3800 3800 F-body Transmission Problems and (Hopefully) Solutions

v6buicks

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My research lied once again. The pilot BEARING in the SBC is the same size as the 3800s, but the bushing that the SBC bearing rides in is obviously larger. Damn. I can put a stock 3800 bearing back in, but it won't engage the pilot shaft as deep. I don't think it will matter much. I just think the added length would give the input shaft a little more support.
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v6buicks

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I know this post is redundant, but I need to update this thread in the same manner as my build thread for the sake of documentation.

The Ford pins inside the 3800 pin trick did not work! Part of the problem was that the ford pins were too long. The other part was that the fit was a bit too tight. I can't just grind the pins shorter because there wouldn't be enough engagement in the adjustment keyway anymore. After drilling the old stuff out with stubby bits and a right angle drill, I installed brand new stock dowels. Now I'm likely back to square one. The bell at least fits nicely again. The real kicker will be if the measurements are repeatable. If they are I will be looking to bite the bullet on a set of custom made hollow and offset dowel pins. It's worth the pain of dealing with somebody else for the sole purpose of getting one of my bolt holes back. If not, I'm going to re-evaluate this entire situation. Maybe my tools suck. Maybe my bores are screwed up, or the new dowels are not exactly the same. Maybe this whole bell re-centering process is a wild goose chase. Who knows?
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v6buicks

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I bet you could halve that just by using a drum in a Dremel along the bottom edge of the bellhousing bores letting it Center upward at least a few more.

Maybe put the bellhousing lightly on a floor jack in the upward Direction while yer snugging down
But then the bell would have the opportunity to move around and be sloppy right? I'm not below doing something like that and shoving a dab of jb in there to take up the slack though. ?
 

v6buicks

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Issue confirmed. If the machinist at work doesn't have a solution for me, I think I know what I'm going to try. Not only will I have to shave this down on both ends so that the lengths are the same, but I would have to drill all the way through. I don't think I can drill big enough to allow the bolt to pass through, but it might be enough to allow for the metal to crush a bit during installation. This will make removal and adjustment much easier.

I'll likely try this with the Ford pin just for proof of concept since I have one still in tact. If I decide to execute it, I'll probably attempt the real deal with SBC pins. It would require the 3800 pins ID to be enlarged, but the added OD of the solid SBC pin might have enough meat to safely drill it for a bolt hole. Hope of doing this all myself is restored!
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v6buicks

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If the center lines are off by 12 then you need to adjust by 12. If the variance from one side of the board to the other on the dial indicator was 12 then your centerline's are only six thousand off from each other which is barely anything. there's probably more play in the needle bearings on the input shaft than .006
Okay, I'm saying it wrong then. 12 is what I get on the indicator, so I need to adjust by 6. While I would think the same thing, I don't want Tremec to have any reason to void my warranty. Hopefully, I never need to exercise it, but it would give me better piece of mind.
 

v6buicks

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???
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I emailed McLeod directly in regard to the transmission. They claim that the issue is high demand. Tremec is unable to keep up with orders. That's great but it sounds like a shitty excuse to continually push my ship date back four times. Yeah, four. It's not coming until LATE July now. ?‍♂️ If I don't get to drive the car at all this year, I'm going to start regretting my choice to keep it a stick. I could have sold the car and converted a G-body by now.
 

v6buicks

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The machinist got the pins done and noted that the way he machined them required a small ring around the middle. It sounded like he was a bit nervous to chuck it back up in the lathe due to how thin they are. I can see that these are taller by a very small fraction as well, but that small of a difference probably won't matter. I think the worst case scenario will be that I need to kiss the bell and block bores with a large rill bit to clear the ring. No biggie. That would be the easiest way to tackle this anyway.
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