Yes if you use gaskets , I pretty much since most plates are worn badly , Just use the bonded plates for everything now except 94 and 95 they are cheap enough 11 to 17 dollars and less hassle than the transgo plates and less expensive. The TG plates are a little thicker than GM but I mean the GM last 100k plus miles and I don't have to worry with possibility or misaligned or torn gaskets. Note because of this and the fact i buy a full kit for every unit have now have a crap load of VB gaskets lol.
Pin looks on now I though the first pic was the length you needed. I do however suggest at least an band mockup by hand in the drums now days even if straight. Particularly if the band or drum shows and burn as people have been machining these for years now and I have found a few that well wee cut way to much putting band gap really really close.

 

Yeah, I added a shitload of material to that pin; I had added a smaller amount initially, thinking that it would be more than enough, but once I got the tip shaped and tried it out in the case, it was still too short.

At this point, it was getting dark*, and I was getting frustrated, so I was determined to have enough material to work with.

I used up a whole welding rod making that extension.

*Did I mention that I do my welding outside?

 

I have ended up having to buy a number of GM pins new as I have noted that about 1 in 3 pins is actually bent when I went to cut them for the O rings I use at the 4th feed.
Seeing that they were bent and still working , It is no wonder the pin bore leaks so badly as it would have to have considerable wear for the pin to be bent even slightly as these were and still move easily . The Orings do seal it up. But thinking soon for upper performance units investing in a bore tool and start using oversized pins from sonnax. Though will still oring them.

Also welding is not one of my strong suits .

 

Okay boys, I have a converter question/ issue.

Transmission is installed, and I'm trying to put the 5.3 in.
I'm using a crank spacer to mate up to the SBC torque converter.

However, when mating the engine to the trans, the converter mounting pads are hitting the flex plate too soon, and the parts won't go together the last 1/4" or so.

YES, I'm pretty damn sure that the converter is all the way into the transmission. If I take the converter out and place it against the engine/ flexplate hanging in the air, there is no binding.

I tried installing the engine without the spacer, and there is a gap about the same size as the spacer present.

Has anyone ever had this problem before? I plan to measure/ compare the mounting pad to converter hub height between this converter and the old one tomorrow.

 

I think but am not sure they are two different flex plates a dished and a flat one and you have to use the flat one, But this is not something I am sure about , Hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

Thanks for your input, Frank. The flexplate is indeed the problem... I got confused about plates and spacers, and I was under the impression that the "dished" flexplate was only used for the first couple of years of production, and the flat plate was used from there on out... Turns out, it's the opposite.

For the record, calling this thing "dished" is kind of a stretch; I imagined the dish being much more pronounced.

Now I gotta get a flat plate from somewhere.

 

Yes I know the call it "dished" but not much dish to it lol. But just enough to be a problem lol.
our welcome as always

 

Okay boys, I got a flat flex plate. It came off of a 5.3 that someone mated to a 4L80, for some reason.

Just for the sake of saving other people the same confusion, this is what the flat plate looks like next to the "dished" plate.
For the record, this is the first time I've EVER seen the flat plate.

Flat on the left, dished on the right.


"Dished" on the left, flat on the right.


Flat left, "dished" right.


Like I said, I don't think that's much of a "dish;" if you want to see some real "dishing," check out a Ford Modular plate (two distinct levels) :

 

The dish is only more noticeable on the ford flexplate due to how they stamp out the center section. The flat to dished difference is almost 1/2" which is miles when you think about that distance relative to converter spacing and pilot engagement. There are some aftermarket LS dished flex plates out there that are noticeably dished like the Coyote one you posted.

 

Hey guys, I'm checking back in.

The swap is up and running, but I'm having an issue with the transmission: It won't shift past second gear- as in it stays stuck in second after the 1-2 shift.

- I CAN get third gear by unplugging the main harness connector.

- Line pressure is GOOD (over 200 psi under load)

- Third gear IS being commanded. I tried turning the 2-3 solenoid on/ off with a scanner, and it made no difference.

- Manifold pressure switch DOES indicate the correct shifter position.

-No codes for shift solenoids, and a continuity check on both solenoids (done through the main harness) have identical readings.

- I used new solenoids, and I guess it's possible for one to be stuck "ON," but I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas before I drop the pan.

EDIT: I was wrong about getting third gear with the harness disconnected.

I just decided to do a quick test with the scanner, and I compared vehicle speed vs. RPM, and with the transmission fuse unplugged, I've only got 2nd gear.

 

I would guess the 2-3 shift valve is stuck or solenoid bad. With the harness unplugged no 3rd those are really the only 2 options unless it neutrals when supposed to go to 3rd, But assuming it is just staying in 2nd. I would check the valve they are not spring loaded factory so it is kinda hard to check with VB on but if you can get the outer valve out you can use a skinny set of long needle nose to get at the 2-3 shift valve and pull it out. Plus when you first pull pan if it is stock on the relaxed 3rd position you should see the opening area at end of valve unless a sonnax valve.

 

Spot-on advice as usual, Frank.

I changed the solenoid out for a spare I had left over from another build. There was not really any room to take the shift valves out, as the trans crossmember was only a couple of inches away. However, I was able to push them in with my pinky, and I felt a smooth easy glide to the end of the passageway.

As it is, when I install shift valves on the bench, I make sure that they can move freely inside the bores.

I got finished too late to test it out, but I'll let you guys know tomorrow.

 

Odd as this sounds and though I still put new in everyone, I have actually over the years seen more NEW BAD SOLENOIDS than USED ONE. NO LIE.

 

With the quality of new parts now a days, I am beginning to feel that if a part is working, I would be better off to just leave it alone. I have seen too many name brand replacement parts that are either bad right out of the box or fail in a very short time. Sometimes it's the Devil know or the Devil you don't know. Either way you are hosed.

 

Well what many miss is, yes they buy US brand name parts, " " lol. But reality is the arts are either built or partially built in TWIAWAN . JAPAN, VEITNAM , and more then sent here and boxed under that brand, EXAMPLE show me a GM solenoid plant in the USA, Don't get me wrong US made is not much better if any as they as are pushed for quantity first quality second.
This is particularly true with low cost parts like solenoids . So what if ones bad small loss compared to the cost of individually testing them all.
I inspect and yest every part as possible individually. This takes a lot of time, But I also say that's why in the last three years I have had I think 7 CB but of those 3 were converter failures . One a planet ate a bearing, 1-servo got cooked by a header (sonnax 4th) seals were crumbled and two I honestly have no idea except the were burnt up, I covered all under warranty anyway, As I will an 80e thats coming back, But I know what happened as the customer said on a couple very cold mornings he had no reverse till truck warmed up . Now it has no reverse and if is always in fwd gears even in neutral. (So I know what happened with his) but ill fix it. Oh and one more no reverse right off the bat another 80e but it broke the center out of the low/rev piston (started getting the billet ones now cheap insurance) All of there out of over a 100 in the last going into my 3rd year.
This all bench builds and with no dyno so i would say pretty good record . I lay this at testing, air checking, double testing and covering all the bases. But again by many peoples standards that makes me quiet slow at getting them done.
But quality over quantity.
Even though I could easily spend a little time and triple sales , I would then need to hire help and honestly I just don't trust people to take the time and care. So I do it all alone lol.
Sorry side tracked as usual but when it comes to parts I trust nothing, Test everything. And more worried about quality than where it came from. Like very honestly the china vet servos are a better made piece than the factory one, I have not only looked at them but did some test on the press and well they are not only better looking but in fact stronger at least as far as how much pressure they can stand in a press . But my point is with quality standards of today you have to check and recheck everything by everybody.
Glad your al fixed.Let me now what you think of the overun mod . ?

 

Don't speak so soon; the new solenoid didn't do jack-****; I really doubt I have two bad ones.

As far as the overrun mod goes, is there any way I could have botched it? Here are the pictures of the plugs/ gasket/ etc.:




With that said, what are the symptoms of a 2-3 shift valve installed backwards?

I won't swear on a stack of Bibles that I DIDN'T install it backwards, but I'm pretty sure I didn't.

I'm prepared to take this valvebody off, but I don't want to do it for nothing.

 

Overun mod is correct, Even if one of the plugs came out you would just be dumping overun oil and have no overrun. Yes the 2-3 valve can be installed backwards and would yield no 3rd .
The only other possibilities are you are dumping the 3rd clutch oil totally via the encapsulated ball Totally cut input shaft ring . Missing 3-4 piston <I actually did this once years ago ) . Missing 3-2 control valve if it has valve just behind solenoid.

All of these would result in 1-2 but no 3rd shift and no band release so 1-2-2-2
But logically VB would be first place to look.

 

Okay guys, I found the problem.

Yes, it was something stupid.

The 2-3 shift valve WAS installed correctly, and it wasn't stuck.




This quote made me suspicious of that valve. So I took it out, compared it to the service manual, and it turns out that I forgot the plug that holds in the 3-2 valve!
(If y'all will remember, I was planning to block the 3-2 valves inward, but since this was an early style 3-2 valve, that wasn't going to work. I had already thrown the original springs and plug in the scrap bucket, and I just forgot about the plug. SMDH...)




Here it is, properly installed:




So with that said, the fluid looks/ smells a little toasty now; a little bit of clutch material (which clutches, I don't know) but no metal. I strained it through some paper towels and reused it. Hopefully I didn't hurt anything too badly.




@FranksCustomTrans The overrun mod seems to be working great; I can feel that 3-2 downshift when coming to a stop; I doubt this guy will complain about it.
Personally, I like the way it feels.

Final note: I'm having the same problem I mentioned here.

I'm not getting full line-pressure under load. It's almost identical to the situation in my Firebird: Pressure under full throttle is about 150-160 psi. Transmission is capable of 230 psi with the fuse pulled.
Obviously this is a tune related issue, so I'm going to handle it tomorrow, but it's just weird that I had the same problem twice.

 

Remember the stock tune has max set at from what i have see 80 to 95 percent . unplugged would be 100 percent , MAX you can set in tune at least on my car OBD1 was 99 percent. 100 or higher actually cause it to drop for some reason.
Now work arround is that small spring I add to the Boost valve in my trans thread.

Oh and yes that would have dumped all the 3rd oil right into the pan, so no band release and 1-2-2-2 lol Honestly lucky you didnt break the band as it would have felt the force of both. servos when 4th was commanded.
I played arround with that idea once dumping the accum oil for third while keeping 3rd applied, So both servos would come on in 4th . it worked but bad thing it tore the anchor off the band . 700R4 way back in the late 80s playing arround with FT 4TH SHIFTS.

 

Thank you for all of your input, Frank; I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow, after the re-tune.