Begone demons ... begone.

My tranny took a dump.

Busted sunshell.

I'm goin' fixt it.

I ordeded the parts and thingys today.








Wish me luck !

luck

You should do a full write-up with pics.

I've done one small auto with tutoring and have had no desire to do it again.

I'll pass on the full write up with pics.

There's a two hour video on youtube that goes through the entire disassembly and reassembly process and I ordered two ASTG manuals that have complete instructions on how to including updates and mods.

This is something I really didn't want to do but dire circumstances have forced me become a transmission rebuilder.

Hammer to fit - paint to match - under the shade of a tree.

I'll git 'er done.

Tomorrow I shall perform the first righteous act in the course of exorcism.

I will levitate the beast.

I expect to be spewed with red fluid (vs green pea soup).

I shall cleanse myself and bath in pure water.

I will then drink myself silly.






Oh, BTW. I need to read the good books in order to properly perform the holy exorcism.







Both ASTG manuals.










More to come.

I've done the same thing. Yours is probably in a '99 suburban or pickup. They should have re-called that problem because they knew they weren't heat treated properly. I believe they were bad from '98-2000. If you are mechanically inclined, the job won't be hard. You'll have to pull out the clutch packs and band and get into about the middle of the tranny to get the reaction sunshell out. Make sure you buy a "beast" reaction sun shell. When I bought mine, they were about $52.00. You'll spend more than that on new fluids (ATF and Autotrak II if yours has the auto 4x4 option). If you are lucky, it sheared clean and there won't be any metal fragments or debris in there. It's still a good idea to flush the tranny cooler and lines though. Depending on how many miles you have, you might want to think about changing out some of the clutch plates and steels. Always good to check them at least when you are in there. Even an upgraded 3-4 pack would be good. I also urge you to be careful with the wiring harness going into the unit. It is somewhat fragile: Don't ask me how I know that... Good luck with it...

Here are some pointers:

1.Jack the vehicle up good enough so you can move around underneath it.
2. You don't have to take the exhaust loose if you are careful.
3. Separate the transfercase from the tranny.
4. Be careful with the wiring harness'.
5. Drink beer when done, not during....
6. Good luck...

1998 K1500 148,000 miles. Always maintained and never a problem until now.

I've order the following parts:

OPT master rebuild kit
Transgo shift kit
Beast sunshell
Corvette servo
Assembly lube
Both ATSG manuals

The parts I've ordered addresses all the common issues and upgrades everything that's needed to make it a reliable transmission. The rebuild kit has new Borg Warner steels, clutches, and a high energy band. The parts totaled a little over $400.00 with expedited shipping.

Fortunately from the time the sunshell busted til I parked it in the driveway I only drove it about 15 miles. I'm going to flush the system before I remove the tranny and I don't expect to find any internal problems other than the broken sunshell.

Smart man. Sounds like you are doing exactly what it needs. My wife's went out at 80,000 and the clutches and steels still looked like new. The tranny shifted great, so all I replaced was the reaction sunshell and fluids and gaskets. I jokingly gave her a 50,000 mile warranty. The burb has another 50,000 miles on the tranny now so I guess it passed the warranty offer... . Sounds like you have done your homework on what makes the 4l60e a great transmission. Take your time and you'll do just fine. What's been built by man can always be repaired by man...Or like my good friend used to always say, "If I can't fix it, I'll make it so no one else can!!!"...

You also want to watch someone who knows his chit on rebuilding transmissions, watch Hiram. This guy is a master!!:

I already book marked that video. That guy knows his stuff and does a rebuild without all the specialty tools.

2 hours and 20 minutes.

You about done, FH?

Ha ha... I'd still be working on the valve body... I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to polish the bores on a '97 Honda accord automatic transmission... I'm rooting for fishhead though...

No.

I ran out of beer.

Your golden retriever is keeping a good eye on you, so you don't fu ck this rebuild up.... I also think you need a bigger hammer...

Inexcusable!

"Begone demons ... begone."

If you do house calls my wife's Blazer (the "Anti-Christ") could sure use a treatment.

Now that is funny. My truck was exhibiting some of those characteristics as well. Doing pretty damn good now though after rebuilding:

1. Transmission at 111,000 miles
2. Front differential at 120,000 miles
3. Rebuilt rear end and new G80 locker
4. New transfercase around Christmas time (SOB) @ 139,000 miles.
5. Power steering unit around the same time.

The damn 5.3 still runs like a champ though. For some reason it doesn't use a drop of oil between oil changes and it runs like a mo-fo. I have to be easy on the gas pedal or it breaks them loose. I can't say enough good about that damn LS1 engine. Great design. However, to own a chevy/GMC you need to be a little mechanically inclined... Hint..

Fortunately I haven't had to repair any of the drivetrain components except for the tranny now at 148k. A couple of years ago I replaced the fluids in the front dif, trans case, rear dif and everything looked perfect.

I bought my truck new and I've always kept up with the preventative maintenance but I done my far share of fixing all the notorious issues:

Fuel pump
Intake manifold gaskets
Steering components: pump, high pressure line, tie rod ends, pitman arm, steering box (adjusted to factory specs to remove the slop), rag joint

^^^ Those are just the major items. I've done lots of other minor work and it runs and drives as good as or better than new.

It would cost a fortune to maintain one of these if you weren't mechanically inclined and can DIY.

I''ll keep this thing until it totally dies or rots out. The engine is solid and since the last oil change, 4,000 miles ago, it's only used about a 1/4 of a quart of oil and I have some very minor leaks.

292k on mine. Have not even pulled a valve cover. Brakes. Bearings and ft end stuff. Roads suck here. Have a feeling the whOle show will go tits up at same time.



W

That reminds me, I also replaced the pitman and idler arm with Moog parts. These trucks last a long time if you do a little preventative maintenance and upkeep on them. Unfortunately, my parts failed because of my heavy foot . You can only slide the truck sideways so many times before your G80 gives up. They just weren't made for that kind of abuse on the pavement. In all, I'm pretty happy with my '04 sierra 4x4 pickup and my wifes suburban ('99). However, regrettably we sold the suburban last year. Dumb move on my part. The only thing that went bad on the burb was the distributor cap, 3 alternators, and the notorious reaction sun shell. Not too bad for a 17 year old truck..

That made me laugh..

That truck is well worth saving. One of the best years you could get. Vortec 5.7 litre and before the autotrak crap... Now get the tranny jack under there and pull that bastid out.... Or if you are cheap, you'll just use your good floor jack with a block of wood under the tranny....

Wheel chocks!!!

Yep, that could be an accident waiting to happen. I actually bought 2 sets of 6 ton jack stands, just for getting stuff off the ground...

No wheel chocks needed !!!

The pic makes it looks like it's on a slant but it's actually sitting about level. The front end is on jack stands underneath the frame and the parking brake is engaged.

It's not going anywhere.

BTW, It's a 5.0 vortec not a 5.7.

I turned my floor jack into a transmission jack. I bolted two pieces of OSB to the jack and it slightly tilts just enough to level out underneath the tranny.

I pulled the transfer case and tranny by myself with no issues. It worked slick as snot.

The trans is cleaned up and ready to tear down today.

After all the stereo work you did on that truck, the tranny oughta be a snap! I'm sure you'll have it up to Swiss Watch standards in no time... providing you don't run outa PBR again...

Fish Head's truck is one of the cleanest I've seen of ANY vintage.


FC

Well, OK. Just want you to not get deflated.

I chock anytime I have even one wheel off the ground. Safety first!

Thanks FC for the compliments ... and ironbender for your concern.

UPDATE

UH OH

I have extracted the possessed organ from the host body but the demon is fighting the exorcism.



One of the bellhousing T 50 bolts stripped and the other broke the T socket. Whoever put this thing together at the factory waay waay over torqued the bolts but ...

I shall prevail. I am an anointed priest (Master Mechanic) and I have performed many successful exorcisms.



Begone demon ... begone.

The good news is the tranny looks pristine on the inside. These were the only steel particals that I found in the bottom of the pan. No sludge, no varnish, no shiny metal bits (aluminium, brass, or clutch) and the bottom of the pan looked like is was on a tranny that only had 30k miles on it.



So far ... so good.

Looking good, except for those damn pesky Torx bolts....

Did you fight those too?

I have to replace the two that gave me fits.

Little trick with those is break them loose by tightening them a tiny bit, then back them out. An old farmer taught me this trick and it's worked like a champ.

I know that trick but these things took at least 200 ft lbs of torque to break loose.

I've torqued 10,000 + fasteners of all types (using calibrated torque wrenches) including ferrules on aircraft propeller blades that were torqued to 1380 ft lbs. It took a 12' extension torqued at 70 ft lbs to reach 1380 ft lbs. When they got stuck it required soaking them in a bucket of stoddard solvent with dry ice that would freeze the assembly to approximately 70 degrees below zero at normal room temperatures.

Heat 'em ... freeze 'em ... I've done it all to go from an interference fit to a slip fit on all kinds of thingys.

BTW, the splotch measurement to remove the torx bolts was approximately 3" to 4".

Ask me and I'll explain.

damn thats one clean OOBS chevy!!! Those trucks are awesome. I had a 99 (218K) before i sold it, water pump and fuel pump are all that one ever needed. Had a 2013 that i put 53K on and it only cost me 2200$ to rent the thing for 2 years, now driving a 2015 LTZ silverado with the 6.2L max tow set up. This truck will be staying in the garage awhile. My family all worked for GM, i love their trucks, they're not the best at anything but overall as a package IMO they are the best on the road, and I've owned all of them.

An impact driver (not impact wrench), may help with this as well...Sounds like you have a lot of experience at this though..

I watched all of Gutierrez's 4L60/6L80 videos over the past few days. My plan is to install an LS in my Heep and I have not decided on the 4L60 or 6L80. I do have the 6L80 in my current Chevy and I like it, and I am leaning that direction.

It sure seems the 6L80 is an easier rebuild than the 4L60, have any of ya'll rebuilt both?