DrJay's Performance Rebuild: SSE-I
#111
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So my dumbass went and decided to go with the $2146 rebuild. I don't know why. The kinda good news is he agreed to do it for $1950. This is of course after I talk to him directly and see how much he knows about this trans. Two areas that are in question are why he said he was replacing the torque converter with "One that should go with it". What does that mean? Stock? Supposedly this is a high performance rebuild so I'd assume that would be part of it. Also how does he know the stall speed that would work best with the rebuild? I only wanna do this once so its gotta be right the first time. The second area is the electronics that he says are "so outdated they don't belong in there". I'm really interested in what all is replaced and whats up with it. I found out:
JAN 95 A/T - 4T60E Wiring Harness Updates there is a recall on them but what all does it do and why. All I got from the shop guy (not the guy thats doing the trans) is that it'll raise line pressure by a few psi. Great, so will my chip. So a semi-weak trans from GM + the chip + the updated valve body (more psi) + the electronics that somehow up the psi + double the rated HP = parts running in every direction. Ahh but he knows whats being done to the engine and is giving me a 18month 18,000mi warranty on it so I'll take that. You may never hear anyone else say this when talking about performance but I'm tired of spending money! I'm gonna have to start a collection just to get this b##$@ finished! haha. Ok not really but still its annoying every day either my dumbass sees something else I wanna buy or I get a $1000 phone call. Ahh well when its all over it should be worth it.
JAN 95 A/T - 4T60E Wiring Harness Updates there is a recall on them but what all does it do and why. All I got from the shop guy (not the guy thats doing the trans) is that it'll raise line pressure by a few psi. Great, so will my chip. So a semi-weak trans from GM + the chip + the updated valve body (more psi) + the electronics that somehow up the psi + double the rated HP = parts running in every direction. Ahh but he knows whats being done to the engine and is giving me a 18month 18,000mi warranty on it so I'll take that. You may never hear anyone else say this when talking about performance but I'm tired of spending money! I'm gonna have to start a collection just to get this b##$@ finished! haha. Ok not really but still its annoying every day either my dumbass sees something else I wanna buy or I get a $1000 phone call. Ahh well when its all over it should be worth it.
#112
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Hey grand am man, do you still have the rest of that Bonneville left around? I'm trying to find a set of SSE/SSEi tailights cheap and if you have them and they aren't doing anything i might be willing to buy them off of you. Thanks, and Dr Jay the rebuild sounds like it'* gonna just whomp anything. You'd be one of the quickest cars here, if not THE quickest.
#114
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Yeeaaah but we can't compare apples to oranges. Series II is a whole 'nother story from Series I. Muahaha. I think Hector has a series I and if so I believe his would be faster from what I hear. I'll have to hunt him down and see one day
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Ahh but he knows whats being done to the engine and is giving me a 18month 18,000mi warranty on it so I'll take that.
#116
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Originally Posted by DrJay
Yeeaaah but we can't compare apples to oranges. Series II is a whole 'nother story from Series I. Muahaha. I think Hector has a series I and if so I believe his would be faster from what I hear. I'll have to hunt him down and see one day
#117
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No kidding I heard about one guy that was upset about not getting his CAI, didn't know everyone got screwed. Ahh that sucks. So first its Scperformance.com then its Floz and now ADTR, you really gotta watch where you buy things anymore. I noticed ADTR'* web page underwent a "rebuild" so it seems odd that he'd be out of business. But anyway I'm going to haul @$$ for 17,000 miles to give them a chance to FULLY break in, wouldn't want anything like the engine to break! hehe.
#118
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Yeah they both pull, but the series II always seemed to pull in a very linear fashion. The Series I i guess i would say rips it off the line, and then keeps it up, i don't feel the need to get it into high RPMs normally, although it'* much easier to get higher then our 98 yukon, which doesn't break 4-4.5k flooring it (in OD of course)
#119
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Hey anything new on the rebuild?!?!?! You complained about no one posting, but you didnt either! I guess you're just waiting for the shops to finish up. When is your eta in car and running for it? Will this be your daily driver as well, or more of a fun toy that you take to the track and waste all the wannabe 5.0L Rustangs, and the damn civics who only race on the street cause they spend all their money on body kits and stickers instead of track time?
#120
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haha it was merely an observation, not a compalint. You are right though I'm just waiting for all the work to be done. Then I gotta try paying for it all! It'* going to be both my daily driver and my fun little toy. It'll definately see some track time but its going to live on the street. Its definately going to be done this month. Lemme clarify, the ENGINE will be done this month. The installation might take longer but I'm hoping for Aug 3 it gets installed. I guess it kinda worked out because I went and spent more money that I have so its a matter of waiting for more to come in to pay for the final reassembly and installation. I still have another $950 for the transmission plus possibly another $200 for the engine. Then I need a new or rebuilt power steering pump and belt. The new one is nearly $200 but the rebuild is $100, I'd rather go with new. Then I have maybe another $500 for installation plus:
New hoses
2 oil changes (one after initial running)
Coolant
Power steering fluid
Trans fluid
Misc nuts-n-bolts
All that sounds petty but the one thing I've noticed about this is that the little things REALLY add up. So maybe another $2500 and I can FINALLY drive it. As much as I hate it I'm slowly creeping up on the $10k mark. I'm going to blow past that mark as I work on the interior and exterior in a few months but this is just the engine!! Unless you do the work yourself I would never suggest you fix up a Series I, especially with as little support as they have. BUT in the end I will have a car that nobody else has and can keep up with the best of them.
New hoses
2 oil changes (one after initial running)
Coolant
Power steering fluid
Trans fluid
Misc nuts-n-bolts
All that sounds petty but the one thing I've noticed about this is that the little things REALLY add up. So maybe another $2500 and I can FINALLY drive it. As much as I hate it I'm slowly creeping up on the $10k mark. I'm going to blow past that mark as I work on the interior and exterior in a few months but this is just the engine!! Unless you do the work yourself I would never suggest you fix up a Series I, especially with as little support as they have. BUT in the end I will have a car that nobody else has and can keep up with the best of them.