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Transgo SK 4L60E shift kit installed

4K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  timothy47130 
#1 ·
Well I finally put all my other projects on hold for the day yesterday and made time to install my trans go SK 4L60E shift kit. I also installed a Oem deep trans pan with a drain plug I welded into it and replace all the trans fluid and filter. It was the last step I needed to do to get my Astro ready to pull my camper. Over the past month and half I have beefed up my saggy rear end with s-10 leafs, replaced my rear brake shoes, replaced my front shocks, and installed a big transmission cooler to have it ready for towing. The shift kit install went with no issues. It is the 3rd one I have installed into a trans though maybe that's why. My transmission pan was clean as could be and had just a light coating of very fine metal on the magnet. Either it has never seen any abuse, or the fluid and filter was changed at a dealer because it had an ac delco filter on it and a stock pan gasket. It only has 125,000 miles on it and the fluid didn't smell or look newer as it had a amber tint to it so that leads me to believe it hasn't ever been changed. It took me 4 1/2 hours to do. I did take my time and toughly cleaned the gasket sealing area, the valve body passages and checked to make sure all the valves moved freely, and also cleaned all the solenoids and manifold pressure switch with electrical parts cleaner. I can say boy what a difference the shift kit made. No more sloppy part throttle shifts and no more shift flare from 2nd to 3rd gear. Driving normal it just has a nice slight bump to it. But now when you give it over half throttle it comes alive and has a real firm positive shift 1st-2nd and 2nd - 3rd. 3rd-4th is still smooth but you can feel the shift now were before you could not. It also always locks up the torque convertor now . Before there were times the convertor would delay locking up on the highway for a few miles after the shift to 4th gear. I also gained about 1 - 1 1/2 quarts of extra fluid capacity from the trans cooler and deeper pan.

Anyways my question is does my 98 Astro have torque management? Mine was built in 97. Everywhere I have read on the web says with torque management if you add a shift kit in a 4L60E it will still have smooth shifts, they will just be quicker. this is off of the trans go web page "NOTICE: 98 up: If vehicle has Torque Management this kit will not make hard shifts. However many aftermarket programmers for engine performance reduce Torque Management."

Tim
 
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#3 ·
Yes you can install your self if your decent mechanically. Don't know if I'd recommend a total beginner try and pull it off. But the shift kit is fairly straight forward, its mostly just a bunch of stiffer spring replacements for the valves, so if you can follow directions go for it.

It can be installed with the trans in the van. :thumbup:
 
#4 ·
^^^^^What HE said.
Of course, it's even easier to install a shift-kit when the trans is out of the vehicle. No red-rain hot-oil hair treatment that way and no wondering if something fell out when you weren't looking (Don't ask! LoL)
I'm not saying you should pull the trans to put a shift kit into it. Just to be clear.
-Mike-
 
#5 ·
Nomad said:
so can one do this themselves? does the tranny need to be pulled out? done by tranny pro shop only?
Yes anyone could do it, but If you are not a very patient take you time type of person that pays very good attention to how things come apart and the type that keeps thing organized and very clean this isn't the job for you. It is a little easier to do with the trans out. But all the modifications are to the valve body not the case. So the only work on your back under the vehicle is installing an accumulator spring and unbolting the valve body and reinstalling it. I unbolt the pan and let it drain down for about a 15 mins then loosen all the valve body bolts and let the other 1-2 quarts its holding drain out for 15mins. Then you can clean up all the fluid off the floor that missed the drain pan and put down a blanket to work on. That way if a part falls out it doesn't roll off and you can find it. The most important step of all is to pull the valve body with the separator plate tightly on top of it so you don't loose any of the check balls and they stay in their locations. There are 7 check balls in the valve body and 1 on top of the separator plate thats for the case. You are much better off loosing the 1 case check ball than the 7 valve body check balls. Then as soon as you get the valve body out from under the vehicle and set it down on a clean surface snap a pic of the check ball locations right away without delay. Check ball locations can vary some by changes they made over the years. I do believe the 4l60e check ball locations stayed more constant with updates over the years than the 700R4 trans ever did.

Tim
 
#6 ·
Well wouldn't you know it after the shift kit it become very pronounced that I needed a new rear u-joint. It went pretty easy and I had it replaced in about an hour. The funny thing is it really wasn't that noticeable before the shift kit. I would get a slight clunk every now and then but nothing really annoying. After the shift kit it would let out a small clunk between every shift besides the 3-4 shift. If you install a shift kit be sure to check your u-joints as well.

Tim
 
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