Chuck Gongloff

Can't catch a break. I would have been better off forgetting the "matching numbers" original case, and buying a completely rebuilt rear end.

I'm changing the 4.11 to 3.55. Took out the rear and took it to one of my Corvette "buds" that owns a Corvette shop. Bought a NICE set of used 3.55 gears from a Forum member.

This was originally a 3.70 rear. It's been rebuilt/apart a number of times, the last time being 20+ years ago. I remembered using the 3 series carrier with a spacer for the 4.11 gears.

BUT NO When it was taken apart, we found a 4 series carrier. Amazingly enough, new 3 series carriers are still available from GM, so about $240.00 later, I have a new 3 series carrier. Problem solved!!

BUT NO Got a call today. The pinion trunion/flange that I had on my 4.11 gear is a coarse spline. The 3.55's I now have are fine spline, SO, now, I'm off searching for a small 3 3/4 inch fine spline pinion flange. I can't win. CC has them in their catalog for about $109.00 each. I called. They're checking for me to see if it's fine spline.

SO...the project drags on, waiting for parts. By the time I'm done paying for the labor for the rebuild, the new carrier, the new pinion flange, plus the cost of the used gears, I would have been ahead just buying a complete rear. I can't win. Chuck

Coves4me

Chuck, ain't it great how the older we get, the dumber we get!!!!

I just went thru what you are going thru. I now have a perfectly worthless (to me) 4-series gear case with 4.88 gears that I will move around my garage for the next 10 years until I get tired of moving it. Great paperweight!!!!!!!

Chuck Gongloff

It is amazing. Just what I don't need...more crap to store in the basement.

As an aside, when changing the trans driven gear, it fell back into the tailstock of the trans. I could have left it, but NO, I couldn't.

SO, I pulled the trans, by myself, laying on my back. Got the gear out in no time, and put in the correct driven gear.

THEN, like a fool, I struggled for 3 hours last Wednesday by myself, trying to put the trans back in. I just don't have the strength to do it by myself anymore. So, I waited till Sunday and had 2 of my friends come over.

At half time of the abysmal Ravens/Texans football game, we went to the garage and had the trans up, in, and bolted up in 5 minutes.

I'm getting too old for this stuff anymore. Chuck

JL66REDCPE

Chuck -- I am not sure about the 63's however the muncie trans uses a different gear to drive the speedometer gear depending on which rear you have. Rears higher than 3:55 (if I remember correctly) use one gear and those lower than 3:55 like your 4:11 use another gear. You referenced a "driven gear" in your earlier post -- is this the gear you were referring to ??

Oh yeah -- I hear what you are saying about getting too old -- we have to work smarter. We cant bull things like we used to.

Chuck Gongloff

It was the plastic/nylon "driven gear", the one that slides into the side of the trans. I had a 25 tooth black gear that worked fine with my 4.11's.

Replaced it with a 22 tooth green, the smallest I could go with the drive gear in the trans. If I would have wanted to go with a lower number of driven gear teeth, I would have had to replace the drive gear in the trans, something I didn't want to get involved with.

If I'm "doing the math" correctly, this will get me close. Going from 25 to 22 teeth is a 14% change.

4.11 x .14 = .575. 4.11 - .575 = 3.53. Chuck

BarryK

Chuck

glad you got the tranny back in.
you could have called me anytime if you needed help getting it back up in there. I'm not that long of a drive from you.

Chuck Gongloff

I was going to give you a holler, Barry, but my friend Dennis got back from Williamsburg, VA on Sunday. MDZ06Vetter, Rick A came up too.

At halftime of the football game, we went out and had it in in no time.

It's tough getting old. Wait and see.

I'm chasing parts today so I can get this rear done. Also have some Christmas shopping to do later this AM, and then have to babysit the grandkids from 3 till 6 PM.

The shifter is back in and adjusted, the console is back in. The rear motor mount/trans mount and exhaust hanger is back in. Everything's ready for the rear end. Now, I've got to wait. Chuck

BarryK

i'm waiting too Chuck........
just called to check on my carb out for rebuild and he is on vacation. Won't be back until Mon.
i'm going to be done all my reassembly over the next two days or so and than I'll just be sitting around with my thumb up my azz waiting on the carb until I can fire the motor back up and check everything.

ctjackster

Chuck, glad that you shared your experince, nice to know pros like you do get involved in the same sort of jobs that wouldn't have made sense going into it (these things just seem to DEVELOP in such a way that you are committed).

hey Barry, I know the feeling, but you have lots of sub-jobs to do that can come ahead of the carb install (seems to me you have damn near everything off). Plus, you wouldn't want to be firing the engine up right after the manifold reinstall anyway, you would want those beads of Permatex on the ends to set up overnight at least . . . I say go ahead with the manifold reinstall, the valve covers, the water pump (hint, do that little 90 deg bypass hose during the waterpump install itself, otherwise a real beotch to try to get that thing on there when everything is in tight and in place).

BarryK

Jack

I made good progress yesterday on my reassembly (see my project update thread).
today is going to finish up the exhaust system plus the intake and all the little brackets, clips, etc that also get help on by the intalk bolts. and most likely the water pump, pulley, and fanblade.
Yep, on the bypass hose I'll already have the intake on first, THAN i'll install the bypass hose on the WP fitting and slide the hose onto the intake fitting as I put the WP on the car. I already figured that was really going to be the only way to get it on.

within two days or so I figure everything should be all completed and ready to run............ except the carb!

magicv8

[QUOTE=Chuck Gongloff I struggled for 3 hours last Wednesday by myself, trying to put the trans back in. I just don't have the strength to do it by myself anymore. I'm getting too old for this stuff anymore. Chuck[/QUOTE]

Chuck - I bought a 69 trans jack from jcwhitney 5-6 years ago for the same reasons. I makes the job a lot easier, and I also use it to remove and replace the differential.

Chuck Gongloff

I tried to get the trans in balancing it on a floor jack. Thought about cutting a piece of wood and modifying the saddle on the jack to make it easier, BUT.....finally gave up before I hurt myself.

I did order the pinion trunion/flange/yoke (the part of many names ) from Corvette Central. The one in their catalog is the correct fine spline one, BUT typical of CC, it's "backordered" till 12-13. Ordered one anyway.

I'd like to go to CC. I envision a phone bank in a warehouse full of empty shelves. Seems like they keep very little in inventory since they moved several years ago. Accountants talk about LIFO, and FIFO (last in/first out, first in/first out) systems.

CCentral seems to operate on the NHWBO system, nothing here, will back order. Chuck

GTR1999

Chuck did you check to see if Bair's had one? I looked through my parts and found one but it's for a differential I took apart,blueprinted and now I'm waiting to sell.
Good luck,
Gary

ctjackster

I have come to believe the same thing about CC - ver nice catalog full of lovely parts, too bad they have to turn around and order everything you order from them. Pretty much the sole reason why I now go 100% with LIC - I fax in my order on the morning of Day, 1, and it's at my house afternoon of day 2 (my NY-city area location doesn't hurt either). For them, I imagine a huge wharehouse full of seriously stocked shelves. I have never, EVER, encountered a b/o with them. Weird, almost.

BarryK

I typically order my parts from either LISC or Paragon. On my current project everything came from Paragon.
Both vendors I've always had very good luck with and only very rarely have had to deal with backorders and they usually came in within a few days of the rest of the order.

Coves4me

Chuck, you need to invest in a 4-post lift!! I know, I know they're about $3,000, BUT it's the best thing I ever invested in when working on a car. They just can't be beat. No more rolling around on a cold garage floor!!! No more fiddling blindly on the floor behind you for the socket wrench that just fell off!! It is absolutely the BEST thing in my garage!!! I'm 55 years young, 6'-1" tall and weigh about 230 and I have pulled my tranny 3 times in the last year with some grunting and heavy breathing, but it sure was easier than trying to do it upside down. Why, my wife says my use of 4-letter words has even decreased since we got the lift!!! Hallelujah, and Amen.

Mark

Chuck Gongloff

The irony is that I DO have a 4 post lift. Never planned on pulling the trans or I would have used it. Right now, the 69 is on top of the lift with the 54 parked under it.

NOT much help. Chuck

BarryK

Coves

Chuck does have a 4-post lift in the garage.
He just needs ANOTHER one in there because the first one is busy holding a couple of his other beautiful vettes!

Chuck Gongloff

I would have ordered elsewhere, but when I went to my friend's shop, he had a CC catalog, as well as the GM parts book there.

The part is NOT available from GM, so we called CC from his place. At that point, I felt committed. I "MIGHT HAVE" located a good used trunion. If so, I'll cancel the CC order in a New York minute.

To be fair, I'm ordered thousands of dollars in parts from CC over the years. They've always treated me fair and square, It's just that the back order problem has gotten worse over the past several years.

The other problem is that when you order, you'll get 1/2 or your order at lets say $6.00 shipping, then a week later you get backorder #1 with an additional $6.00 shipping, and so on. The shipping costs eat you up. Chuck