Fun Guy Posted February 13, 2004 Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 Tried this topic at LS1Tech but got limited replies. I went to JBA Racing here in San Diego, but they sent me to a tranny shop since they don't do automatic tranny work there. I showed the owner my Magna-blown 2003 Avalanche and told him I want to beef up my tranny so I don't have to worry about anything bad happening. I told him I may want to do some additional mods later that could add HP, and I'd rather to be safe than sorry. I told him that, at minimum, I want to do a 4L60E-HD shift kit with a Corvette servo. I am also considering a larger build-up similar to what BenKey is doing here - again, just to be on the safe side. So anyway, the guy says he doesn't want to jump the gun, installing something without knowing exactly what's going on inside. He says he doesn't know what they did when they reprogrammed the PCM for the blower (I think all they did is remove all the TM and told him so). He said he first wants to do a diagnosis. He said he is against just throwing in a shift kit and a servo without knowing exactly how the tranny is behaving. He says it will take about a day. I can drop off the truck, or stay there all day if I want. I can even sit in the truck and see what they do, while they do it. He says he wants to hook up some gauges (I guess there are connections already on the tranny) and take a bunch of readings - tranny hot, tranny cold, truck going, truck stopped, 20mph, 40mph, shifting, etc. And, he says this initial diagnosis will not cost me a penny. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted February 13, 2004 Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 Is this the place that JBA sends the guys that do any racing to? If it is, and they have a good reputation, then go with it. If it's not, find another place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted February 13, 2004 Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 sounds to me like he just wants to drive it. you build a trans for stregnth, not to make it act a certain way. there is zero reason to have to "inspect" it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deezel Posted February 14, 2004 Report Share Posted February 14, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1cmaw Posted February 14, 2004 Report Share Posted February 14, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilveradoSS04 Posted February 14, 2004 Report Share Posted February 14, 2004 sounds to me like he just wants to drive it. you build a trans for stregnth, not to make it act a certain way. there is zero reason to have to "inspect" it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigTex Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 sounds to me like he just wants to drive it. That was my first impression as well. If they can build a "performance" 4L60E transmission, they should know what you are wanting. A shift kit and servo are nothing special. If you have a reasonable reason for wanting to add better internal parts, a good shop should understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fun Guy Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 sounds to me like he just wants to drive it. That was my first impression as well. If they can build a "performance" 4L60E transmission, they should know what you are wanting. A shift kit and servo are nothing special. If you have a reasonable reason for wanting to add better internal parts, a good shop should understand. Yeah, that sounded weird to me as well, but I thought perhaps there was some common procedure I was unaware of that this guy was going to do. What made me really lift an eyebrow was when he said he was going to spend all day 'testing' my truck, and it wouldn't cost me a dime. That got me wondering....what the hell could he be doing that would take all day, and why would he not charge me? How could anyone stay in business like that? I'm at a loss as to what to do now. I guess I need to do some more research. Perhaps I should talk to some San Diego dealerships (Chevy, GMC, Cadillac) and see if either their service departments would be willing to do the work, or if they know of anyone here in town would do it. Thanks for all your input, I appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 not sure how far you are from where adams2003 went, but they took care of him pretty well. maybe he'll stop in here and post something, that shop took care of him pretty well i thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adams2003 Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Fun Guy, Im going to send you a pm right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fun Guy Posted February 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Thanks Adam, I got your message and replied. I'm getting close to my trip back East so I may wait to do the tranny work until I get back. FYI to the group, there is someone at Full Size Chevy who is supporting my local shop's approach. I'll let you read the thread here. The guys name is James B. and he has some good rationale as to why the shop here in San Diego may be justified in their approach. Also, I sent Chuck from FLP an email asking him his opinion, and he emailed me back today (Sunday). Boy, do I appreciate that kind of service....I wish he was in California. Anyway, here is an excerpt from the email: I use the vette servo and the transgo kit in our level 4&5 transmissions, so you can install those two for sure to help your trans. However the guy at the trans shop is correct about his concern that the pressures being jacked up with programming plus adding a shift kit do not mix together, Just make sure that it was only torque management that was changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted February 16, 2004 Report Share Posted February 16, 2004 well, you're getting a shift kit one way or another. my guess is, unless he has ls1 edit, leaving your truck with him all day isn't going to tell him what programming the trans has. one way or another with my experience in the field, he doesn't have a way of knowing how hard is going to be acceptable to you until you drive it after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted February 20, 2004 Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 This is just a guess, but it sounds to me like he wants to develop a baseline reading of whats going on so he can develop a built tranny for the masses and use yours as a guinea pig. That's why he's not charging you for the diagnostic work. It might not be a bad opportunity, but I would check some references on his work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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