My TRANS Shop Closed!! Sac Recomendations? - 4l60e rebuilt time

[dhcomp]

EDIT:

The shop i planned to go to closed in october

Anyone have a trans shop reccomendation in the greater sacramento area?
I wanted to drop it off tmr

Thanks guys!




Hey y'all, getting the trans rebuilt on my 94 k1500blazer.

Currently the trans doesnt' shift into second, and it makes a racket.....its trashed.

Looking around, everyone seems to reccomend their own upgrades, etc.
What things should i look to add, what can i go without, etc. I know i need a big cooler.

Also, anyone have any luck buying one off ebay, and having it installed somewhere? Probably a gamble, how many shop hours would a trans install be? Most of the transmissions on there are rebuilt and are under a grand after shipping. Everywhere i've looked, rebuilding mine if it needs hard parts is going to be in teh 2 grand range.

Any other comments?

THanks everyone!

 

[Zeus33rd]

Yellow pages!

 

[dhcomp]

Been there done that. Over my hard shifting into 1st since 80k (now at 155k), ive spent my share of time at tranny shops and on the phone. Everyone has their own take on it. THats what i turn to you guys.....but yah, guess i'll go with my gut on this one.

Think i'm heading to Sac Transmission Exchange. Prolly doing a close to stock rebuild + big cooler. If teh stock trans lasted me 155k stock, wiht my beating on it for 75k, a stocker shoudl work til i get another truck.

 

[XHitman396]

dont really know what the application is, but when i rebuilt mine, i did just a basic rebuild (new clutches, band, o-rings, seals, etc.) and i added a corvette servo (makes the 1-2 and 3-4 shifts a little firmer), and a kevlar band, i would emphasize the kevlar band. i also put a very mild shift kit in it; they are cheap and very simple to install, so find one that has the benefits you like. another option would be to have the guy remove the wave plates (firmer shift), and you can buy clutches that are especially thin, and actually allow you to fit more clutches in the tranny (very firm shifting). it all depends on what you want.. in my opinion tranny guys are shady, so try and find a reputable shop to do it. anything else, just ask. good luck.

 

[dhcomp]

Thanks brett.

Application is DD, heavish foot, 2 door "tahoe", so its fairly light. I do tow a ski boat fairly often, but its only 4000lbs or so. I like it to shift firm, i think theres some sort of a shift kit in it now, but not sure. I load it down pretty good, and tow some good grades. Truth is though, not sure how long i'll be in this truck. So good cheap upgrades will prolly be made, costly ones will probably be skipped.

The trans guy im going to convinced me Not to rebuild it the last 2 times i serviced it, plus he was reccomended by somewhere on here, so i think im ok in that department. But yes, i agree, most are shady as hell.

THanks for the input, ill let you know how it goes as soon as i get it in (next week). Thanks!

 

[XHitman396]

glad i could help. all that stuff comes in the same kit except the servo and the shift kit, which is approx $125 (well that's how much i paid, but that was through a transmission tech training school, so it may have been discounted), so those minor upgrades are very cheap. like i said, i just have the very mild shift kit and the servo, and it kicks a tad harder than stock, and i like it a lot. my buddy has a gmc half ton single cab with all i mentioned done to it, and it'll break your neck with the 2nd gear shift.. yeah, and get the biggest stacked-plate design cooler you can find, especially for that towing on grades. good luck, buddy...

EDIT: and mine's a DD '87, stock except for a 14bff; just for reference..

 

[dhcomp]

Ok, cool. I always assumed mine had a cooler with the factory tow package, but when i finally looked for one, i dont' think i do. I've towed some grades with the pedal to the floor for 30+min, doing whatever the truck could do.....normally 25-30mph.

So i'm sure thats what killed it in the end.

 

[dhcomp]

Ok, so i got the truck back, but the water pump was bad. Guess sitting for a while did it in before it went in for the trans.
So last nite was spent doing my first water pump swap.

Trans works now, cooler was addded, and im waiting for teh shift kit to break in.

Now tonite will be spent putting wheels/tires with tread on it, putting a stereo back in it, moving the stuff from teh burb, and getting it ready for tahoe on friday!