H3 Pulling and reinstalling the transmission?

[BellyUpFish]

How hard is it to pull and reinstall the tranny in these things?

Looks like the wife's transmission is toast.

Yesterday she was driving and it basically stopped pulling.

It's making some nice racket while idling. Sounds like sand and rocks in the transmission, still sorta works until it gets hot and then nothing..

So, I'm going to look at getting a refurb'd unit from Jasper or similar.

Considering pulling it myself.

For a moderately mechanically inclined shade tree mechanic (moderately defined as able to do own heads/can swap, head gasket, etc sort of work), on a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult a job is this?

Getting quotes of $600-1500 just to pull and stuff it back in.


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[Traxx]

If you can swap heads and cam then a trans swap should be zero problem for you.

 

[adhtx]

It an easy pull if you have the right tools, just pull the transfer case off first.

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[deserth3]

Just bringing this up. Because I don't know and I'm pretty sure my trans is shot too.
Would swapping in a 4L70E be better than putting a 4L60E back in.

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[CaseyS]

Its not the worst job in the world. You will need about 30" of socket extensions and I think it's an 18mm offset box end wrench to get to the torque converter bolts.

Desert, just pull your tranny yourself and carry it down to a shop to have them rebuild it. You should be able to get a price under a grand to rebuild with a fresh torque converter if you save the pull/install labor and do it yourself

 

[deserth3]

I would love to. But the old injuries say no. Frustrating...

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[Ordieh]

A 4L70E will require some modifications such as the unique H3 valve body (almost impossible to find a new one) and pan. Valve Body Pro sells remanufactured units. Almost forgot ........there are two different H3 valve bodies.

 

[deserth3]

Thank. Nothing's ever easy....

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[BellyUpFish]

Sweet. Maybe I'll pull it and let someone rebuild it.


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[Traxx]

I have never had much luck with local shops rebuilding a tranny. Just personal preference, but I always opt for a GM reman rather than having to take it back 3 or 4 times for them to fix things which is what usually seems to happen.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I have never had much luck with local shops rebuilding a tranny. Just personal preference, but I always opt for a GM reman rather than having to take it back 3 or 4 times for them to fix things which is what usually seems to happen.

Do you have a preferred spot to get a reman?


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[Mr_Rich]

I was in this position four years ago, only it was with my '89 K1500 that I was working with. I was swapping the engine out with a spare and decided my 700R4 trans with 225K miles needed refreshing. I spent $800 on a rebuild at a shop a friend of mine recommended. It should have been a warning to me when my cleaned trans (THAT I CLEANED MYSELF) came back to me with a crappy silver paint job and I found the case nicked in several sealing surfaces. The trans lost 3-4 gear in less than 200 miles. Lesson learned. My 3T was my parts runner in this case and I drove out to Hesperia to Bowtie Overdrives and bought one of their 700R4's. They guaranteed the trans as long as I followed their test procedures for turn-up which I did and my truck now has over 50K on it without a hiccup since that time. I second that recommendation about pulling the transfer case off the trans before trying to drop the trans. The transfer case weighs ~80 lbs. and will cause the trans to roll off the jack if it isn't supported in some way.

 

[deserth3]

I have never had much luck with local shops rebuilding a tranny. Just personal preference, but I always opt for a GM reman rather than having to take it back 3 or 4 times for them to fix things which is what usually seems to happen.

Mine is a GM reman... Installed 3 years ago this month. It's a POS, but the dealer can't find anything wrong with it. Been in for problems at least 6 times in the last 3 years. But since each time has been for something slightly different... You get the idea.
I'd pull this POS myself and install a new one. But I have 3 messed up disks in my neck. So I'm forced to dump a **** load more money because GM didn't properly rebuild the trans before installing it on my truck.

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[BellyUpFish]

Highly recommended transmission shop is saying they can pull, rebuild and stuff it back in for $1800..

Trying to decide between that and a reman.

I may just let a shop do the pull. I've got a week off work coming up but don't wanna spend it covered in tranny fluid...


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[Mr_Rich]

Highly recommended transmission shop is saying they can pull, rebuild and stuff it back in for $1800..

Trying to decide between that and a reman.

I may just let a shop do the pull. I've got a week off work coming up but don't wanna spend it covered in tranny fluid...


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When I hear a quote like that knowing the labor involved all sorts of alarms start going off in my head. Short cuts, cheap parts, and cheap sloppy labor come to mind. I could barely do that job myself for that price knowing what's involved and my labor would be much more comprehensive looking at other things to fix or paint while I have everything apart. Just my opinion....

 

[fanugy]

How hard is it to pull and reinstall the tranny in these things?

Looks like the wife's transmission is toast.

Yesterday she was driving and it basically stopped pulling.

It's making some nice racket while idling. Sounds like sand and rocks in the transmission, still sorta works until it gets hot and then nothing..

So, I'm going to look at getting a refurb'd unit from Jasper or similar.

Considering pulling it myself.

For a moderately mechanically inclined shade tree mechanic (moderately defined as able to do own heads/can swap, head gasket, etc sort of work), on a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult a job is this?

Getting quotes of $600-1500 just to pull and stuff it back in.


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I just pulled my transmission and gutted the insides. Was able to buy spacers, upgraded components, eliminate the plastic parts inside and change out all rings- not just worn or compression plates. Upgraded to corvette service, shift kit, etc. I spent $600 on materials.
I have a good friend who has rebuilt several transmissions helping, which is a huge advantage. But, we follow a YouTube video with spacing and tolerance specs even though we don't buy their kits. I did the work. Very doable to those of you more mechanically inclined (i can turn a wrench and follow instructions, but everything is new to me).

.
Every time we needed a spacing plate, the transmission supply house had to order the parts. They told us most shops only replace the worn out plates, if any, within the 3-4, including only replacing worn compression plates. If we had done this, we would have been significantly out of the spacing specs we followed.

Not a ton of help- I just don understand it all myself but I will try to get the YouTube link info for the walk through and the technical info from my buddy and post later. We can also tell you everything we did to mine and why (but I am swapping my Alpha 5.3 to an LS2.)

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[BellyUpFish]

When I hear a quote like that knowing the labor involved all sorts of alarms start going off in my head. Short cuts, cheap parts, and cheap sloppy labor come to mind. I could barely do that job myself for that price knowing what's involved and my labor would be much more comprehensive looking at other things to fix or paint while I have everything apart. Just my opinion....

Hmm. Interesting. It's from a fairly reputable transmission shop in our area.

Looking like $1,800ish with an 18 month unlimited mike warranty or he said he'd be happy to stuff a reman in there for us for the cost of the reman +$600..


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[CaseyS]

$1800 is a good median price. I had mine done for $1400 and held up good until I snapped my input shaft.

Mr rich, you can rebuild a 4l60 for under $500 in parts if all the hard parts are serviceable. This would include all pistons, seals, bearings, frictions and steels plus a Corvette servo. You could even upgrade to 7 frictions in the 3-4.

 

[amrg]

$1800 is a good median price. I had mine done for $1400 and held up good until I snapped my input shaft.

Mr rich, you can rebuild a 4l60 for under $500 in parts if all the hard parts are serviceable. This would include all pistons, seals, bearings, frictions and steels plus a Corvette servo. You could even upgrade to 7 frictions in the 3-4.

Im in the process of repeating my trans rebuild. Last time I went with a stock rebuild plus 5 pinion planeteries. The band friction material wore out in 2K and the reverse input drum is visibly scarred. The trans guy will redo the rebuild at no charge but I will supply the upgraded parts.
Im stuck on what clutch pack to get, found a BW Hi energy with 8 clutches and kolene steels, do you think its a good clutch?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351719878794

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[deserth3]

Just talked to local transmission shop about mine. He thinks I have an electrical issue. Luckily I'm better than the average mechanic regarding electrical issues.

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[fanugy]

Im in the process of repeating my trans rebuild. Last time I went with a stock rebuild plus 5 pinion planeteries. The band friction material wore out in 2K and the reverse input drum is visibly scarred. The trans guy will redo the rebuild at no charge but I will supply the upgraded parts.
Im stuck on what clutch pack to get, found a BW Hi energy with 8 clutches and kolene steels, do you think its a good clutch?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351719878794

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I used the following;
Alto red with koline steels and Borg Warner high-energy Kit from GM for the 3-4 clutches that is used in the 4l70e


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[amrg]

I used the following;
Alto red with koline steels and Borg Warner high-energy Kit from GM for the 3-4 clutches that is used in the 4l70e


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Any part numbers/links?

Cant seem to find a full kit with the BW Hi energy 3-4 pack on ebay

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[Mr_Rich]

$1800 is a good median price. I had mine done for $1400 and held up good until I snapped my input shaft.

Mr rich, you can rebuild a 4l60 for under $500 in parts if all the hard parts are serviceable. This would include all pistons, seals, bearings, frictions and steels plus a Corvette servo. You could even upgrade to 7 frictions in the 3-4.

The operative word is "if". When you tear apart these trans you may find surprises and that costs you. I'd be a lot more discriminating with any rebuild shop...now, but that's just me. I think I hear way too many stories of rebuilds that have to go back to the shop two or three times or more. I went with shop that fixes other shops "F-ups" and didn't have to go back after that.

 

[CaseyS]

My research concluded to stick with no more than a 7 clutch stack in the 3-4. The 8 and 9 clutch stacks use steels that are thinner and more prone to heat warping. Thin steels are the only way to get more clutches in there

 

[Mr_Rich]

Just talked to local transmission shop about mine. He thinks I have an electrical issue. Luckily I'm better than the average mechanic regarding electrical issues.

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I just thought of this and I'm sure it's been discussed in other posts about these trans. For new installs and rebuilds it's mandatory to check the line pressure through all the gears. I bought an install kit that includes a gauge that reads from 0-300 psi. These trans shift with pretty high line pressure in the neighborhood of 100-125 psi and higher at idle. It's been four years since I installed the trans in my K1500 but I seem to recall that fact. You might want to check your line pressure and that goes for everyone who's having some trouble with these trans. There's a quarter inch pipe fitting on the driver's side of the trans to do this testing.