Small problem w/ TCI 3800
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From: on the dyno tuning in MD
Originally Posted by Jpr5690
hey if you get time can you answer my question that i asked eariler. im really intrested in hearing your responce being im looking at doing this proiject in the future also when everything is on the road some feedback would be appriciated if its not a big inconvience to you 
I would say either find someone who has a good reputation locally (for performance trannys, not stock rebuild) or check out one of the posts on here about getting on shipped. One thing for sure, don't think a stock rebuild is gonna hold up for long!
Hope that helps! Let me know if I can answer any more questions.
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From: on the dyno tuning in MD
Originally Posted by Kevin Winstead
You should only use the antisieze on the pilot that goes into your crankshaft. You can use loctite on the bolts.
Kevin
Kevin
By the way - the 3800 stall seems to be a bit too much for a daily driven car. I got it from one of your dealers and I told them I drive 25 miles each way every day - in and out of traffic. They recommended the 3800 over the 3500, but I'm thinking I made a mistake! It takes 2000 to 2500 RPM to roll the car away from a light. The gas mileage around town had to drop to 10 mpg or so! Highway is fine because of the lockup.
I might have to replace this thing - I'm gonna give it a week or two to see if I get used to it. Some say I will. I don't know.
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From: Falkner, MS
I've never advised a customer to use a nut and bolt, but if you're going to do this then be sure to use some 3/8" Grade 8 bolts and nuts and you'll be fine. I've done this more times than I care to admit. Heck GM used a nut and bolt for years on OE converters. The first time I tried it, I was working on a 454 Chevelle and we had forgot to drill the flexplate holes out for the 7/16" converter bolts. I didn't notice it until we had the TH400 in there and bolted up. The 3/8" bolts held up fine. You do some strange things when you've got to go to the track. All that being said, I'd prefer that you sent the converter back to me and let me redrill and retap it.
You'll probably get use to the looseness of the converter, but if you don't, we can always tighten it up to a 3500 stall for you.
Kevin
You'll probably get use to the looseness of the converter, but if you don't, we can always tighten it up to a 3500 stall for you.
Kevin
Last edited by Kevin Winstead; Nov 12, 2003 at 06:13 AM.
The converter we have gotten in the past have used stock bolts, I always run a tap through them just to check them out (just a personal choice), they have paint and all in the threads and I had rather make sure the bolts start on the bench rather than in the car.
The comment about bolts being a crappy way to do the install, whats up with that? ARP makes bolts for a converter with self locking nuts and all, I have used bolts a lot of times with out any problems.
The comment about bolts being a crappy way to do the install, whats up with that? ARP makes bolts for a converter with self locking nuts and all, I have used bolts a lot of times with out any problems.
That's going to be real fun getting to the back side of the converter to get a nut started through the starter hole. This isn't a TH350 that you can remove a dust cover on. I sure hope you get those holes drilled dead on center. I can't believe you're giving this advice and it's even harder to believe TCI doesn't tap the threads metric. Everything on these cars is metric. Can't find metric T/C bolts??? Go to any GM dealer and ask for part # 1261968. M10x1.5 hex head T/C bolts with loctite alerady on the threads. And good luck ever trying to resell that converter with the holes drilled out.
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From: on the dyno tuning in MD
Originally Posted by Kevin Winstead
2xLS1,
Think Positive
BLK02WS6,
If you ever decide to sell your converter, just send it to me first, I'll repair it for you.
Kevin
Think Positive
BLK02WS6,
If you ever decide to sell your converter, just send it to me first, I'll repair it for you.
Kevin
The reason we went this route was because TCI said it was alright to do it, and we didn't have time to send the converter back. They probably could have tapped them out to bigger sized holes, but thought it easier to just drill and use nuts.
It worked fine - no vibrations or shudders or any other problems!
Kevin, I will post over on my other TCI 3800 thread about my latest findings on performance, but thanks for the offer of fixing the bolt holes and tightening up the stall.