Tranny is rebuilt

[Axianator]

As promised, a quick update on my ATX that took a crap about two weeks ago.

Turns out I destroyed my planetary gearset. The teeth on three of the four pinion gears (including the sun gear) were either cut off or worn down, probably from the torque of the motor and insufficient **** to the gearset. My cluthces, bands, and seals were also either burned up or on the way out, despite the great shifting I always had with the tuner.

Here's a copy of my message to the LSSHOC:

Got the SHO out of the tranny shop last Friday afternoon. Aside from a somewhat softer-than-expected 1-2 shift, it runs great. Quicker and more confident shifting in all gears, better converter lockup at highway speeds, manual shifting is the biznitch (can you say 1-2 scratch?), and the feel of the tranny is much, much better overall.

Total cost out the door was $2029. Price was a little higher than initially estimated due to the last-minute finding that my tranny case was cracked (looks like you MTX guys aren't the only ones who deal with cracked cases).

Moreover, very little of the old tranny remains, as shown by this list of new parts:

- New transaxle casing
- Remaned torque converter with new pump seal
- New steels, bands, and one new drum
- New friction material with all new clutches
- An entirely new planetary gearset
- New OEM solenoids and steel forward piston
- Full TransGo kit with all **** & calibration upgrades
- New Motorcraft VSS and tranny wiring harness
- New 26k GVW Hayden tube and fin tranny cooler

Note: rear main seal wasn't replaced, as it was not found to be leaking.

The "softer-than-expected" 1-2 shift has now been firmed up, thanks to the SCtuner. As I said over at the TCCA, I didn't know what I was missing with my stock tranny. The rebuild shifts and performs like a dream and is 100% better. It'll be fun to finally get her on the track.

Once I get my 'pension upgraded, I'll be one very happy SHO owner.

Pictures of the old parts will follow this coming week.