit is cake while doing a fluid filter service. Tranny cooler is slightly more involved due to the tight space it has to squeeze into. I have done both of these and do recommend them both. Any mods besides those would require disassembly and/or removal, to the best of my knowledge. Shift kit and cooler is a great start though.
01-24-2011, 08:50 AM
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As for labor, I did everything myself and it isn't too bad if you have a garage and patience. How tos for both shift kit and tranny cooler can be found on the forum.
01-24-2011, 11:29 AM
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On the Impala, we pulled the front valence (bumper assembly) off to mount the cooler. It took a little more time, but it made everything a piece of cake. Also, be sure to run your new cooler as the ONLY cooler in the system. By disconnecting the stock cooler, which is built into the radiator, you remove even more heat from the system.
As for reliability, yes, a cooler is a great idea and a shift kit may help a little, but the issues that cause our failures are in the valve body, so neither of these things will really delay an impending failure.
As for reliability, yes, a cooler is a great idea and a shift kit may help a little, but the issues that cause our failures are in the valve body, so neither of these things will really delay an impending failure.