Ed Hall Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Looks like my homebrew transmission rebuild was successful! I started her up last night and added tranny oil until it was up to the mark. Got into the car and it shifted perfectly into all the gears just like it was suppose to. I still have a bit more work to do such as installing some brackets and the air cleaner assembly. Total price for doing this job myself was around $200. The rebuild kit was $80 and the rest of the money went into hard parts that were bad. The tranny shop that specializes in rebuilding these T-7 transmissions quoted me $3000 so I saved a bundle of money. The sad thing is the previous owner had this transmission rebuilt 2 times last year and they could never get it right. The transmission went out again so he threw up his hands and sold the car to me cheap. Tearing the transmission apart revealed that sloppy work and the failure to replace high wear items led to the quick demise of this transmission. Anyways, I took the time to fix all of these problems and corrected the play in the final drive and input clutch that was out of spec. All the latest upgrades and the shift correction package should make the transmission shift much better and last longer. Next thing on the list for this car is paint. Still have not decided what color I’m going to paint it. So far I’m thinking black or pearl white. I’m not that fond of the original silver, but it would sure be easier to keep it the same color. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Great job, I love hearing this. That is what I was trying to say in the other thread, if the rebuilder (you in this case) takes their time to ensure that worn and out of spec parts are replaced the job is successful. Are you a mechanic by trade? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldoman95 Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 wish i could do that! good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Ed, I get disgusted when I hear of shops that don't replace all of the parts that are provided in the kit just to save a few bucks.... Did you have access to all of the special tools or did you fabricate them yourself? Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Are you a mechanic by trade? I'm an electrical engineer and a piano technician. It saves me a lot of money knowing how to fix my own cars. It also allows me to drive luxurious Cadillacs rather than Toyotas or Hondas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Are you a mechanic by trade? I'm an electrical engineer and a piano technician. It saves me a lot of money knowing how to fix my own cars. It also allows me to drive luxurious Cadillacs rather than Toyotas or Hondas. GREAT JOB, YOU SHOULD BE PROUD! HAVING REBUILT A FEW TH350'S, I FELT JUST LIKE YOU WHEN I PUT IT IN GEAR AND IT SHIFTED PERFECTLY! ILL BET YOU FELT GREAT AND HAD A BIG SMILE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 I'm an electrical engineer and a piano technician A piano technician... you should be really good on tune-ups The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Did you have access to all of the special tools or did you fabricate them yourself? I had to buy some tools such as torx bits and snap ring pliers but all of these came from Harbor Freight. The only specialized tool that's needed to make the job a lot easier is the assembly puller. It's expensive so I made my own with a piece of threaded rod and a socket that was just the right size. Another thing that came in very handy was an electric impact wrench also sold at Harbor Freight. It puts out around 350 lbs of torque and it came in useful for taking off the 36 mm bolt that holds on the rotor to the drive shaft. It also came in handy for taking some of those extra tight torx screws in the valve body of the transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMDTS Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Nice job.As far as changing the color that's your call but to do it rite it invlves a lot of r/r and cut in work I have chaged colors on a couple cars that i owned so I can tell you it's a a pain in the a-- I pulled the doors, hood , deck lid etc. Did all the cut in work then painted the car.Silver looks good on your car but the pearl would also look very nice too..If you are going to keep the car then diong a color change would be worth it if not I would just go with the original color..Plus changing the color to a non original color would de value the collect ability of the car to a collector..Many things to consider Good Luck Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 GREAT JOB, YOU SHOULD BE PROUD! HAVING REBUILT A FEW TH350'S, I FELT JUST LIKE YOU WHEN I PUT IT IN GEAR AND IT SHIFTED PERFECTLY! ILL BET YOU FELT GREAT AND HAD A BIG SMILE! Yes, it felt really great especially after remembering that the transmission rebuilder told me that this transmission is the hardest one to rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Good job Ed! You are a man after my heart. Fixing things on my own always makes me feel good. It is not just about money you save - you get confidence and experience. At the same time you can better appreciate the work someone else does on your car knowing how hard it may be sometimes. BTW, I was tuning my Martin guitar by means of a fork and noticed I did not need any fork since the phone buzz (not the ring) seemed to be exactly 440 Hz. Perhaps you knew it since you are a piano man. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Congratulations on the transmission rebuild! Automatic transmissions and air conditioners are two items I've always considered (rightly or wrongly) as "off limits" to shade tree mechanics. As to the color of the Alante, I would keep it the same, or some variation of the same color. You mentioned that you don't like the silver color but I've always liked it so you and I have different sentiments regarding the color. I think to change any car's color usually messes the car up inless it's done right. Doing it right includes painting all the door jambs, trunk interior, under the hood, and anywhere else the original color shows (a big job and you never get it all). Consider some variation of the original color. You might paint the fenders and top a dark metalic gray or burgundy color and leave the hood, trunk lid, and all those hard to paint areas the original color. There are a number of combinations that could give the car a different look without changing the basic underlying color. I hope this gives you some ideas. Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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