My 4l80E install in my 1009, current progress

[ODdave]

Your 208 fronts will work. Different seal if I remember correctly.

 

[richingalveston]

OD dave, I should be able to just take the fixed flat yoke off of the front of the 208 shaft and put it on the shaft of the 205 if the 208 has 32 spline. I do not have to do anything with the shaft or seal, do I?

 

[richingalveston]

I mailed my non working 'TCI fast TCU controler' back to the company today to have them either fix it or give me a new one, they seemed to be decent folks on the phone, It will be at least a week before I have any info on what they are going to do to fix it.

I also ordered my Magnum box from ORD. The current lead time for this is 4 to 6 weeks. One magnum box complete with new 205 seal kit, fat shaft and tripple shifter = $2500.00 (my wallet is screaming now, but when I get to wheel it it will make it all better). At least ORD does not charge you until the unit ships. I will start taking my 205 apart this weekend so I can ship ORD the two rails for them to modify to allow for the tripple shift. I have to break it down to the case so I can get the main bearing bore increased for the larger input bearing.
It is going to take 2-3 weeks for me to get the 205 rebuilt. I will do a seperate post just for the t-case breakdown and build back.

I am going to leave the 208 with the binding drive shaft in the truck until I get the trans controler back and verified that it is working. With everything in tact I can start the truck and drive it slowly up and down th driveway to test the controler.

I did a couple of other things today. Installed LMC heavy duty light harness and also installed the seats I removed from the 87 burb I parted out.
I was going to have the seats recovered in leather before install but because of the cost of the t-case, I am just going to shampoo them and use them for a while. My truck interior is black and the seats are medium blue cloth so they don't look that bad and they are much more comfortable than the stock seats. The base of these seats are about 3 inches wider so you can't feel the metal in the corners like the stock seats and they have armrest on both sides. I am going to get some pics of the seats tomorrow and post them.

I have a bunch of small things to do while I wait on parts and work on the t-case.
My 4l80e install thread will be on hold for the next 4 to 6 weeks and it will be 4-6 weeks+ before the 1009 is on the road. Sorry to all of those watching this thread. I hope what I have learned so far helps others.

 

[ODdave]

I Belive you will have to change the seal but the flange will fit

 

[Ambulancechser]

http://www.jbconversions.com/

this should help.they're in sulphur,LA.reasonably close.

looks like the low max cases are back in production.

 

[1ton cucv k5 turbo]

I Belive you will have to change the seal but the flange will fit

I believe ODdave is correct....

as I had to go through all the pains your currently in, with mine... however.. i rebuilt mine myself.... using a ford and a chevy 205 TC... the chevy 205 gears were toast... so i put the FORD gears in my 205 case.. and sent my rails to ORD... and resized the chevy 205 case for the larger bearing... it was a cumbersome process... but... learned alot along the way... and came out... ALOT.. ALOT cheaper... I think i have a total of 500.00.. and than about 1G for the 203, doubler adapter and 3 stick Shifter setup..

 

[richingalveston]

what did you use to resize the bearing yourself. I am looking at taking it to a machine shop for this because I don't want to screw it up. I have been busy with other smaller items because I am still waiting on my trans controler from TCI.

I am very unhappy with TCI. I sent the unit to them on the 10th. they received it tested it and told me there was nothing wrong with it on the 17th. They were going to replace the hand held unit due to the blemish in the screen and after I paid them for the return shipping (yes, you have to pay for their mistakes) they were supposed to have it in the mail to me on the 18th. I called them on the 26th to learn that they procesed everything except putting it in the mail. On the 26th it was still at their factory and since the factory was closed unitl Jan. 3rd it would not leave unitl then. I now know TCI stand for Total and Complete Incompitance. I think they were lying about the controler being good also. If the controler was good then the wiring harness they sent is bad. At this time it is going to be second week of jan. before I know. I did put a unique mark on the controler before sending it to them so if they do not send me the same one back, I will know.

I plan to start the 205 tcase breakdown in the next couple of days, I need to send the rails to ORD. I also need to resize the input bearing. I currently have my steering column apart waiting on a new wiper switch. It is special order at Oriely's, LMC has one but they are the same price so I am getting the Oriely's so so I do not have to pay for shipping. I have taken a closer look at it and I understand why the seal has to change, the seal actually rides on the yoke flange and not on the ouput shaft. This is not a problem since I am doing a complete rebuild on the 205 and it will have all new seals.

 

[1ton cucv k5 turbo]

what did you use to resize the bearing yourself. I am looking at taking it to a machine shop for this because I don't want to screw it up. I have been busy with other smaller items because I am still waiting on my trans controler from TCI.

I am very unhappy with TCI. I sent the unit to them on the 10th. they received it tested it and told me there was nothing wrong with it on the 17th. They were going to replace the hand held unit due to the blemish in the screen and after I paid them for the return shipping (yes, you have to pay for their mistakes) they were supposed to have it in the mail to me on the 18th. I called them on the 26th to learn that they procesed everything except putting it in the mail. On the 26th it was still at their factory and since the factory was closed unitl Jan. 3rd it would not leave unitl then. I now know TCI stand for Total and Complete Incompitance. I think they were lying about the controler being good also. If the controler was good then the wiring harness they sent is bad. At this time it is going to be second week of jan. before I know. I did put a unique mark on the controler before sending it to them so if they do not send me the same one back, I will know.

I plan to start the 205 tcase breakdown in the next couple of days, I need to send the rails to ORD. I also need to resize the input bearing. I currently have my steering column apart waiting on a new wiper switch. It is special order at Oriely's, LMC has one but they are the same price so I am getting the Oriely's so so I do not have to pay for shipping. I have taken a closer look at it and I understand why the seal has to change, the seal actually rides on the yoke flange and not on the ouput shaft. This is not a problem since I am doing a complete rebuild on the 205 and it will have all new seals.

A friend has a Walker-Turner Drill press, used machining tools to mill out hole... got it within .0060 using the larger bearing as a guide.. If you dont have those type resources.... your correct, in taking it to a machine shop... just be sure to carry the new Bearing with you, as so they can mic it correctly for a good snug fit...

 

[V8Astro]

That's a bummer about the TCI unit. I always thought they had decent products. Guess it's all made in China.

I got the Quick1 from US Shift. Really simple. Just needs a few inputs to work. Plugged it in, downloaded the pre-mapped "diesel" shift table, set the TPS and it works just as advertised.

On a kinda-of-related note I had a similar problem with a Holley Commander 950 ECU. It wouldn't work right, I fought and fought that POS. I sent the ECU in and Holley tested it. Of course there was "nothing wrong with it". I brought my o-scope home from work. The scope pattern revealed that the injectors were firing on a different pattern than required. I called Holley and they sounded like they had no idea what I was talking about. I was so pissed. Anyway I figured it out by myself having to use a work-around for the Holley Fail-Injection.

 

[richingalveston]

At this time I am not saying it is a bad unit because I got a bad one out of the box. I will say the people at TCI need some talking to and maybe a few lashings would help. I hope to have the unit back by the end of this week so I can re-install it and then see how well it opperates. Once i get a working unit in my vehicle, I will then provide the appropriate product review with pics for all of the SS members.

 

[richingalveston]

Got the controler back today. The current history is: TCI received the controler on December 14 and notified me on december 17 that nothing was wrong with it. It was stuck in program mode when I had it. The hand held had a blemished screen and yes they were replacing it as soon as i gave them my credit card and paid the $15 return shipping it was supposed to be on its way back to me on December 18th. I called on dec.26 to discover they never mailed it and the factory was closed so I needed to call back on Jan.3. I called Jan. 3rd and they promised it would be in the mail right away. called on jan7 and it was still there. It is jan 10 and I received my controler. Put it in the truck today to discover it was not in flash mode but it did not work. Followed the setup directions and the controler was asking different questions that were not in the instructions and not asking the questions per the instructions and would not let me get to all of the options. The first question it asked is what is your engine cubic inches. from 0 to 9999 and was set on 8400 to begin with. I do not know of any engines of that size hooked to a 4l80e. The first question is supposed to be what is your transmission type. 4l80e or 4l60e. All of the remaining questions did not match the instructions. and the controler keeps the tranny in 3rd gear with no shifting.

I will be talking to TCI again tomorrow. I checked their documentation carefully and they say the trans should have a 13 pin connector. checking with my trans guy and the internet and the 4l80e only have 11 pin connectors which is what mine has. The also did not include a pin out diagram of the plug that plugs into their computer but I found one tonight on the internet so I will be double checking their wiring harness tomorrow along with taking OHM readings of the trans. I found instructions on the internet for testing the internal wiring of the trans. And 4 of the OHM readings I found in their documentation to verify the trans is good.

At this time it took them 2 days to tell me nothing is wrong and 24 days to mail it back with me paying the shipping. on each phone call the customer service guy had no explanations. Thus with this kind of incompetance, I cant beleive them when they say nothing was wrong with the unit, there is still something wrong with either the unit or the wiring harness. And there is something wrong with the paperwork they send with the unit.

TCI stands for Total and Complete Incompetance at this time.
I wish I would have bought the OPTI shift.
I will post more when I find out more.

 

[richingalveston]

talked with TCI again today and discussed the new issues. From what I was able to tell them they informed me that they beleive they sent me a handheld programed with the fuel injection program and not the trans controler program. I was not able to talk to them until after 3pm today so now we have to talk againg on Monday. They are willing to ship me the correct hand held on Monday. Apparently the trans controler cannot be programed without the correct program in the hand held and that until it is programed it will not recognize the transmission.
Hopefully monday I will actually be able confirm this and also have the correct one in the mail by end of day monday. Hopefully it will not take them 22 days to ship me a new one like last time.

 

[BLK HMMWV]

Sorry your having all the trouble with them.
I just installed a TCI unit on my HMMWV.
6.5 N/A with 4L80E and 242.
It was a piece of cake install.
I did have to find a different connector end for my TPS then the one it came with but other then that no problems.
I hope you get it all worked out.
BH

 

[V8Astro]

Yikes. What a debacle.

I hope you get it on the road soon. You're gonna love the 4L80E

 

[PETE BALLARD]

may we ask what the final cost is and are you happy with the results?

 

[richingalveston]

The cost is roughly $2000 for 4l80e installed on stock suspension with standard 208 slip yoke t-case.
Trans core and rebuild cost me $900
torque converter $200
Trans computer $600
Drive shaft rebuild $200.
I however have a 5 inch lift so slip yoke does not work. I have installed the 208 slip yoke and had the driveshaft cut down from the 1008 I got the 14 bolt and dana60 from. I did this in hopes to be able to drive it until my other t-case is ready but it does not work. the upper u-joint angle is to steep. I can run it on blocks with no load but when load is on rear axle I get really bad vibration in upper u-joint. a fixed yoke on the 208 would probably work because it moves the u-joint about 4 to 5 inches closer to the t-case. I however have elected to let the truck sit until my new t-case is finished and installed, instead of putting more money in to 208 case making it fixed yoke and re-building the drive shaft again.

It will probably be mid feb. before I can tell you if I am happy with it because it will take that long for the t-case to be finished.
My new t-case will be shorter than the 208 and have fixed yokes like the stock 208 front drive shaft. So both drive shafts will have double u-joint at the end next to the t-case. I hope to make up the 2 inches I lost due to the 4l80e being longer.
I have purchased a 205 figure 8 t-case that already had the front ouput shaft upgraded and a rear support from trail tech fab for $200.
It is currently in pieces waiting for the ORD fat shaft and bearings to get here along with the shift rails I sent them. I hope to have them back at the end of next week.
When I get the parts back, I have to take the case to a machine shop and have it bored out for the larger input bearing and then I can put it back togather with the new fat shaft input shaft. I hope to have this done by the time the Magnum box is ready which will be the first week of feb. When it gets here I can get it installed and then get the rear driveshaft completed. I am using the front driveshaft from the 1008 so my front and rear drive shafts will be the same and interchangable. The cost of the t-case will be:
magnum box with fat shaft and new seal kit for 205. $2000
Ord rebuilding 205 shift rails $100
Machine shop on 205 $100 - $200
Triple shifter set from ord $400
205 t-case $200
drive shaft rebuild $200
add some tax and shipping and I will have about $3500 in t-case.

I hope I am happy with it.
I wil let every one know when it is on the road.

In the mean time I have been working on all of my other mods and getting rid of spare parts. I will be getting my trail worthy fab tires soon which cost another large chunk of money but the 37 inch tires will be nice with the 4l80e and magnum205. 5 inch lift with cross over high steer.

 

[PETE BALLARD]

sounds like some serious dollars in this upgrade, can you share why you elected to go the electronic route? against the 700R4? I am curious what your road speed vs rpm's will be. I have heard that some poeple are dead set against the 700r4 and then there are others that say don't skimp on it - build it to be tuff and add a cooler and everything will be seamless. I am considering the 700R4 intially in my M1028, then possibly going 3.73 if i don't get the cruising speed that i want. Sounds like your project is coming together and you will be out wheeling soon.

 

[richingalveston]

It looks like the third time is the charm with TCI. I finally got a chance to install the controler today and it appears to work. Due to my driveshaft issue I could only get it up to about 40 mph and it shifted fine from first, second and third. I did not want to go any faster and risk the driveshaft tearing up the transfer case so I drove it down the street and back then parked it. I now have one last issue to resolve with TCI. They invoiced me another $25 for shipping. I sent them the controler for the second time due to them sending me one back that had the wrong program. I do not consider this a waranty issue. They should have checked the programer before it was sent back to me. I should not have to pay shipping because the part they sent me was screwed up by them. Before they sent the contoler back, they said I would not have to do anything else, they were going to take care of everything since this time it was definately their problem.
So far it has cost me an additional $75 in shipping and two months time on my project. It may be a long time before this invoice gets paid if I have to pay it.

I went with the 4l80e because it was a toss up on the 700r4 if it was going to last. The only difference in price between the two trans is the controler. I know the 4l80e will last just not real sure about the controler now with all of the issues I have had with TCI. By the time you do all of the needed upgrades to the 700r4 vs. a stock build on the 4l80e with the controler, the money is not that much different. I could not put 1 ton axles, install a magnum box with 205 and then put a questionable 700r4 in the truck. I wanted a proven 1 ton drive train. I also may upgrade to a 6.5 turbo or possibly do a 4bt in the future and I dont want to spend money twice on the transmission.

I hope to have the t-case done by the end of feb. and then I will really be able to test the trans.

 

[PETE BALLARD]

I thought the 4l80e has the same output shaft as the thm400 which would mean no changes to the transfer case?? Other than the TCI problem how did everything else go in? Please let us all know the differences in mileage and mph.

 

[martindc1]

Did you ever explore the option of using a stock transmission controller out of an early 90s 6.2 Chevy? I see that Napa and Rock Auto have replacements listed on their websites but I'm not sure of the details.