Questions and Answers
Camaro Shift Kit
Q. Recently I installed a shift improver kit in my 1995 Camaro Z28. The kit basically involved enlarging three holes in the valve body separator plate, removing the springs in the 1-2 & 3-4 accumulators and replacing them with spacers. Finally the spring on the power valve is swapped for a stouter piece. I'm a relatively good mechanic, I went to school for two years, but I only have about a year's worth of in the field experience. This wasn't the first time I've had an auto trans apart, and when doing this I followed the supplied instructions to the T. However, once I topped of the ATF, warmed the car and ran it through the gears, when in reverse the trans acts as though the clutches were slipping. It backs up, but attempt to accelerate and the rpm's go up but speed does not. Also the car isn't shifting any firmer. I thought at first it may have been a misplaced check ball, so I removed everything once again, and they were all good. After replacing everything, the car still is doing the same thing. What could be the problem??? I thought it was possibly air in the valve body or that the ATF hadn't yet washed the Vaseline off the check balls, but after driving the vehicle for an hour it hasn't improved.
Please help and thanks in advance!
A. I have to be honest with you, I'm no transmission expert. I can take them apart, rebuild them and test the electronics. But when it comes to doing modifications such as this, I send them to the experts. It's quite possible you lost a check ball when you had the valve body apart. Those balls are so small it's easy to misplace one and when you check it, there's no way to tell if there's supposed to be one where.
When it comes to valve bodies, I send them out or replace them as an assembly.
