Why Didn't You Guys Warn Me?

[ss454327]

That I could hose my transmission when I changed out my servo for a vette one?

 

Man what a goober I feel like right now. I read all the tutorials and am no slouch with tools so I took my truck down to my father in-laws shop (he's a mechanic) and lifted the truck up and started looking at everything I was going to need. No problem...I waited on it to cool off then started pulling everything apart. Pulled the shield that mounts to the exhaust off the side. Pulled the two bottom bolts out of the cross member and moved the tranny over 1". Compressed the servo assembly and removed the servo. I then cleaned everything up and put it all back together nice and near and put it back in. Here's where I hit a snag. Taking OUT the servo was a snap but putting it back in by yourself is not. Somehow I didn't seat the final round keeper ring and when I took it for a test drive (man did it feel great) it started leaking fluid in the last 100' or so. I only hit the block and didn't go very far luckily but here is the rundown of what happend and what I'm going to have to deal with tomorrow.

 

First the top side of the round keeper ring didn't seat so the servo assembly tilted slightly and bound up in the bore. The ring didn't come all the way out and I managed to get everything but the shaft and servo pistons out. The outside collar is bound up in the bore and I couldn't get a strait line on it to pry or tap (suggested by a master transmission guy) so I'm going to have to at least drop the whole cross member and see if I can get a better line on the servo or drop the whole transmission out. I'm fairly sure the new servo is toast but I might be able to run one down locally if I try real hard. If not the stocker is still on hand to drop back in for now. Man what a PITA this is turning out to be. Something what wasn't going to take 30 min turned into 6 hours and it's still not fixed...

 

My cousin was eager to point out that I got in a hurry wanting to test it out and didn't put a mirror on it to make 100% sure the ring snapped all the way in but I heard it snap and couldn't feel it all the way aruond. My advice to anyone doing this is the MAKE SURE the round ring is all the way in the groove. It's a pretty good ways down in there and the groove isn't very big...

[04CHASE]

there is a sport where you can get the ring on the shaft but its not deep enough , it seems like the right spot but you need to get the servo in even further and that is correct. im betting you didnt get the clip all the way down.

[ss454327]

there is a sport where you can get the ring on the shaft but its not deep enough , it seems like the right spot but you need to get the servo in even further and that is correct. im betting you didnt get the clip all the way down.

 

 

I found that spot about 3 times before I finally got it to compress the last 1/16" and got ALMOST the whole ring down in there. Apparently the top side of the ring didn't get all the way in the groove...live and learn. All I know is I'm going to have hell if the piston messes up the bore...can you say "New transmission housing?" I know I can but I need $1500 first. The sad part is this transmission was apparently rebuilt with new gears 4/07.

[Fireman31]

I hate to say it, but stuff like this is why I leave transmission work to the experts......I had my trans mods installed by a good transmission shop.

[ss454327]

I hate to say it, but stuff like this is why I leave transmission work to the experts......I had my trans mods installed by a good transmission shop.

 

I hate for you to say it too...but this was part of my budget build so a BUILT 4l65E might end up in my budget after this is over with...

[Black2003SS]

Too little too late from fireman and I. We feel your pain. Like Dan (fireman31), I leave trans work to the pros. If they screw it up, its on their dime. I'll swap out whole transmissions and even build engines (i've had training with this though), but the internals of a transmission are worse than learning chinese to me and rather than trying to figure it out at my own expense, I leave it to my local trans guy who has been awesome. I hope you dont need a whole trans. Wish you were closer to michigan. Theres a GM late model junkyard up here called schrams auto and they have take out trans for cheap, sometimes less than a $1,000 nd low miles on them.

[Krambo]

I hate to say it, but stuff like this is why I leave transmission work to the experts......I had my trans mods installed by a good transmission shop.

 

 

Yea, but this is where you get the experience to pinpoint issues in the future. Nothing like doing it yourself to gain knowledge on something that seems so complicated.

 

It is so much easier to do servo's when the tranny is out of the truck. I am not even sure you will be alble to catch the issue with a mirror as it seems that the servo is all the way in when it realy isn't (as Chase stated). Did yor tranny dump a ton of fluid? If not, you may have discovered it early enough to where no damage has set albeit, you need to address the servo jam.

[SSThunder]

I hate to say it, but stuff like this is why I leave transmission work to the experts......I had my trans mods installed by a good transmission shop.

 

 

when I was ready to do my shift kit/servos I sent it to a shop. I thougth long and hard about trying to do the work myself but after reading many threads about people screwing this up, I thought it was better left to the pros. The trans is one area I won't touch. This is the 1st vehicle i have modded myslef and I spent too much on it to screw it up.

 

Hope you get it fixed soon and the mistake isn't costly. Let us know how it turns out.

[ss454327]

Whew...this is almost over! Got the servo out thanks to the instruction from Transgo. It said that if the shaft was tight or bound up then you need to put the transmission in neutral and turn it back and forth a few times. I did that and tapped the servo twice and it popped right out. I put the new one back in and MADE SURE the lid was all the way on and the ring was in the groove. I definately didn't get it seated all the the way as it was much deeper inside when I got the outside ring on.

 

I also went ahead with the Transgo HD-2 kit and it was a breeze (keep your fingers crossed). The only part that confused me was the 2nd accumulator pump because the piece in mine was a bit different than the one they showed. I finally figured it out and put it back together. You definately need another set of hands to put this all together though. Tomorrow I'll be tossing in a new filter and putting the pan back on. I know what my next mod is also...headers and a full exhaust! Whoever installed this dual in/out flowmaster did a terrible job...

[blackvert]

you were able to save the current tranny?

[00silverad0]

AH YES, the infamous corvette servo. Turned my 1hr project into a 48 hr project .

[blackvert]

AH YES, the infamous corvette servo. Turned my 1hr project into a 48 hr project .

 

 

I think the vette servo is going to stay on my computer desk...........

[ss454327]

Nothing to it guys! The servo is actually an easy mod and I'd recomend it to anyone with a 4l60 based transmission. Much quicker shifts without being harsh. It sounds like a standard shifting and I have no PCM tuning yet. I really can't tell the difference from the servo to the Transgo kit as it feels the same to me. I have yet to do any WOT runs so it might be a monster now.