And I am impressed. (I cannot locate my earlier thread on this subject so apologies.) This kit is not a shift kit per se (it does not chirp the tires) but does offer a crisper more sharper shift. And I understand prolongs the life of internal transmission discs. After about 30 minutes of evaluation today at various states of acceleration, it did very well. I recommend it.



As with any project, there can be secondary benefits. I have had a chronic leak at the shift shaft selector seal for several years. In fact, the car has been to AAMCO three times. And for three seals. But....? I did hear of a possible problem with scoring on the shaft from the seal and pitting from corrosion. Indeed that turned out to be true. In anticipation of those needed parts I had them at hand. And here they are for your information. My tip of the evening for one transmission leak.




[Modified by paul79, 6:54 PM 10/15/2002]

 

Glad your happy with it. :yesnod:

 

"I am impressed"

Glad to hear it :yesnod:

One of these days I'm going to Google "shift kit" & "shift improver kit" and try to see if there are any differences.

"And I understand prolongs the life of internal transmission discs"

Heck of a deal ain't it... quicker shifts means less slippage, means less heat, means prolonged trans life. A win/win situation :D

 

"Shift Kit" is a trademark of TransGo, and is a quality product designed to correct certain design defects and improve the longetivity of your transmission.

"Shift Improver Kit" is a B&M product and is intended to make your transmission shift harder with no other considerations and in most cases actually reduces the life expectancy.

 

This kit was recommended by Forum Members. And despite the rather goofy packaging, it is apparently a very high-quality product. (Someone at TransGo needs to take Marketing 101.) My transmission expert at work got the kit for me. He has 25+ years of experience. Just as an aside, you would have enjoyed the look/smile on his face as he worked on an old TH350. He loved it. No computer control; just a transmission that has endless mechanical potential without a module. But I did not let him go too far.... But he sure did have a lot of suggestions. Love these true mechanics! Not code readers.

 

Your message came after my later posts. Yes that is my understanding. And therein lies the mystery of trademark and copyright that is so confusing to many! You have confirmed what my transmission expert advised: go with TransGo for my needs. Thanks!

 

I believe I had heard about the "Shift Kit" trademark idea before. I guess TransGo got there first.

I don't know that I'd call one more of a "quality product" than the other. From what I've read out on the Web (can't find a TransGo Website; does anyone know where it is?), it seems like there are different levels of modifications used to attain the same effect: quicker shifting. The TransGo "kit" looks like it requires modification to the valve body itself. I'm not familiar with the contents of the kit, but it appears it may even include new valves.

The B&M "kit" makes changes to the separator plate and some other "simple" changes to reroute fluid flow for the same effect. While it's not as involved as the TransGo approach, I don't believe I've ever heard of it being detrimental to the life of a trans (unless of course, that trans already had problems, in wich case, I'm not sure that the TransGo wouldn't cause problems too).

Also, I don't believe that what's being corrected are "design defects " , rather, they are just design parameters. Automatic transmissions are designed to shift smoothly . Apparently they do this by being in "two gears at once" to make the shift from one gear to another transparent to the driver. The cost of this is more slippage and thus more heat generated which shortens the life of the transmission.

Any "kit", improver or otherwise that reduces this heat should be beneficial to the life of the trans.

I guess I still don't understand enough about automatic transmissions, but unless it has to do with actually changing the valves, I'm beginning to think that the "shift kit" versus "shift improver kit" is mere trademark/semantics.

Sorry to be so long winded. Maybe a transmission expert can chime in and clear things up.

 

"TransGo "kit" looks like it requires modification to the valve body itself. I'm not familiar with the contents of the kit, but it appears it may even include new valves."


Paul,

Do you remember if the TransGo kit came with new valves?

Jerry

 

it's been nar 30 years since I did a Trans Go shift kit install...but as I recall there are maybe 2 new valves, the rest are springs....it's all in the brain, and may require drilling in the steel valve body plate also....they used to give the drill bits for the job....

worked fine....

had one in a 400 that ran forever, or close enough...360k miles....behind super high torque Pontiac engines....

I just wish I could get my 700r4 to be 1/2 as reliable...but from all reports, it aint' a gonna happen...

GENE

 

I put the transgo kit in my TH400, haven't had a chance to try it yet as I'm still finishing the "frame off", but I'm getting real close. Did you drill out the plate at all? i went up only one size from what they provided, just curious if you did any, and if not, would you probably do it the next time?

A friend has used these kits for all his muscle cars and really likes how they perform.

 

I'm not a transmission expert, but I could refer you to a few who can better explain exactly what the TransGo kits do. TransGo makes products for professionals (which explains their lack of flashy packaging). Their Shift Kits do correct common problems and defects, but don't necessarily make the transmission shift harder. They also make "Reprogramming Kits" which allow you to adjust shift firmness.

I'll be more direct about the B&M kits... they're garbage. :) If all you want is hard shifts, then the B&M kit will do it. They eliminate or restrict the action of the accumulators, raise the line pressure and enlarge the feed holes in the spacer plates. This will give you hard shifts all the time, even at part throttle where you don't necessarily want an overly hard shift. It will also increase the strain on the transmission hard parts and the rest of the drivetrain, and can even accelerate clutch wear.

 

"I'll be more direct about the B&M kits... they're garbage."

GARBAGE! Wow, bad personal experience with B&M?

I've never driven a car with a TransGo kit, so I can't compare it with my B&M kit. But, I put the kit in what looked to me, like a neglected TH350 and it has performed better than I thought it would. I don't know if I'll get Gene's 360k miles, but (wood :smash: ), I haven't seen any adverse effects yet.

 

When I had the pan off my Bowtie TH200-4R, there was a part that said "NoYoYo" on it.

I guess Bowtie puts TransGo shift kits in their trannies -- and yes, shifting is firm, with an occasional tire chirp during the 1-2 shift.

 

I do not pretend to understand transmissions so...I have posted the instructions in two large files below. The kit was basically just a plate with ball bearings and coloured springs. No valves. Apparently with a lock-up TH350 some drilling is needed. But that was not necessary in my case. Hope this helps! And hope someone can put those instructions in layman's terms. Thanks!
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/pau...ansgo2_003.jpg
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/pau...ansgo2_009.jpg


[Modified by paul79, 5:35 PM 10/16/2002]

 

Paul, my kit (for the TH400) is a little different than the one you used. After reading some of the above posts I realized mine is the re-programming kit, not the shift kit, although parts for the shift kit were included and installed. The plate can be drilled in a couple places to program how hard you want it to shift, I went up the next recommended size bigger, I've heard that the biggest size you can go to shifts very hard, and is not comfortable to drive if you are just trying to take it easy. It's very possible the TH350 does not have the option to adjust this, or the plate might be special and only comes with the re-programming kit. I would be curious to hear from anyone who has done this?

 

"One reason that B&M kits shift hard, and why they are inferior to Transgo kits, is that in some applications they actually engage two gears at one time, sometimes one of them being reverse, and this cause the transmission to lockup for a very split second"

I had read that auto transmissions, by design, can have two gears engaged at the same time, but I assumed they were both forward gears. That's an amazing concept: reverse and a forward engaged at the same time :eek: Can anyone corroborate that?

Paul, some of what's done in the TransGo Shift Kit looks similar to what's in my B&M Shift Improver Kit (you know the piece of GARBAGE) that reroutes or restricts the fluid flow, but it also looks like they're modifying the valve assemblys. Sounds like you could get more firm shifts with the reprogramming kit if you were interested in that. It'd be interesting to see the contents of that kit.

 

Paul-Thank you for the review

Monty-Thanks for the link

All- Thanks again for all the informative posts

I believe there is a TransGo kit in my car's future !

 

Jerry,
No comment on one product line vrs another. I am simply not competent to make that judgement. I just know the kit improved my shift response without constant tire chirps. And that was all I was looking for. I presume B&M is a quality product also but as noted above I cannot compare one product to the other in a meaningful way. The intent of my thread was simply to say to Forum Members that my limited experience with TransGo has been positive. I will leave any debates to those who really know about transmission matters.

 

Thanks. Nice to know that people actually read my posts and opinions!

 

As already mentioned it is a good kit, in addition to purchasing at the link Monty provided, it can also be purchased at your local Napa store. Mine for the TH350 was under 15 dollars.

Some asked about a website specific for Trans-Go. As I was doing research into my Trans problems and trying to determine the best route to go - I did quite a lot of research into Trans-Go attempting to find out additional information on the company. The main thing I found was that Trans-Go is operating under a different company name and has filed bankruptcy. (sorry don't remember the company name) They do not maintain a website specific for the Trans-Go product. Monty's link provides the best source for information.

Anyway, would I buy Trans-Go again. You bet, they make a good product that works very well. Saved me from buying a $1,000 transmission.