[COTW 10/3/11]: My Texas Speed E85 429ci & 4L80E swap

[DietCoke]

I'll probably do something like that when I'm through with it and have pictures of all the individual parts of the process. It's going to end up a fairly common swap I think, especially once these cars start decreasing in value and having more miles put on them.

[69 Rebel]

I am in the same boat as Mike, a parts list would be great Chris. I didn't know about the ADM plate.

I ordered the 4L80 from Jakes last weak. Thx for steering me that way Chris.

He said there are 2 guys ahead of me. I asume thats Mike & Bruce

[DietCoke]

These are all summit racing part numbers

AER-FBM4412 -06AN FITTING-BLACK * 2ea (6 AN Hose to Trans cooler)
AER-FBM4422 -06AN FITTING 45 DEG BLACK * 2ea (6 AN Hose to Trans)
AER-FBM5013 -06AN ADAPTER BLACK * 2ea (Adapter to 6AN for cooler)
RUS-640520 TRANSMISSION FITTINGS PAIR * 1ea (Trans case to 6AN, 2 included in box)
BMM-70274 SUPERCOOLER (Cooler)
ENS-3-1108R TRANS MOUNT GM ZINC & RED (Mount between trans and ADM Plate)
SUM-230620 S.S. HOSE -6AN 20FT (20 feet of braided -6an hose)
TCI-399754 FLEX PLATE (SFI Flexplate, proper length for LS engine/4L80 converter, comes with new high grade flexplate AND converter bolts)
+
ADM Performance 4L80 adapter plate

The total through summit was $500.95, plus the ADM Adapter plate from Andy @ $60 + shipping. This is everything you need to run a quality braided line with all screw-on fittings (no barb and hose clamp garbage that can break or leak and cause you to wreck or worse) to the biggest transmission cooler that will fit without major mods, and completely mount the trans/adapt to the 5th gen. You can use any generic thread sealant on the -AN fittings, I like the GM stuff, because it's also got Teflon lubricant in it. Most dealers should stock it, part # is in the picture (12346004).

You'll also need a shifter and shifter linkage. I ordered a stock A6 shifter/linkage from GMpartshouse, deleted the park lockout, and it should work fine and look factory in the leather boot, but I'm also using an electronic controller. If you went manual valve body, any off the shelf ratchet shifter should work.

Lastly, you need a trans dipstick. I recommend Lokar's 36 inch flexible locking dipstick

[mikepage0007]

nice, i will wait till your done, as you may change something or more stuff may be needed...thanks..bruce , has bowler getting his car and they are gonna fix for the 3rd time

[DietCoke]

Alright, today's work was mounting the transmission cooler and running the braided transmission lines in such a way that they will never be in the way of anything, and arent cluttering up the engine bay. Thankfully, the camaro has heat shields in ideal locations to make this possible, and I took lots of pictures of the process.

These are the holes I will be using to mount the trans cooler. They're threaded already (but unused), and it seemed like the ideal spot to put the trans cooler as it will see airflow from both the upper grille, and the lower grille.

One bolt in, as you can see, the holes that come in the cooler dont necessarily line up with these two holes on the chassis.

That's fine, just drill a hole in the mounting flange in the right spot (cooler metal is very soft and easy to drill)

And mounted with both bolts

What it looks like from a few feet back, you can how it gets airflow from the upper grille, and really appreciate just how big it is.


Assembling the -6 AN hose. A lot of people are intimidated by stainless braid and making hoses. It is VERY simple. The fittings unscrew, as seen here. Slide the braided part into the fitting end, as far as it will go. Use silicone lube/grease (same grease you use on suspension parts) to assist in sliding the hose into the -AN fitting end. also use grease on the threads, and other part of the fitting. The grease helps everything go together nicely, and will make sure you don't gall any of the threads on the fittings.

The -AN end on the hose


Once you get the hose all the way into the end, you screw the male end into the end. You'll need two wrenches (3/4 and 11/16, or 3/4 and 3/4 depending on which fitting you're doing). Screw it in until it is flush and tight.

Tada, you've done your first end

At this point, you'll have one -AN fitting on the hose, and 20 feet of hose hanging off of it. (Well, that's how I did it because I had to start from scratch, but you can save time and use my measurements if you'd like.)
I put the end onto the far side of the trans cooler, with all the hose hanging off of it, so I could run the line, and see where I needed to cut it

A view from the bottom side of the trans cooler

I sat the radiator in place, to see how I could possible run the hose to the back of the car. Thankfully, there's a cutout in the lower radiator shroud which just happens to be the PERFECT size for two -6an transmission lines.

This is a rough idea of how I wanted to run the lines. Along the frame rail, close to the wiring harness, where they can tuck behind the head shield (pulled up in this photo) and be 95% hidden and completely out of the way.

I mocked up the trans (not pictured) and measured where I needed to cut the lines under the tunnel, to have the proper length.

But how do you cut braided lines? Not with cutters, lest you fray your stainless braid and try for hours to get the ends onto the cut hose. You use a large (3lb) sledgehammer or deadblow hammer and a chisel, or any large tool, and a chisel. I didn't have a large hammer handy, but I had a four pound brass pipe wrench, which functions just as well as a sledge, if not as sophisticated

Put the chisel where you want to cut the hose, and tap it a few times lightly, this will flatten the braid and hose. You have to use a hard surface that has no give. A metal block, vise, bench is preferred, but I don't have that in my garage. I used the concrete floor, works just as well.

This is the type of CLEAN cut a chisel and hammer gets you. Zero frays

Now that I cut the first line, I put the angle fitting on the transmission side of the line to fully assemble line #1. I then removed it from the car/trans cooler, and laid the remaining line next to it. The second line needs to be roughly 5-6 inches shorter then the first line, because it has roughly 5-6 inches less to travel (left vs right side output on the trans cooler). I laid the lines side by side, and trimmed the second line to 6 inches shorter, with the hammer/chisel.
The long line is 88 inches, the short line is 82 inches, not counting the fittings on the end. You can cut to these lengths beforehand to save yourself a lot of measuring, which I've done on my end already.

And just like that, you now have your burst and leak-proof transmission cooler lines. Doesnt this look better and sturdier then a shitty rubber hose, barb, and hose clamp?

I ran both lines into the engine bay through the lower radiator shroud pictured earlier. Here is what they look like with the heat shield reinstalled, completely out of the way. I also have the heater hoses behind the heat shield, for an extra clean engine bay.

The hoses come out just above the rear heat shield bolt.

And they go this far back into the tunnel, right in front of where the transmission cooler holes are, in an early 4L80e.

And finally, what it looks like behind the front bumper through the upper and lower grilles (finished)



If you have a late-core 4L80e, your line lengths will be different then mine. The early 4L80 cases have the cooler lines at the front of the case, instead of split like the later 4L80 cases. Since the early core cases fit better because of the cooler line locations, going with an early case is a no brainer.

All I have left to do is make some supports for the lower mount on the trans cooler, I'll probably use/bend some cheap steel straps from home depot or walmart, and use those. Its not 100% necessary, but it will add extra strength and robustness to the cooler mounting.

[The Stig]

congrats on COTW

[GEEo]

Congrats on COTW!!

[DietCoke]

Didn't even submit for COTW, but hey, good stuff comes in groups. Got some great news from TSP/freight company, the new motor should be here Thursday! Lots of pictures to come!

[Huggerorange73]

This build is epic.....I shoulda done the same thing when my car was blown up.

Great work man.

Did all my work at home as well...much respect you on your build!

[CarbonSS]

Wow, what a great build!! Wish I had a place to do engine work myself! My apartment complex would have a heart attack if I took my car apart in the parking lot! LOL! Congrats on COTW, very well deserved! Subscribed!!!

[camarolover69]

just a question why did you buy a manual car if you wanted to do a auto swap?

[Stark]

Congrats on COTW Chris!

Thanks again for the MGW!

[camaro_RS]

Congrats on COTW!!

[69 Rebel]

Congrats on COTW Chris well deserved.