4L60E rebuild. What did I get myself into...? :P

[BC K1500]

could definitely be from the cooler. there's not really enough stuff there to say that something is currently making metal IMO. It's natural for the gears to shed metal, as well as bronze show up from bearings.

i think my previous post got cut off, but I weld a nut in the pan and use a GM drain plug. if you have a shallow oan the factory deep pan is a nice upgrade too, make sure you use the correct filter.

PS: glad to hear everything is still working good. are you still happy with the shift firmness?

Sorry for not replying sooner, life got busy and other things came up, etc...

I have the deep pan. Thanks for the tip about welding a nut on it. I don't have a welder but I believe I can arrange something for the next fluid change.

As for the shifting,
Everything shifts nice and smooth, only when shifting into 3rd gear it makes a noticeable hard shift. If I remember correctly you said it is better for the longevity of the clutch packs. It is not crazy but always surprising as that is the only time it makes a hard shift.
I guess it is how it is now as there is not much can be done about that now.

 

[Schurkey]

There's no reason to weld a nut and install a drain plug in a trans pan.

It's actually BETTER to merely drop a cooler tube, start the engine, and pump the fluid into the drain pan. ALSO allows you to flush the converter with fresh fluid after the pan has been removed, cleaned, and a new filter installed--which a drain plug in the pan does not.

Then, when you've changed nearly ALL the fluid--instead of only about half--you reconnect the cooler tube, and your trans fluid system has no more leak points, and retains all the ground clearance the car had originally.

 

[Hbrent]

Hey team,

- hopefully you get this Nick

I’m Getting back into this rebuild, after having to wait for some parts….. ended up getting the Borg Warner sprag so I’m good to go there.
I do have another query that may be able to be answered, I’m just in the process of assembling the forward drum assembly.
I have switched to your you tube tutorial Nick, and I have just put in my overrun and forward clutches, I applied the pressure plate and locking ring….. and now I have literally zero clearance! I cannot fit a feeler gauge in, yours Nick is .04 or so and you mention if there is no clearance then the vehicle will move forward in neutral?
I see you jotted on a screen comment that the pressure plates come in different widths, am I now going to have to obtain a slightly skinnier pressure plate to give me some clearance there? I assume so.

 

[NickTransmissions]

Hey team,

- hopefully you get this Nick

I’m Getting back into this rebuild, after having to wait for some parts….. ended up getting the Borg Warner sprag so I’m good to go there.
I do have another query that may be able to be answered, I’m just in the process of assembling the forward drum assembly.
I have switched to your you tube tutorial Nick, and I have just put in my overrun and forward clutches, I applied the pressure plate and locking ring….. and now I have literally zero clearance! I cannot fit a feeler gauge in, yours Nick is .04 or so and you mention if there is no clearance then the vehicle will move forward in neutral?
I see you jotted on a screen comment that the pressure plates come in different widths, am I now going to have to obtain a slightly skinnier pressure plate to give me some clearance there? I assume so.

Im only now seeing this (shoot me a PM if you have addl questions beyond this one as I don't watch the threads that I post in so don't receive notifications). Assuming you haven't figured the issue out, you can either run a thinner backing plate but I'd double check everything first to make sure it's all assembled correctly.

 

[KansasOBS]

There's no reason to weld a nut and install a drain plug in a trans pan.

It's actually BETTER to merely drop a cooler tube, start the engine, and pump the fluid into the drain pan. ALSO allows you to flush the converter with fresh fluid after the pan has been removed, cleaned, and a new filter installed--which a drain plug in the pan does not.

Then, when you've changed nearly ALL the fluid--instead of only about half--you reconnect the cooler tube, and your trans fluid system has no more leak points, and retains all the ground clearance the car had originally.

This is esentially the equivalent of "I need to change my engine oil, so I just disconnected a cooler line, and let it pump out"...there is nothing coming into the system when doing this. Id argue that trans flushes are slightly un-needed, but everyone has their own opinion. Why you beating this dead hose drain plug?

 

[Schurkey]

Because when you pull the drain plug on an engine, the only oil remaining in the engine is trapped in the lifters, some crevices here and there, and residual oil films on everything else. An oil change via a drain plug gets 95+ percent of the old oil out of the engine.

Pulling the drain plug on a trans pan gets about 50 percent of the old oil out. If you had a quart of sour milk, would you dump half of it down the drain, refill with two cups of fresh milk, and put the container back in the 'fridge for use later?

OTOH, if you pull a trans cooler tube, you can pump the trans pan nearly dry, so there's no mess during the removal. The pan gets cleaned-up, filter replaced, pan reinstalled. 5 fresh quarts in the pan, ten more open and ready. Start engine, dump more fluid down the dipstick tube, trans pump flushes torque converter. The only original oil left in the trans is trapped in clutch packs, and in crevices here 'n' there, plus some residual oil film on the internal parts. 95+ percent of the oil gets changed-- and if you disconnect the correct cooler tube, you'd even flush the cooler with fresh fluid.

If you have to drop the cooler tube to do a decent job of changing the trans fluid, the pan drainplug is wasted time, money, effort, and enthusiasm, PLUS it's another potential leak-point, AND depending on how the drain plug is installed, it'll be the lowest point on the transmission--ripe for getting hit by road debris, speed bumps, etc.

The O-N-L-Y reason to install a trans drain plug is because you're satisfied doing a half-assed fluid change, getting half of the old oil out 'n' replaced.

 

[NickTransmissions]

The O-N-L-Y reason to install a trans drain plug is because you're satisfied doing a half-assed fluid change, getting half of the old oil out 'n' replaced.

Nope, there's other reasons. Id prefer to cleanly drain the fluid into a bucket vs taking a bath in trans fluid if I have to replace a solenoid, harness or install a shift kit or other upgrades that require pan off, just to name a couple.

I do agree flushing the trans completely instead of partially is the way to go for a fluid exchange service but there's definitely a case for drain plugs beyond just draining and replacing half the fluid in the system.

 

[Schurkey]

Nope, there's other reasons. Id prefer to cleanly drain the fluid into a bucket vs taking a bath in trans fluid if I have to replace a solenoid, harness or install a shift kit or other upgrades that require pan off, just to name a couple.

Or drain the trans pan by dropping the cooler tube, point the open end into a drain pan, and start the engine. Shut the engine off when the fluid starts to sputter out of the tube instead of flowing smoothly.