How involved is removing a shift kit?

[351FUN]

Transmission is a 4l60. The previous owner said the guy he got it from had the transmission rebuilt and a shift kit put in. The 1-2 shift is stupid hard, sometimes it opens my glovebox. The rest are firm but in a good way. I'm expecting to have to drop the pan for this but I've never messed with an auto before so I'm gonna be doing it YouTube style most likely. I'm mostly interested in finding out if this is something fairly simple or if I have to set aside a weekend to drop the whole transmission.

 

[stutaeng]

Oh, darn! That shift kit seems way too harsh. Do you know what brand of shift kit they put in it? If the shifts are harsh like that, they are putting extra stress on internal parts like drums and such and can actually cause premature damage.

Hopefully it's only things like stiffer springs on the valvebody. The thing is that different manufacturers do things differently to get the same effect, so unless you are an experienced tranny rebuilder, you likely won't know what you are looking for.

Here's a sort-of-common shift kit from Transgo. Most of the parts go into the valve body, but the set of springs that you see on the top I'm pretty sure you have to take the unit apart to revert to the OEM springs, as they go into various drums. Some parts you want to leave in, as they address common issues.

TransGo | 4L60E High Performance Valve Body Kit with Gear Command

Our most aggressive calibration to hot rod your 4L60E This 4L60E-PRO Reprogramming Kit fits 1996 to 2018 General Motors vehicles equipped with the 4L60E,

transgo.com

I don't know much about these units to tell you what to change back to get rid of the harsh shifting. What year is your truck?

 

[351FUN]

1992. Its sounding like the best option may be to take it to a transmission shop then, because I have no idea past "shift kit"

 

[Frank Enstein]

Often people will remove the spring from the 1-2 accumulator To get a "better" shift. That often breaks things.
putting the spring back in fixes it.

If this is a 4L60E there may be a problem with the lockup. This is a common issue.
The computer sees the lock up clutch problem and goes into turbo-hissy fit-conniption-panic mode, jacks up the pressure to the moon, and you get a 1-2 shift that will pull the frame out from under the cab and bounce-yer-head-off-the-back window.

Yes please take it to a reputable transmission shop before something expensive breaks.

 

[351FUN]

1992 is a 4l60, like I said in the post. No computers involved. Now I just have to find a reputable transmission shop. The good news is any shop out there will have worked on these before. Its one of the biggest reasons I got this platform honestly.

 

[stutaeng]

Often people will remove the spring from the 1-2 accumulator To get a "better" shift. That often breaks things.
putting the spring back in fixes it.

If this is a 4L60E there may be a problem with the lockup. This is a common issue.
The computer sees the lock up clutch problem and goes into turbo-hissy fit-conniption-panic mode, jacks up the pressure to the moon, and you get a 1-2 shift that will pull the frame out from under the cab and bounce-yer-head-off-the-back window.

Yes please take it to a reputable transmission shop before something expensive breaks.

Yes, I know exactly the feeling about the issue with the 1-2 shift...it feels like you were rear-ended.

OP has a non-E version though (aka 700R4.) I don't know much about them.

Sounds like a reputable tranmission shop is the way to go. Hopefully not an expensive job.

 

[Frank Enstein]

You are of course correct, but most people call them 700r4 transmissions.
And I'm old and feeble.

I did a B&M Transpak shift kit and the 1-2 was too hard so I put the factory spring back in to the 1-2 accumulator and it was fine after that.

 

[Nad_Yvalhosert]

The last time I installed a shift kit, it involved removing and tossing multiple check balls:
You'd have to find some to put back in, and find out where they go...

It meant removing the valve body, and changing the gasket, putting on their steel separator plate or drilling the original, and another gasket:
So you'll need 2 new papers, and a steel.

Then there was changing the shift servo and apply spring:
You'll need to know which one came out...

I'd say "get a different tranny altogether"

 

[Hipster]

I'd say "get a different tranny altogether"

Ditto, different shift kit manufacturers approach things differently including drilling holes, replacing valves and/or springs inside the valve body etc. that might not be easily undone along with builders that do "their own" versions of what they call a shift kit.

 

[Schurkey]

BE CAREFUL.

This doesn't have to be a "shift kit" problem. My '88 got a Transgo shift kit 20+ years ago. 1--2 shift was fine. Rebuilt the trans a couple years ago. Had them add a "Corvette Servo". Now I hate the abruptness of the 1--2 shift.

Every shift kit is different--you'd better have the instructions from whatever kit was used. As said--accumulators are another common problem with harsh shifts.