I am thinking of installing a Trans-Go shift kit in my 700R4 in my 86. What would the performance gain be, and also does it really help the transmission last longer? Also, will my wheels chirp during hard excelleration? If so, then COOL. Also, does anyone know exactly what is involved in installing this kit? I am a do-it-myself person with everything on my vehicles. Also, can anything be improved with the governor? I am also thinking of installing a SR and I am told I need to get upgrade kit for governor. I looked in summit catalog and can not find anything about it. Thanks!

 

I did the TransGo kit about four years ago, and have had zero problems. Well, after working out the kinks. It's been so long ago that I forget the specifics, but there was a spring that I installed, that came with the kit, and the car wouldn't shift into third. I called TransGo the next morning, and talked with the owner...very cool guy, and totally helpful. He told me to not use that part, and reinstall the Vette part. Worked great. Of course, I had to drop the pan and valve body again. I'd check with them first about this, save you a headache.
Mine was hanging in first...it would kind of hesitate while shifting into second. There is a part in the kit specifically made to cure this, and it works! The install is involved, and tedious. It took me a whole day, but I'm one of those who cleans everything, and works slow.
They say you won't need any special tools. BS! Who owns long nosed snap ring pliers?! I ended up making some out of a cheap pair of needle nose pliers. Just ground the tips to what I needed.
If you're worried about longevity, regular fluid replacement and filter changes do for your tranny the same good as regular oil changes. But supposedly, a shift kit does help on disc wear. This kit will give you very firm shifts, second gear chirps are no problem.
It's a very complex kit, but I think it is also very well engineered, probably the best kit out there.

 

 

Seems to hard to do in my garage.
Want too. But.....one screw up and then your in big trouble.
Sooooooooooo.

 

Chirping is I like it when mine does the hula hitting second gear, even w/ the traction control on. Any good shift kit will increase longevity by reducing wear caused by excessive heat produced during overly-soft shifts. The only reason most cars are made that way is because most drivers, in Detroit's opinion, prefer the smooth, nearly unnoticeable shifts.

 

Ok, I finally located my B&M recal kit:
B&M P/N 20048, Governor Recalibration Kit, $30 from Summit.
I'm sure if you call Summit they can hook you up with their P/N.

In preparation for changing my shift points I also picket up a spare stock governor from a local Chevy dealer:
GM P/N 24202117, 700R/4 governor, $45.

You may also need a nice digital scale good to 1gm to sort out the governor weights and compare with stock weights.

The governor uses two large weights and two small weights along with small weight springs to control/calibrate WOT shift points. By selecting the proper combo of small weights & springs (a veriety of which come in the kit) you can raise or lower WOT shift points.

My stock shifts were slow and delayed starting around 4,800rpm. During my A4 rebuild I had the shift kit installed and shift points raised. They are now at 5,200rpm & 5,700rpm; not quite the best (5,400rpm would be ideal for my L98) but better than stock. This works with my modified TPI as the siamese base with stock runners breaths well up top and pulls strongly into the 5k RPM range.

You will love the firm tire-chirping shifts the TransGo will bring and then can see if you need to raise the shift points to optimize performance.

 

I hear everyone talking about the transgo kit,, any reason not to use a B+M kit? I had used those in quite a few of my older cars with no problems.

Paul

 

I put a Trnsgo kit in about a month ago in my 91. They provide a video and written instructions. It took a whole Saturday and a lot of breaks. I had no problems. Just don't like ATF dripping on me or the floor. I like the shifting now.

 

One huge reason for NOT using the B&M kit is that if you have a problem, you can call someone at TransGo. And that person really knows his stuff as well. Try talking to a tech rep at B&M and see what happens should you have a shift problem after you install their kit. As far as I am concerned with a B&M kit you are only paying for their name. As long as TransGo has been around it seems like its only the old guys like me that know about them I'm really not that old but it sure seems like it.

I have used TransGO kits since 1976, and I have found none that have come close as far as being complete, having concise and easy to follow instructions and ease of installation. I have installed kits into the newer 4L80E electronic transmissions which are about as complex as a kit will get. It is double the work of what has to be done on an old TH350 or 400 but still it was relatively easy. Yes, for the 4L60, 4L60E and 4L80E and even the old 700R4 you do need a decent snap ring plier set and a long nose snap ring plier as well.

The best advice I can give you when installing one of these kits is to go over the instructions well before you do it, and get all the proper tools before hand. Having to do it on your back in the home grarage makes it a little harder but its still very do-able. I did three 4L80E's on my back at home for guys with SUVs. I would have loved to have been able to do it on a rack but I didn't have access to one back then as I do now.