So now what?

 

Randy I'm thinking through this one... but the dip stick itself shouldn't matter. If you notice the cold fill and hot fill lines are both the same distance to the end of the dip stick. I would bet almost anything that the earlier model dip stick also comes with a shorter dip stick tube as well, and they need to be used TOGETHER. This is not the fault of having a wrong dip stick.

The reality of this is that we are in a unique place here where we force fluid back harder than anything that comes off a showroom floor. We are more likely to cause problems like this, especially in a 4x4 that makes it impossible to run a deep pan. For a factory car to be filled exactly as you had filled it, to the 'full' mark, there would be no problems. I'm certainly not pointing the finger at you with these comments, I am just trying to think through this and understand it myself.


My advice would be this:
I know this has been frustrating. Believe me when I tell you I experienced very similar frustration with my original 4L80e swap. I cooked the clutches on a unit I built with a trandgo shift kit, and a few sonnax parts. I pulled that transmission out 2 times on my own!!! On my BACK!!! the garage wasn't heated... the floor was an absolute mess... I used dirt to soak up trans fluid from the second time pulling it out only to realize that when i fired up the truck to move it there was nothing... it didnt budge an inch. I had fucked it up. Chuck really helped me out. Here's a link some of what I faced:
https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...nstall-522245/
At this point you are sitting on a really high quality FLT unit that has been damaged. To abort and go a different direction will be FAR more costly and it is not the route I would take. If it was me I would send it back, pay for the simple rebuild of new clutches, and take what you now know to ensure this is successful next time. Fill the transmission to the point you know it needs to be, drive it LIGHTLY for a few minutes letting it hit all gears, then with it still running park it on a level surface and check the fluid level to top it off to the exact fill line it should be.


That whole experience really tested me. It tested how much I really wanted this, tested how much I knew, tested how much could stand up to... all of it. It was expensive and it sucked to put it blunt.

You're headed in the right direction, don't let a few bumps get you off course.

 

Unfortunately the dipstick tube is the same, just the stick changed...I made sure of that when I ordered the dipstick last week. My trans was two quarts low just being filled to the fill line on the post '97 dipstick.

I've already bought all the parts and will be removing the Coan gears and billet shaft from the FLT and installing it in this one...




Custom 36 element intermediate sprag


High performance Alto Red Eagles

 

Well you certainly don't waste any time! Any idea on a timeline with the new trans?

 

I only ran the truck two WOT pulls with it low on fluid, then added one quart, did another run - no change, added another quart and still no change. Once I came to realize it wasn't going to get any better, I luckily found a '95 80e out of a GMC 2500 that had a blown motor. Picked that up last week and ordered all the parts the same day - the custom drum and sprag was the last to arrive today.

Dropped the trans off Saturday and he's picking up all the parts tomorrow. Hopefully within the next week or two he'll have it finished.

The master tech who's building mine did the 80e for some local dude's truck, Red Dragon...maybe you heard of it.


This dude builds 80e's and 60's all the time. He's the one who did my cam and fuel system too.

 

Sounds like you are in good hands! I'm glad to see you pushing forward. This hobby has a way of getting under your skin... You gotta be able to roll with **** as it heads your way and you seem to be doing a good job at that! Haha

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I can't wait to see this beast come together. I'm looking forward to you smashing my personal best!!! Nothin like competition to make us both strive for more.

 

haha, thanks Rob...I'm pretty much numb at this point and just plain scared to add up all the $ I've spent on this truck.

I'm not convinced I'll smash your record because of my large, heavy tire/rim combo, but I will say that my 60' feels like it should be a massive improvement over my previous 1.83. The launch is pretty damn awesome, I must say! I'm soooo glad I gambled on the 2.75 low planet upgrade, they work perfectly with my shoes!

 

Hey Rob, what year is your trans ? Pre '97 or Post '97...do you have the top bolt hole on the bell housing?

 

Mine is a pre 1997 model. No top bolt hole and cooler ports that look to be the same as the 60e location.

 

That's interesting. So since we both have the same early model trans, we both have the same dipstick issue then. How did you fill your trans to the proper level if you didn't have the proper dipstick I just posted about? For my post 97 80, I used the dipstick from the 60 that came out of my truck because it didn't change. ...and why were you so confused when you posted that you thought if the dipstick changed, the tube would as well when all along, you had the exact same trans and issue?

The first post 97 80e Chuck built for me, he told me I had to have a different tube and shipped it with the trans. Did you purchase your tube from Chuck as well, and if so, what tube is it for, the pre or post '97??