Of a TC install. Shops in town want a little too much. How difficult is the install? Is there a writeup anywhere?

 

Rates way up there on the difficulty level IMO. 8 out of 10. Lots of tight squeezes, pain in the *** get to bolts and lots of things that can go wrong. Course I'm basing this on my 4X4 install. A 2wd would be easier.

 

Some mechanically inclined people I know who have done it said they would not do it again, they would pay to have it done the next time.

 

it helps to have a buddy......a strong buddy, lol........it's not a hard task in terms of what has to happen, but it can be in terms of how you do it. If you have access to a lift it makes the job alot easier

 

I was hoping against this. Is the install just difficult because of simple problems like tight spaces and hard to reach bolts? Or is there more to it?

 

it takes basic tools

 

Not a lot of thought in it if that is what you mean. The main concern is getting the new TC properly seated in the trans and keeping it there until you bolt it up.
I have read of several experienced guys taking out the tranny pump by not getting this right.

If you are mechanically inclined. Have some experince and have a descent set of shop tools. Grab a buddy. Read up on how to know when the TC is seated right and go for it.

 

I remember the first one I did, lol, I did not seat the TC all the way, but instead of messing anything internal up, I broke the corner mounting tab off the stock powerglide bellhousing............doh!.............I had to scramble and get it welded back on as I was moving to AZ later that day, found a guy who could weld aluminum down the street, and got er done.

to fully seat the TC you'll spin it as you push in on it. I always say spin it until you think its seated, then spin it some more. Maybe one of the tranny experts have a reference measurement that will tell you when its fully seated, good luck!

 

its a pain in the ***, but its not hard at all. The biggest thing to think about is that the tranny is pretty heavy, so its best to be done on a lift with a transmission jack. If you do it in your driveway your definetly going to need a buddy or two.

Here's a quick rundown of how its done.

1. remove transmission, pretty self explanatory
2. slide off old torque converter
3. pour 1 quart of trans fluid into new torque converter (you'll have to add little by
little but it will all go in)
4. Now the most important part, slide the new torque converter onto the input shaft. Spin it while pushing it on and you should feel 2 distinct clicks when its fully seated. You can verify by putting a straight edge across the face of the bellhousing and measure from it to the mouting tab on the TC. There should be about 7/8 of an inch if i remember correctly.
5. The rest is just putting the trans back in.

 

I have a good shop, but no lift. Unless I am missing something, it looks like all I have to do is take the trans out and spin the TC on until I think it's on and spin some more. Once it's seated, I just bolt my trans back up and go.

Aside from making sure the TC is seated properly, is there anything else I have to worry about?

This is almost a blessing in disguise. I was going to install a shift kit and vette servos. Everything I have read said these installs are much easier with the trans out.