Here's a post I made on another forum.
Well, I put the vette servo in.
I saw the posts about how you have to lower the transmission a little so it will come out, so I decided to see if – by some miracle – mine would come out as is.
It didn’t, but it looked close. It hit where the underneath of the passenger floor starts to go up into the center hump. I thought – that’s just a bit of sheet metal in my way. Got a short length of 2x4 and a 3# mini sledge. Three whacks and presto – the servo came out. (I pulled the servo out till it hit - used a marker and marked the sheet metal - pushed the servo back in - then put the 2x4 on the mark and hit it)
Some may cringe at that but I really didn’t have to move it very much. Can’t even tell from inside. I’d do it that way again in a heartbeat. I went out to take a picture of how little it must be moved but can’t get a good shot of it with the heat shield back in place.
I should have taken pics along the way but I was doing it in my driveway with limited time and temps in the mid 20’s at times.
I’m not one to hide my oops’s!!
Doing the servo, everything went fairly well. Once I got the old one out I looked at the new parts and figured what I hadda do. It took a little remembering what went where and the worst thing was that big innermost snap ring. Wasn’t too bad getting it out, but had to talk to it a little putting it back in! Then put it all back in the trans but couldn’t get it to go in all the way – pried, talked, pried some more. Took it back out and looked in the servo opening and saw a spring that I didn’t know about – the one that goes on the shaft before you put it back in!! Then it fit.
The accumulator was a piece of cake.
The boost valve – grrrr.
Not too much trouble getting the snap ring and the old valve out. Went to put the new one in – I’m outside, it’s in the mid 20’s, and after dark. Put the 2 springs on it and slid it up in the hole – finagled around getting the snap ring on the pliers – pushed it up in – messed around a while and couldn’t get it to seat, figured I need a little long screwdriver to assist. Try 2 – pushed it in and got the ring on the pliers – twinggg – damn ring flying in the dark – SOB!! Flashlight looking through the tools, trans fluid, newspaper, and blood - found it – my cold fingers try again – no, I need a different angle. Try 4 – well, this thing won’t push up in like its supposed to. Pull it out and this round thing that I never saw before comes along out after the spring. Crap – it belongs waaayyyy up in the hole. It has a skinny disk about the diameter of the boost valve with a 2” shaft that has to fit through a series of little holes waaayyy up in there. I tried and I tried. I thought I was screwed and was going to have to pull the trans out to fix it. I finally got it started and wiggled and wiggled (the part) and it went in. I wished real hard, and it stayed up there until I got the other parts in, in my final ‘failure is not an option’ attempt!!
Oh, did I mention it was cold and I had an occasional drip of trans fluid – forehead, cheek, ear – just to keep it entertaining.
So it’s all together last night and I took it to work today for a test drive. I like.
The shifts are extremely fast and firm. And I don’t think I’m too concerned about any collateral damage.
They shift hard and fast but it isn’t banging gears like something is wrong – it’s nice. (and that’s coming from someone that’s too old for this stuff!!)
Hope my pain and suffering gave you a chuckle.
And if you’re thinking about it, I say – do it. (in a warm garage)