Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

[Just Fishing]

I was watching a video of a power glide and a 4l60 last night, and i have to say how much easier this transmission is.

Not counting the snap ring.

design of the 6l80 is also neat.
there are pistons that are stacked on top of pistons that serve to keep the piston in place.
where the 4l60 had an issue to push on the clutches at high rpm.
the 6l80 has an extra piston to prevent that.
(Covered in the build video I linked).

neat design.
And I also like how it doesn't need the case to seal or pass fluid through.
valve body mates right up to the different modules.

 

[pwtr02ss]

Nice progress! Thanks for taking the time to document everything so well. This should help me and others in the future. I always forget to take photos when I do something so I'm grateful for those who don't

 

[Just Fishing]

Nice progress! Thanks for taking the time to document everything so well. This should help me and others in the future. I always forget to take photos when I do something so I'm grateful for those who don't

when you get there, there are tons of videos on youtube.
I have a nice little collection of them, each had some extra tidbits that I liked.
As I'm going through this, I find myself revisiting those videos.

one of the best was that linked video, there is also another guy with a ratty looking beard.
he goes over a bunch of different things in his different 6l80 videos.

One of them:

look at his other vids for more detail.
He is one of them that identified that billet piston as being a must have upgrade.

I have watched so many now that they all run together.

 

[Just Fishing]

Well yesterday i took the clutches out of the 1234 and 456 drums, tossed them in the transmission and attempted to mount the new pump in order to check end play.

I could not for the life of me get the pump to fully seat.
Then while rotating the 1234 drum, i noticed it seemed to be hitting that big snap ring.

Me confused,
I started wondering if there was a missing bearing.
Confirmed nope.

Then it hit me.
I never compared the height of the new drum vs the old drum.

The 6l90 has a taller drum, but i never questioned it because i know i ordered the right part number.

So i take it out and compared the new vs old.

Yup, i have a 6l90 tall drum!

I confirmed the pn on the box, and the listing on summit shows a 6l80... lol

So now i get to dissemble the drum, clean off the assembly lube, and return the drum.

 

[Just Fishing]

And last night after figuring that out, i did lots of measuring of the clutch packs.

Ordered new snap rings to tighten and loosen clutch packs

Pita part, the listings for those snap rings is in mm
But my measurements are Inch.

So lots of converting and scratching of my head.

I also found my end play is pretty bad, just like it was when i first pulled the trans.

With the pan off i can see that the clearance issue is from pump to 1234 drum.

Pulling up on the turbine shaft lifts the drum.

So i have a sonnax pump spacer kit on order to tighten that up.

Then moving onto the 2-6 clutch pack that states no selective snap rings are available for it.

Clutch clearance says .050
And if you don't get that, then you did it wrong.

This is the pack that had the broken wave plate.

I have a good .070 clutch clearance there.

Then i noticed there is plenty of room for a thicker snap rung...

Got me thinking.

So i took a snap ring from the 1234 drum to see what happens.

It's technically too long and for a larger circumference...
But it does fit.
And has more tension than the correct snap ring!

Using the thicker of the two options from that drum, i get a nice .059

So yeah, I'm calling that one gtg.

 

[Just Fishing]

Got my new drum today from amazon,
actual next day shipping this time!!!

same PN, and it's the correct part.
This one came in an actual GM box with the rainbow looking "genuine" tag!

Next, I get the fun of exchanging parts, then the wrong drum goes back to summit.

Bday today, so I'm not wrenching on shit...

 

[pwtr02ss]

Happy birthday home slice!

 

[Jimmyy]

Happy Birthday.

 

[Jimmyy]

Bday today, so I'm not wrenching on shit...

Not going to take the torque wrench out for a spin?

 

[swathdiver]

Well yesterday i took the clutches out of the 1234 and 456 drums, tossed them in the transmission and attempted to mount the new pump in order to check end play.

I could not for the life of me get the pump to fully seat.
Then while rotating the 1234 drum, i noticed it seemed to be hitting that big snap ring.

Me confused,
I started wondering if there was a missing bearing.
Confirmed nope.

Then it hit me.
I never compared the height of the new drum vs the old drum.

The 6l90 has a taller drum, but i never questioned it because i know i ordered the right part number.

So i take it out and compared the new vs old.

Yup, i have a 6l90 tall drum!

I confirmed the pn on the box, and the listing on summit shows a 6l80... lol

So now i get to dissemble the drum, clean off the assembly lube, and return the drum.

Happy Birthday, it was my little brother's too!

Precision Transmission mentions the different drums in his videos lately, someone at a factory must've sent a bunch out in the wrong boxes!

 

[Just Fishing]

One of the things I did on Saturday, I didn't detail it for the thread since this is just a redo from earlier.

Installed the new rings, rods to pistons, and reinstalled into the engine.

I decided to snap a picture of the refurbished rods with brand new pretty bushings before they were all installed.

bearing came out to be .0015, maybe on the looser end of that but it's right there in the OEM spec.

I installed brand new gm bolts, but I have yet to do the final torque and bolt stretch.



Nothing is wrong with my old rods really, but I would like two of those rods to have their bushings refreshed.
So, it's something I'll probably sell later on with the old block, crank, and other leftovers.

If I was sure I could get the gen 4 sensor locations to work with the Gen 3 stuff that my S10 should be compatible with, then I might think about building it cheap.
I also made the mistake of tossing my old pistons out.
they were in my way and needed to get lost somewhere.

 

[pwtr02ss]

One of the things I did on Saturday, I didn't detail it for the thread since this is just a redo from earlier.

Installed the new rings, rods to pistons, and reinstalled into the engine.

I decided to snap a picture of the refurbished rods with brand new pretty bushings before they were all installed.
View attachment 367217

bearing came out to be .0015, maybe on the looser end of that but it's right there in the OEM spec.

I installed brand new gm bolts, but I have yet to do the final torque and bolt stretch.



Nothing is wrong with my old rods really, but I would like two of those rods to have their bushings refreshed.
So, it's something I'll probably sell later on with the old block, crank, and other leftovers.

If I was sure I could get the gen 4 sensor locations to work with the Gen 3 stuff that my S10 should be compatible with, then I might think about building it cheap.
I also made the mistake of tossing my old pistons out.
they were in my way and needed to get lost somewhere.

Current performance used to make a plug and plug harness and stuff for the s10. He cut my stock harness down and made it stand alone for my 74 and my dads 71 ls swap c10. I have zero complaints about him. Jared is his name I believe. He was super nice and very helpful on the few questions I had. You could probably do your own harness and I will do my own on the next one, but for plug and play, he would be my choice. Doing a stand alone and doing one that retains all the factory stuff on the s10 is slightly different (a little more complicated). You know how to build the trans so you've got that part under your belt. I'd swap it and keep it around. I plan to do my s10 at some point. It's a 96 so it's the bastard year of obd2 (first year)so plug and play isn't really an option. Hp tuners doesn't read any of gauges on the s10 so that's one of the symptoms of it not being easy.

Nice work on the clean up. Nothing like some shiny parts

 

[Just Fishing]

I woke up real early today, so i figured what the heck.
working on the hoemare time!


Rods fully installed, windage tray installed, pickup tube installed.
did a little oil pump priming before I bolted that sucker down.
I'll still be doing a manual priming before startup

Then got the front cover on.

The way I do it w/o the tool is to carefully look at the seal lips while centering the font cover.
Just like the rear, but the front has a more pronounced lip to see if it's centered.

And something is up with that Fel-Pro seal kit.
I think I remember hearing they had a batch that was designed for a very worn front and rear cover.
but the issue is they are very difficult to get in there.

I the front was a serious *****, just like the back.
that sucker is compressed in there pretty solidly.
Glued in with a thin coat of black rtv to make sure it won't pop out under the pressure.

Pan installed, lifters trays and lifters, check!

Next I just need to finish cleaning the cylinder heads.

 

[Just Fishing]

Well, I was hoping to have the remaining transmission parts today, but it looks like the seller sent it slow shipping.
And USPS says not yet.

If I could button up the transmission, then I could begin the installation into the hoemare.

As it sits, I have the cylinder heads all cleaned up, and last night I got the heads reinstalled.

Next plan is to swap out at least one of the valve springs with my "checker" spring to re verify contact path.

I probably should have done this before installing the heads...
That way I could have shimmed up one of my spare lifters to the exact contact path with the 7.4in push rod...

Oh well, too late!

Since I know exactly where it's wearing, I should be able to use that again.
Otherwise, I'll guess again and toss out another $100 on another guess.

 

[Just Fishing]

Been messing around with the swipe pattern on the valves.

I'll get into that more later...

I have some shims on order to see what happens.

And into the transmission,
I got the selective snap rings, and I'm hoping to finalize the clutch pack clearances this morning before i sign into work.

I also have the sonnax pump spacer thing.
And with that and the brand new 1234 drum in place, the endplay is much better.

Came out to about .015.
Spec is .004 - .009
going off of memory, so the last number could be a little lower.

I can't seem to source the front shaft shims right now, but i know what they look like and where they go.

I played around with the idea of making my own shims using some .020 sheet i have.
And I'm going to run with it.

So i have a few sheets of shim stock on order.
Some .010 and .004
Should be here by this weekend, i hope.

I can start the center hole using a drill and work it out with my wee air dremel tool if needed.

But going through some of my junk sockets, I'm hatching a plan.

Idea is to grind two sockets down on the inside.
Making a little cutter.

Then use my press to stamp out some shims.

I'm not sure if it will work, but what the hell!

I need to un burry the press anyways since it sits in front of my blasting cabinet.

And I'm planning to clean up the exhaust manifold before it goes back on.
bead blast that sob.
And hit it with some header paint in hopes of keeping it pretty.

If all goes well, i should be able to start the transmission installation this weekend.

 

[Just Fishing]

Went down memory lane trying to find my lifters to confirm preload....

Summit racing cleared that part of my order history, so I'm guessing.
I recall something along the lines of .050 - .100
But they have another set of these that is .050.

My 0 lash for no shims = 7.3190
7.4's rattled a little (pretty sure that was the sound).
Preload was .080

What I don't know is what too much preload sounds like...
It idled and ran fine


I shimmed up the rocker with two .020 shims, and I'm happy with the wipe pattern
These things also fit the base perfectly.

So 0 lash shimmed up = 7.385

So i'm thinking about going with a .090 preload to see how it acts...

Pardon Our Interruption

Nothing like guessing with the $$

 

[Just Fishing]

Also noted some pictures of my crankshaft.
And how I didn't like how the "polish" looked

 

[Just Fishing]

This morning I also got the clutch clearances to a pretty clean .055 - .065 across the board.
I'm feeling pretty good about that compared to where they were.

 

[iamdub]

Been messing around with the swipe pattern on the valves.

I'll get into that more later...

I have some shims on order to see what happens.

And into the transmission,
I got the selective snap rings, and I'm hoping to finalize the clutch pack clearances this morning before i sign into work.

I also have the sonnax pump spacer thing.
And with that and the brand new 1234 drum in place, the endplay is much better.

Came out to about .015.
Spec is .004 - .009
going off of memory, so the last number could be a little lower.

I can't seem to source the front shaft shims right now, but i know what they look like and where they go.

I played around with the idea of making my own shims using some .020 sheet i have.
And I'm going to run with it.

So i have a few sheets of shim stock on order.
Some .010 and .004
Should be here by this weekend, i hope.

I can start the center hole using a drill and work it out with my wee air dremel tool if needed.

But going through some of my junk sockets, I'm hatching a plan.

Idea is to grind two sockets down on the inside.
Making a little cutter.

Then use my press to stamp out some shims.

I'm not sure if it will work, but what the hell!

I need to un burry the press anyways since it sits in front of my blasting cabinet.

I kinda looked into doing this. You can buy punches that do this. I don't recall the proper name (hollow punch?). But, you just whack it with a hammer the same as you do with a regular punch. They're used in crafts, often in leather crafting, to make clean holes. I'd imagine a good quality punch would do okay on .010".

 

[Just Fishing]

I kinda looked into doing this. You can buy punches that do this. I don't recall the proper name (hollow punch?). But, you just whack it with a hammer the same as you do with a regular punch. They're used in crafts, often in leather crafting, to make clean holes. I'd imagine a good quality punch would do okay on .010".

I took some old sockets yesterday morning, chocked them in a drill and started sharpening.

First attempt = fail.
I need the edges to be perfectly flat for press use.

I tried to stamp on leather, cardboard, and wood.

I got the best results going directly against steel.

So a few more attempts to make a stamper.

After a few more attempts, i finally figured something that works.

I grind the inside edge of a 12pt socket until ot meets with the beveled outside edge.

Depending if this is an inside or outside cut seems to matter for the quality of the stamping.

For the inside edge (the one i can't really use tin snip for).

I use an oversized socket, once i have a good edge against the outside bevel, i then take the outside and use the drill and run it against a belt sander.

So far the hardest part is getting the outside stamping perfectly aligned with the inside stamping.

I'll snap some pictures once i get the official shim stock.

For now i have been doing this with some aluminum .020 scrap.

I need this to be about .010ish.

So i have some copper and brass shim coming.
Then i also found some .004 stainless shim stock.

This is stuff that they say can be delivered by this weekend.

I'm hoping to use the stainless stuff, but I'll settle for the brass.

Where this stuff will sit, brass shoud be fine.