'89 Stepside "Way Cool Jr."

Wow, I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted an update. Our middle kid bought a nice 350Z a couple weeks ago, and four days later three deer ran out in front of him. He hit one and swerved into a sign. The car still runs and drives like new, but guess what it needs? A f***in' door. That makes a fourth door replacement on my to-do list. I hope it unplugs like the Chrysler 300 door.

I knew I was going to need to carefully center the transmission pump halves before bolting them together, so I went to my AF reserve shop and borrowed a couple of long screw clamps that we use for aircraft A/C hoses. They're about an inch too short to use just one, so I'm glad I borrowed a second one.
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I fought with the band and finally got it in place - if you put the wider band in your 700R4, you WILL have to tap it into place with a hammer and screwdriver. I took my time with the pump and got it in place, bolted down, and turned back to my tool cart.

"What the f*** is the sun gear doing on the cart? FML. It's supposed to be in the transmission."

It's amazing. The first time you try and put this stuff together it takes half a freaking day to get it together, but once you go back into it a couple times it gets real easy. It took me about a minute to get back down to the sun gear. Once I dropped it in place it took about five minutes to get the input drum, band, and transmission pump back into place. I'm ready to start putting the valve body and pan bits back in place.
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But not tomorrow. I have my shaved tires loaded in the Mustang and my helmet by the door. I'm gonna autocross tomorrow. It's been way too long since I've turned a wheel with significant fury.

The difference between a 700R4 and a 4L60 is supposedly the auxiliary valve body, but that change was in '87, and '88-89 were still called 700R4s.

I mention this because I tried to remove the accumulator piston from my auxiliary valve body so I could replace the seal. The best way to get the pistons out of their respective bores is with compressed air, but there's no way to fit a regular sized air nozzle into the fluid passage for the auxiliary accumulator. I ended up having to tap it out with a hammer and punch. It cocked in the bore and I broke it. Fortunately all three accumulator pistons are the same part, and it's $5.31 from Oklahoma Transmission Supply. I made a trip downtown and got a new accumulator piston. I also took the opportunity to visit Twisted Spike Brewery and get some craft beer. That cost me quite a bit more than $5.31.

A little bit of emery cloth and some transmission fluid worked magic on the scuffs in the bore, and the new piston and seal fit nice. I finished putting the valve body back together and put the pan on, but I just realized I left the magnet out of the pan, so I'll pull the pan back off tomorrow and put the magnet in it.
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I have the Sonnax Corvette 2nd gear servo and Super-Hold 4th gear servo ready to install, and I tried it tonight. I'm 1/8" shy of getting the servos and lock ring into the bore, and I need to grind the servo shaft tip to fit. I have my dial micrometer set up to measure the end play. I'm just a bit shy about grinding on a new part to make it fit.

I'm feeling pretty good, there aren't any funky parts left on the cart, so I think I got everything where it goes.

Thatlow95 said:

Whenever I tell my wife I need more parts she laughs too... then she grabs a gun lmao


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My wife is far too mean to use a gun. She just pushes the bullets in manually.

Frank Enstein said:

My wife is far too mean to use a gun. She just pushes the bullets in manually.

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Lol my Duramax has been surging at idle for a bit now, she rode with me and she asked what it was. I told her the FPR needed to be replaced and she just gave me the look, married men know what the look is lmao


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Thatlow95 said:

Lol my Duramax has been surging at idle for a bit now, she rode with me and she asked what it was. I told her the FPR needed to be replaced and she just gave me the look, married men know what the look is lmao


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Yep, I am getting closer to getting my fuel issue under wraps but still need more parts, I get the look when I mention I am going to buy more parts lol.

MrPink said:

Yep, I am getting closer to getting my fuel issue under wraps but still need more parts, I get the look when I mention I am going to buy more parts lol.

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I had to pretty much forego all miscellaneous expenditures for awhile to get my wife to go along with me buying all new moog steering and suspension bits. I haven't told her about the interior pieces I want to buy yet......

Soo... do you know that moment when you're cleaning up all the leftover parts from the kit and you run across the gasket set that says, "Use for 1987 and later valve bodies"? Yeah, I just found that. The pan and valvebody have to come off once again and I feel like a dumb@$$. Unfortunately it was a Reserve weekend, so after two ten hour days of wrenching on equipment I didn't feel like going in to swap those out. I have chores lined up for the next two days, and Wednesday our race team heads out for Sebring International Raceway.

I'm gonna race at Sebring!

Thatlow95 said:

Lol my Duramax has been surging at idle for a bit now, she rode with me and she asked what it was. I told her the FPR needed to be replaced and she just gave me the look, married men know what the look is lmao


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Ain't just the wifey that does that. Mom does the stink eye when I talk about doing something to the Burb. I don't know what her problem is; she's just going to watch me work on it.......

Erik the Awful said:

I'm gonna race at Sebring!

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Jealous for sure. I've raced Limerock, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, Grattan, and a few others but not Sebring.

I've raced at Mid-America Motorplex, Eagles Canyon Raceway, Motorsports Ranch Houston, Barber Motorsports Park, Thunderhill, and Road Atlanta. The last time we went to Sebring, I crewed, but I didn't drive.