Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

[Just Fishing]

And for my 4-5-6 drum / turbine shaft seals,
The final product.


I had issues getting a close up using my cell, but here is a zoom in of the seal fitment.


The close up attempt with the seals mostly centered in the shaft to show fitment.



The tape trick really works.
Part of making it really work is to work the seals with your fingers after compressing them with tape.
Then keep going until you're happy.

Main thing is to not damage the seals during pump installation.

However, I noticed a design improvement in the pump, almost a taper.
If I had a spare set, I might have thought about testing to see if the pump would accept some loose-fitting seals...

These are also tighter than the original seals, I had a little concern about that...

 

[Just Fishing]

And here is the main transmission assembled!


For my assembly stand, I just used the motorcycle jack.

All I really needed was a hole for the output shaft to pass through.
It would be nice for air testing things, but I'm good with this.
main thing was to keep everything vertical as to not damage seals and bushings.


And the mods to the large snap ring tool made that tool fantastic.
it now grabs that snap ring very firmly, making it a breeze to install and remove the snap ring.
I used it a few times while getting everything setup.

Top View,

 

[Just Fishing]

And last night I got the valve body torn down and inspected.
Confirmed it's spotless!
Nothing in the lube passageway that had that metal in the cooler lines.
Screens didn't have a spec of anything.

Nothing had any signs of any sort of contamination or blockage.

I went back through the techm pressure switches.
Pretty much to inspect the laments and seals.
You want to test each of the pressure switches with something soft as to not damage the laments.

My seal kit came with new seals, and i had already got a set of transgo branded laments and seals to have on hand.

I had two switches that didn't give me a solid click, so I removed the laminate and cleaned it out.
There is this little plastic cap that sits under the laminate, you have to make sure it's sitting in the correct position, otherwise it will bind the switch up.
So, it's important to confirm you got it together right, otherwise it won't work.

I didn't get pictures, but everything looks good.
This time around, I'm much better at getting those new laminates reinstalled.
Main trick is to coat them in a little transmission fluid before trying to fit in the hole.

I saw another one that showed some light wear, so I figured wth!!

Then it brings me to this little tool

Pressure Switch Rebuild Installation Tool Kit - 124740-TL70

Install laminate discs & seals included in Sonnax Pressure Switch Rebuild Kit 124740-70K with Sonnax Pressure Switch Rebuild Installation Tool Kit 124740-TL70.

www.sonnax.com

(Instructions can be found on the page)

This thing is amazing.
It makes the new seal install so slick.

Lube the seal, load it in the little barrel with the plunger in place.
Use the other tool to help press the new seal into the tube and compress.

Then insert into the pressure switch hole, and let it rip!
Installs nearly perfectly each time.

Then use the little "L" shaped tool to ensure the little seal end is all the way under the lip..

It's worth every penny!



Today, I finish assembling the valve body.
one more air check of the transmission.
Then install the valve body, filter, and then pan.

Then I load the transfer case onto the transmission, and then start thinking about how the hell I'm going to build a cradle for the whole assembly that might actually help me reinstall the transmission w/transfer case attached.

 

[Just Fishing]

How many magnets are too many magnets?






I have them all facing the same direction/pole
And the OEM magnet, has some underneath to give it a little "boost".


I used some transmission assembly gel to mark where the little feet go, in order to prevent causing a bind.
This was not the final magnet orientation.


Nice part with the transmission being upside down, I can figure out exactly where I want the magnets.

And the transmission is fully assembled.

I had tried and failed to get the manual shift arm/shaft seal replaced, but I was unable to get the roll pins removed.

Me staring at the shaft thinking it was asking to start leaking...
I gave it one more attempt with a nice set of ***** to extract the primary roll pin from the case.

This time, it worked!!

Then the other roll pin was a straight drive down and out.

New seal installed, and the shift shaft has been cleaned up nicely.

I was still unable to get the parking prowl roll pin out in order to change it's O-ring....

 

[Just Fishing]

I found a copy of the carfax i ran before i bought this thing.

Just reviewing the details now that i'm getting a better idea of it's possible issues.


I'm Owner #5
Not too bad right?

First owner, Bought it new from a dealership near me in January of 2009

Nothing odd really, just that the first reported oil change is at 25,310 miles in 2010.
Probably nothing since it was under warranty and all...

29 days later, a minor accident that they never fixed but it was reported.
Front bumper has minor damage, no big deal.

Then at 30,677 I see an oil change reported
then again at 35,645
then again at 40,169

Then in 04/20/2011 I see owner two reported with 41,056 miles.


Owner Two

10/09/2012
First oil change reported at 67,465 miles

10/27/2012
then again at 67,857 miles?!

this is at a dealership, same one it was sold new.



2/17/2014
Then at 89,853 miles, I see this at a different dealership down the street offered for sale.

Sold with 89,939 miles on 03/01/2014


Owner Three
Selling dealership reports an oil change at 95,573 miles

03/28/2015
Oil changed again at 100,241 miles

11/20/2015
Oil changed again at 109,884

03/23/2016
Oil changed again at 114,301 miles


05/14/2019
Oil changed at 170,677 miles...


05/29/2019 - new owner reported

Owner # 4
Nothing.

I bought it a year later.
Had about 179,000 miles.

 

[Just Fishing]

I remember working with the sellers too, they were motivated and trying to play it cool
I knew that since they let the registration lapse and that they only had it for a year, they were probably not telling me something.

but they had a decent sounding story, needed the XL for more space
Special needs kid and all.

My wife was there and was trying to tell me to just pay the asking price.

me: telling her to be quiet for a sec, we have to play the game first.

Oh well, in the end this thing will be awesome.

 

[Just Fishing]

The transmission has been installed, I ended up taking my motorcycle jack and installing some rivnuts into it.

Then i took some 2x4's to create a little platform.


I also decided the vent hoses that sit on top of the transmission had maybe 2-4 years left
And I had some left-over silicone vac line, so i figured wth!

I got a little crazy with the zip ties, but these things will not lay flat!!
+I expect to lose a few of them over the years.

Note the little blue drawing in the middle.
That's where the hose was supposed to have routed, whoops!


I ended up backing those zip ties with some felt tape.
For some reason I saw those hoses tapping up on the heat shield right above them, and then driving me nuts.
(they will not lay flat)

For installation, I used a tie down at the front to keep it from trying to kill me.
This worked quite well.

 

[Just Fishing]

While I had everything out and clean, I was able to confirm without any doubt what my transfer case is.
MP3023
Mostly I wanted to see how it tears down, and what "known" issues it has.

not too many, the one in my S10 is known to have the pump wear through the case.
I figured if there are some parts like "tabs" to prevent that from happening, now is the time.

But it looks good enough, so a new rear seal and back it goes.

 

[Just Fishing]

Welp, engine is back in.
I haven't yet gotten to tighten the top bolts, but it's in!

I left the engine mount to frame bolts loose for now, figuring it should give me some room to tilt the transmission down to get to those top bolts.

Spent much of the day fiddling with the new cooler lines.
pita, but it's for peace of mind...

 

[Just Fishing]

While I had the engine out, this is the first time since I pulled it that I have a chance to take a picture of it with the heads and valve covers installed.

Also, my currently very messy workspace.




Some of the time i spent yesterday was to do some cleanup of the engine mounts.
They rusted pretty badly, and the tahoe really didn't spend much time in any sort of moisture...

So I did some cleanup to prevent that from happening.
And some of that corrosion tried to work it's way into the blocks threaded holes.

I think long term, that could have been bad.
Weird!

and the only "engine" paint I had on hand was the silver, so it got some silver paint.