Im redoing my truck and i just found out it has a 400 in it. Which is going to cost me more to get rebuilt. The kits are way cheaper i was wondering if anyone local around me or some that would help me out and rebuild the ****** for me. I know its a hard thing to do but there has to be someone on here that would be able to help me.
Im not simply looking for a used one. I need a fresh rebuilt one im a little picky about not knowing what has been done to the parts and ware and tear, and liars i hate that. Im rebuilding it because in august i will be attending WyoTech in Sacermento and this is going to be my truck a drive its a 79 GMC. Any help i would appreciate, any one from the valley that can maybe show me how to do this or help me out.
Not too hard to do yourself. Buy a decent overhaul manual-STG is fine for this. You will want to read through the book and get an idea if you are capable of doing this your self. The hardest things are just compressing the clutch packs for re***embly and getting a feel for the lip seals which need to be installed in the clutch pack housings. A shop press and a little ingenuity will do the clutch pack compressing, and feeler guages or a bit of piano wire folded about 1 inch long then pinched into a short piece of brake line will do to set the seals. Cleanliness is next to God-lyness on trans rebuilds.
Damn i dont know ******s seem harder then a motor. Ive done my 350 and going to start the 350 for this truck. I can do the motors no problem. But a ****** and i dont have a press. Hell im 17 work out of the back yard bigest equipment i have is my 60 gal. air compresor. But can any one help me out, im on a budget for this i see the kits are around 250 for the 400 and they want 500 for the rebuild. Just trying to save some cash for my cadillac. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
i'm sure that someone will be able to help you...you just have to give it a little time for that guy to see this. i know that you are only 17 and everything is needed immediately. you say you are good with motors , have you considered trading labor to get it done? maybe the owner of the transmission shop needs something done. or get a part time job there to help pay for it. that would also get you a good start on your automotive education. i trade labor for parts all the time. do you have any core transmissions laying around? my local ****** shop is always looking for th350 , th400 , and Powerglide cores and will take them as credit against their services...i traded a couple aluminum powerglides as partial payment for a th350 rebuild
I never thought of that idea thanks bud. you always reply to my post. I am going to start asking around tomorrow. I have a 400 and a 200R4 laying around. I do a lot of side work for jobs. I have the money but itll bite into the budget for my cadillac which i dont want to do. I do alot of work on cars and i have my own little landscaping business for my money. But that is a great idea about trading out work for the ******
just maybe, its almost that season to get yards back green where i live. Im going to go to a few ****** shop tomorrow after school. I would ask my auto shop teacher but that dude doesnt know **** i had to show him how to rebuild his motor. Dudes an idiot but hey gota start somewhere. But trading work for work is a very great idea.
if that trade deal doesn't work out, i wouldn't be afraid to tackle this yourself. i mean you can build a 350 right? shoot, the damn thing is just nuts and bolts...you should be able to find a video for this real easy...just watch it a hundred times (if your like me 200 times) and just do it. hte video i got on it helped me out greatly, and that same trans shop should be able to compress those drums for ya, that and a lip seal installer, and a jar of vasoline and a good rebuild kit and your home free....kinda, cause the o-haul kit cost of course...i would use TranStar for that too!
What video did you use. Im just affraid of tackeling it myself i would rather have a helping hand. I meen i was affraid to do my motor but damn it was easy after i tried it. Anybody have books that are good that they've used before or videos? Still no locals to help me out or a hamber that would guide me threw it.
look up ATSG...and ATRA online for a start...i first time is always scary stuff but if you go into a trans shop and make them feel like they are sooooo smart and ****er them up, i know they will help you. they may even admire a young man like yourself willing to tackle such a job. i can't remember where i got the video but they are out there just look real hard..i can help ya on the pit falls and what to watch out for online but as you know its not the same as being there...buy me a ticket to CA and i'll help ya...lol.
ahaha thats a good one doubleUc. Actually im at school rite now and once i get out im going down to the local ****** shops and im going to ask them for some guidence in helping me out if i buy the stuff i just need the guidence. Hell ill be happy if i can do my own ****** after that id just have to learn how to put in gears in the rear end and ill have the whole drivetrain down. But im hoping some local shop will help me out with it. Itd be great learing experince before i go to WyoTech.
A T-400 is no more complicated than a carburetor. If you built your own engine, you can build a T-350 or 400. Go to the giant evil auction site and do a search for "turbo 400 dvd" Buy the DVD for $35, and watch it. Next, go to your favorite auto parts store... O'reiley's, Autozone,,, whoever. But a T-400 rebuild kit for $99. Buy a re-manufactured torque converter for $79. Buy a B&M shift kit for $39, buy a case of beer for $10...... And rebuild your own damn transmission. Then come back on here and brag to everyone that you did it!
Oh, wait, just saw that your 17.... Sorry, skip the brewskies and buy some mountain dew instead... And dont start smoking kid! Worst mistake I ever made!!!!!
One last thing kid,,,, Change your damn signature line. "Old School" means the way it used to be... "Old Skool" is one of these:
ahahaha.. Pir8Darryl i am going to do a search on that also. I believe i may be capable of doing it am also going to go down to the libary and see if they dont have a book on it over there.. And brag that i will do because i get alot of locals saying i cant build ****.. I dont let that put me down though i thrive off peoples talk and show them i can figure it out myself.. But the beer ahahaha that was a good one and smoking hell no..
no offense Darryl, but the rebuild kits from the local part store aren't that great, cheap yes, but thats also a reflection of quailty of parts too not to mention the wad the pan gasket is in (rubber type)... cork is the only way to go. the B&M shift is lame too (sorry) the only thing i would buy from them is a halfpriced t-shirt on sale for a shop rag. TransGo (Gil Younger) is the only thing worth while as far as shift kits go. i also forgot to tell you about Sonnax, which has alot of aftermarket upgrades (how much do you want to spend) that are great. i have built many of these trans for mud boggers with high horse in front of them and they can take a lot of pounding and still move it down the track...but your right about coming back here and braggin about what you've built! again..no offense, JMO.
I have about 350 for the ******. The shift kit im not so sure of the damn motor isnt all high performance it would be nice to have that stronger shift though. The motor is only a 305 with a 2 barrel. I would change it but that damn california smog, gota love to hate it.
i would get the master o-haul kit from TranStar, it comes with the clutches and steels along with the gaskets (no pan gskt) and seals etc...look up TransGo (Gil Younger) who is in CA for the shift kit...this comes with several different options (mild to wild) that he completely lays out for ya. the dude is unreal on trans knowledge and you should have a help line number on the directions, but don't call them up with a bunch of questions at one time, spread them out if you have to. the directions are pretty clear but if you havn't done it before they may confuse ya, don't give up, it gets easier. also take pictures of EVERTHING before you break them down, good reference can help you out more than anything! damn i wish i could help ya in person...
i don't think $350 is going to get you what you need, it may(?) if you can get a jobber price it might be enough...but if you have to save for this, its worth the wait to get quality parts...trust me on this!
Maybe I'm missing something here, but is there any real indication that the trans needs rebuilding? Is it slipping or not shifting right? Does it have 200k miles on it? Does the fluid smell like burnt toast? A 305 2bbl shouldn't be putting a lot of stress on a TH400.
No offense taken. TransGo does offer superior stuff. When I did the T-400 in my winnebago, I went with them. I'v had excellent luck with the pioneer brand trans parts that O'Rilly's sells. I'v built 4 of them, and every single one is still on the road. One with 80k miles on the rebuild. It's one of those things. I [personally] can R&R a ****** in a wal-mart parking lot in about 4 hours. And I know the pioneer parts are gonna give me close to the same life as the original GM parts, so it's not really worth my while to spend 2X or 3X the $$$... JMHO, YMMV. A couple years ago, I did all the deliveries for the local transtar... Good guys, good parts... Yea, I'd go with them!
The ****** wins like a damn plane. It has a lot of miles on it the speedometer has already rolled over on it. And it leaks like a damn blizzard. So this is what is happening im getting it built with warrenty for 300 and im trading out some yard work for the owner of the shop. That is our deal so im going for it, cant beat the price 300 with shift kit and new convertor and a year warantey for 300 sounds like one hell of a deal to me.
you didn't say how much work you have to do , but that seams like a fair deal. now you learned a new lesson in hot rodding: if you don't have the money trade for it
Yeah he didnt tell me how much but whatever it is i can handel it. I do landscaping everyday after school to get my money that or work on cars it leaves me with little or no time to work on my own stuff. But the caddy is currently going to have the motor set in here soon. I got my mounts in and just need to oreder the universal rubber bushing kit for them and im going to mock it all up the motor is ready just need to put a few things on it and take it down to a shop that lets me use the equipment and put it on the enging running stand and turn the motor and get everything set on it so when i drop it in itll start up no problem.
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