73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Engine/Drivetrain => Topic started by: Funkatation on September 18, 2015, 04:19:53 PM
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Anyone who did this swap:
Were you able to reuse the existing lines/cooler or did you have to do something else?
I am looking at the Dakota digital gauges and gss-2000, do I need to do anything to the stock shifter to make it fit?
Will any of the universal transmission mounts work? Any suggestions?
Trying to get everything together for the swap.
I have the trans, it's a 96ish model, torque converter. Transmission controller, tps. Going to use existing crossmember, just drill new holes. Anything else I'm missing? Been combing the threads and these are the last things I need, I hope!
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im completely naive to that box from dakota. and since it says th350 th400 they dont need a computer to shift so make me think whats it for? what trans you have now?
i have a 4l80e behind my cummins but its the same trans that came with the 91 v3500
but i use the "black box" (http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=30149.msg262258#msg262258)
so i ended up ordering the "little black box" for the tcu. the box is about $200 this is only a backup plan if i cant ge the other tcu's to work. but if i go with this black box it pluggs into the main connection on the trans and a power wire and a ground to lock the tcc
(http://www.jakesperformance.com/images/6525dfbd8eff6ab930b0f4703bcbe261.jpg)
Manual Controller
Pink= 12v ignition
Brown= Ground through switch for TCC
Lock up
Yellow= D1 Trans brake (if equipped), ground through switch for
activation.
Black/Red= D3 Trans brake (if equipped), ground through switch for
activation.
now i just dont know how im supposed to get the speed sensor to work with my stock dash. anyone know how to do this?
the one problem you will have for any tcu (transmission control unit) is you need a tach signal, speed signal and tps at a minimum. the black box you dont need any of that BUT you have to shift manually. since you wont use 1st its only 2 shifts then a tcc switch and youre good. i plan on using one of my TCUs but just havnt really took the time to get it working
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If this helps, I'm getting a 1st gen with the cooling lines up front.
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1st gen as in a 83-93 cummins?
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Haha no, keeping my 454. It's a 1st 4L80e with the transmission cooling lines up front instead of one in front one in the back.
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I will follow this as I want to fit one off these to my recently bought 74 with 454. I want to keep column shift and are thinking I will buy Dakota instruments.
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i dont think the dakota will work. when i inquired them about getting a tach signal via the alt they never once pushed any other product on me suggesting they had something that will work for just a little more than the tach interface for $60
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Would it not come from the distributor?
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for your case yes, but for mine with a cummins not really.
this is what i understand fron dakota
"The Dakota Digital universal gear shift sender consists of three main components; the sensor,
decoder, and mounting brackets. The sensor mounts to the transmission and converts the transmission
linkage arm position into an electrical signal. (this is almost like a tps it just tells the box what gear its in)
The decoder converts the electric signal from the sensor into
the individual outputs for each gear and provides the neutral safety and backup features. (and the box this tells the digital or electronic display what gear its in) "
now this is 100% my understanding and the more i read it the more confusing it is. i would contact Dakota and ask them but the way i see it makes sense as to why they list it for the th400, 700r4 and the th350. its not cause it shifts for it but it gets the signal as to what gear the trans is in and gives a code to the digital dash as to what gear to display
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The main reason for me to get the gsss-2000 was everything I read said you had to modify the existing linkage to get it to fit and my stock gear selector wouldn't have the overdrive selector.
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Lokar makes one as well. Not sure if it has all the functions you think you need but the price isn't too bad!
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the dakota box has nothing to do with telling the trans how or when to shift. it only relays the shifters position to the digital dash cluster. the black box mimics other sensors and gives max line pressure when you shift. the 4l80e wont shift out of 1st if it doesnt have a tcu to tell it to shift. this dakota box isnt a tcu but a sending unit
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For a second I completely for got the the PCM normally controls the E-Transmissions... For now I will blame it on Mr. Morgan and that fancy little barrel he props ghois leg on
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I have a pcs simple shift tcu.
I must have misinterpreted what they said when I called. So I would still need to add 2" to the shift linkage to the trans?
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well i took the question the wrong way, sorry. cant help with the shifting linkage, but if i can find my original one i could measure it
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I am a little lost here on what you are tying to do. What engine/trans do you have currently? 454 and? Is it carb'd
what are you trying to solve with the Dakota gauge setup? I am a dealer for them and have 2 sets one in my twin turbo LS truck and another going in my LS powered Blazer.
The Twin Turbo truck has a 4L80E in it also, but the LS ECM controls the shifts. I used the existing trans lines on mine, just had to bend them some to fit. This was coming from a 700R4 to 4L80E.
The GSS only displays the gear on the column.
IF don't have the proper 4L80E trans bracket, you will have to use a Lokar to shift the truck from PNRDLL..
This is what I did for the trans crossmember on mine:
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=12120.msg194642#msg194642
This is the difference in the trans brackets:
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=12120.msg209204#msg209204
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Hey Chris, thanks for all your responses, you have been very helpful.
I have a carb 454 with TH400 currently. I am doing the conversion at my friends shop which is 3 hours away and just want to make sure we have all the pieces needed to do the swap when we start so I don't have to wait on things to ship. The Dakota gauges I want to use so I don't need the cable x box, and since my stock gear selector doesn't have the od I figured I'd just cover it up and use the Gss-2000.
Do you know if my stock shift linkage will work or should I get that universal one you linked Or does the th400 use that same bracket as the 4l80e?
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The GSS will have to be bought with the Dakota gauges, it won't work alone. You can find a indicator in the junkyard and sometimes in the classified here. I don't have a th400 so I cant answer the bracket question. If you post the pic with the part number on it we can identify it, or you can look in my build thread for the PN to see if it matches.
The Dakota will need a signal from the trans for speed
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Will the transmission controller get that speed signal? I ended up with the pcs simple shift.
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The 80E has 2 VSS's one will need to be sent to the Speedo of choice. I don't know the controller but I would imagine that it would have an output of some kind.
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from what i understand the 4l80e does have 2 sensors for the tiss (Transmission input speed) and toss (Transmission output speed). the way the stock pcm works is the vss (toss) goes to the dracs box from there it changes the pulses from 40 pulses to 2k for the ecm, 4k for cruise control and 128k for abs.
but this is from pcs
SPEEDOMETER -This wire is not required for operation of your Simple Shift unit. Its
purpose is to deliver a signal to early, older versions of electronic speedometers. Most
aftermarket speedometers will use the Output Shaft Speed Signal found previously in
these instructions. If your speedometer will not work with the Output Shaft Speed Signal
contact your dealer for technical assistance.
and
OUTPUT SHAFT SPEED SENSOR – This
connector is required for operation of your
Simple Shift unit. For all transmissions that
have an Output Shaft Speed Sensor we
have added a ‘Y’, which allows you to plug
the Simple Shift harness directly into the transmission yet still leave you an access plug
for aftermarket speedometers or factory connectors of some kind that need Output Shaft
Speed Sensor access. See Table 1 and the corresponding Figure for your output shaft
speed sensor connector location
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Which dipstick did you go with?
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made my own cause i had to push the trans back 3". but i would get a 4l80e dipstick due to different trans will have different lengths
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Lokar makes a few different ones with different lengths, firewall mounted and trans mounted.
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afaik lokar only makes one for the 4l80e. on mine i just measured how much of my dipstick sticks out the bottom nipple. then i cut the nipple off and attached a hose to that then i cut the top part off and attached the other end of the hose to that part and mounted it to the firewall