I built my first engine, a 6.0L with 853 heads last week, due to blowing up my LS1... Im pretty sure i did a good job, it runs great. Anyways... the reason this thread is in this section...

FAIL #1 : mounted converter to flexplate ON ENGINE, attached auto trans (never done an auto out of a car before, aligned, bolted up, got a little *pop*, shrugged it off, continued.

FAIL #2 : not checking what the pop was while it was still out of the car. It was the transmission pump. broke the crap out of it.

so I found a guy who had a pump for me, paid 190 for gaskets, orings, and a pump.. I installed the pump. thought i did a pretty good job, it went smoothly.. other than the 2-3 shift solenoid seeming to have too much play

FAIL #3 : aligned transmission, started first bolt 2 threads approximately, meanwhile, my fluid soaked tranny pan and my floor jack decide they aren't going to be friends anymore, and trans takes a dive.. I stopped it with my leg, but not before the metri-pak plug and the wires for the VSS sensor ripped out.

FAIL #4 : Freaking vehicle doesnt move. I made sure I didnt crush the pump this time, It went in smoothly, i put two quarts in it, revved it, shut it down, added 3 more quarts, started it back up, checked level,.. shows full. uh oh.. get in car, rev it, and it moves forward a hair at 2000rpm.. okay. more fluid..

more fluid didnt' work. I threw the towel at the car after six 5pm-1am sessions of working on this piece of crap. I should have been driving this thing 2 nights ago, but here we are.. Any ideas? I'm thinking i'll pull the tranny for the FIFTH time, take it to the guy who owns the shop that sold me the pump.

thanks for reading, hopefully less FAIL will follow this post.. the 3 1/2 hours of sleep a night are making me a bit kooky

 

Remove the cooler return line and put it in a catch can of some sort. Have a buddy start the car for just a sec. and shut if down while you watch the fluid flow just to make sure the pump is pumping. A line pressure gauge would be good if you can get ahold of one. When and if you have to pull it back out, inspect the converter hub for damage also.

Sorry about your luck dude. When I put my stall in I was checking my clearances over and over as I tightened up the bolts

 

When you installed this trans the last time did you install the converter into the trans before bolting the trans up to the motor? If not I bet you broke the pump again. BTW I love the quote in your sig. Reminds me of somebody. I won't mention any names. Vince

 

no, i did it right the second time. i put the torque converter in carefully and made sure it locked onto its lugs.

 

As mentioned earlier I would remove a trans line start car and see if its pumping first then go from there.

 

Did you check it with the engine on? These things take LOTS of fluid before they will be able to move the car, more than you think.

First I'd check to see if the pump works as previously stated and best of luck!

BTW I like your sig too.

 

^^+1 They take around 10 qts I believe... it won't work right if its only got 4 or 5 quarts of fluid.

 

Tranny was fubared bad. I didn't install the pump right and everything got eaten up. Sweet. $450 later I'm looking for a converter. Lame.

 

Sorry to hear that.

 

theres a guy working on his vette here on base that is gonna be in the same boat as you soon. he didnt unbolt the converter from the motor when he removed the motor, so im guessing something will be messed up from that. but i dont know if hes gonna realize what hes doing and install the converter into the trans first, or just bolt it onto the new motor.

the motor is a funny story too. he installed a new cam and heads into an old 350 vette. well, he got excited and forgot to add oil, and ran it for 5 minutes before he realized it. it also had a god aweful knock, which come to find out was the piston hitting the head. once the motor seized he pulled it out. he bent a valve on the number 3 cylinder, and number 4 was hitting the head. once the shortblock was out of the car he removed the cam, in 2 pieces, along with the piston to number 4 being broke.

i dont see this car running any time soon