I recently installed an ss3600 into my 02 camaro and have some questions about the mounting. The converter mounted in the trans the full three clicks and i got the install height as measured from the bellhousing with a straight edge. The thing im concerned about is the distance to the flexplate was 5/16 of an inch. anyone got any ideas why so much? factory converter was around an eighth inch

 

its normal to have extra space with an aftermarket converter... everybody builds theirs slghtly different...

you need to "shim" the extra space...
you need a "pull out" distance of 1/8 to 3/16

seat the converter fully in the transmission, pull it back out 1/8 of an inch, shim the remaining distance...

easy way to figure out your shim is to seat the converter fully, then grab a 1/8" drill bit, hold it up against one of the converter pads... measure the remaining distance to the flexplate mounting points...
do the same with a 3/16 drill bit...

any shim that falls inbetween the 2 sizes is fine to use.

since you know your distance is 5/16... you need to find a shim that is 3/16 (0.1875) maximum, or 1/8 (0.125)minimum

there are a lot of premade shims that are 1/8" (0.125)


make sure the pilot goes into the flexplate/pilot hole at least 1/8 of an inch... if it doesnt, you also need a pilot spacer/adapter

 

thanks for the reassurance man. i called dave at yank this morning and he assured me that the converter was built to factory spec. i can assure you that it is not. I could see if it wasnt going in deep enough maybe something was blocking it from going in all the way but i know nothing fell out of it lol he also told me the pilot fits into the crank pilot 1/4 inch with no shim which will only leave 1/16 in the crank pilot with the 3/16 machined washer in place. got any thoughts on this? and where would i be able to find the pilot spacer?

 

I cant answer as to if it fits for certain or not....
but you could always try a pilot spacer from the 4l80 trucks with the flat flexplate

also...as long as you have an 1/8 of an inch in the pilot, you will be fine...which means you can just do the .125 shim.... 3/16 pullout is fine on a 4 speed transmission.

 

cool guess ill have to see if my old machinist buddy who made me the pretty 3/16 shims will make me some 1/8 inch instead. its always good to know machinists

 

Yeah... I have one of those buddies As well...

Mine is making me a set of 0.170 shims for my setup...