Thread: DIY How To Install TransGo Shift Kit 4T65E Very Detailed+Pictures

Originally Posted by tms8582

Great write up! I just installed a similar trans kit this weekend. I bought the intense kit which included a few more spacers, springs, piston seals, filter, gasket and assembly lube. It is twice the money however but from what people describe the end result in shifting is similar. INTENSE-Racing.com: INTENSE™ Street/Strip Performance Shift Pak®

The one thing that I would note is to be cautious with a trans flush on these cars.... especially with high mileage and no service records. I've spent a lot of time reading 3800 forums and have had several of these used w-body cars. In an older trans that has not been serviced the dirty coloration in the fluid is clutch particles and can be needed to get grip between the worn clutch rings. If you flush all of the old fluid out the trans it can start to slip soon after the service. Most experienced 3800 people suggest just dropping the pan, changing the filter and topping off with the fresh 8 quarts. On a trans that has really dirty fluid and starting the act up 7 quarts of trans fluid and a bottle of lucus trans fix usually will give some extra life to the trans.

I don't know how many miles were on your trans but if the car has higher mileage I'd guess your trans has been serviced in he past. Your pan looks about as clean as I've seen so I'm guessing someone either took it really easy on the car and it has low miles or the trans has been serviced before. I've done a few pan drops on higher mileage of these cars and the pan and magnet is coated with grey crud. Just my 2 cents but great write up and pictures!

Op mentioned a more or less trans fluid exchange not a flush a pressure flush is what screws **** up. But letting the fluid run out while putting new fluid in won't kill it, as its the same principal as dropping the pan.

Originally Posted by 91parkave

Op mentioned a more or less trans fluid exchange not a flush a pressure flush is what screws **** up. But letting the fluid run out while putting new fluid in won't kill it, as its the same principal as dropping the pan.

Correct. I wouldn't exactly call it a full flush, or an exchange. It's kind of both because the fluid that was in the cooler/cooler lines was pushed out before the return line had a chance to dump the old fluid back in the pan.

To put it in the best words, It's just a way to bring the normal 7/13 quarts of fluid changed up to about 9-10/13 quarts.

Originally Posted by handen

I ordered a TransGo shift kit for my last Grand Prix ('06 base) and took it with me to the only two transmission shops in town the last time I needed to have the fluid serviced. The first place had a wait time of about a week, so, being impatient, I drove to the other shop without getting a quote from the first shop. I showed the guy at the second place the shift kit, he took one look and told me "we'll have to take the entire transmission apart and rebuild it from the ground up, so you're looking at close to $3000. Maybe wait on the shift kit until your tranny actually needs to be rebuilt."

I was a little bit flabbergasted... After all, it was this very thread that persuaded me to order the TransGo kit in the first place, and the OP made it look so easy!

Anyway, I needed a fluid flush anyway and since I was already there I let them do it... To the tune of $330. A couple weeks later I was in at my regular mechanic shop (who've told me they don't touch transmission stuff, they leave that to the shop that had a week-long wait list), and saw a sign on their wall saying their tranny flushes are $210. I was a bit pissed, and when I told the guy that he sort of laughed at me for going against their recommended place. I've learned my lesson.

Since then I've sold my '06 base and picked up an '07 GT because I always wanted the supercharged engine, but I have neither the tools nor the time to perform the shift kit operation myself, so what do you guys think a more reputable tranny shop would charge if I printed out the instructions in the first post, took it in, and said "do this"? $3000 and a total tranny rebuild is obviously complete bull****, and I won't be going back to National Transmission for anything ever again.

All you need is basic hand tools to do this, it's really easy. Have a friend come over, take your time, double check everything, and you'll be fine. Have you ever taken apart one of those clicking writing pens? Same basic idea but you are under a car, the springs are a bit bigger, and you'll smell like transmission fluid when you are done.

The mileage on my trans is in my signature, 110K. I just bought the car in late October and I don't know the transmission's history. I have no evidence or any word on what has been done. It seemed like the original fluid, but I'm not sure. (There was none of that typical trans fluid smell, just smelled like hydraulic fluid. No burnt smell to it either) It was driven nicely I would assume as it was women driven, but I guess not all women drive the same lol. If I knew exactly what was printed on the oem filter, I may be able to tell is it's oem because I still have the old filter.

On flushes, I'm not sure if it's just the difference in the old/new fluid, or the fact that the machine used to flush may have pushed some particles around and did more harm than good. My old fluid looked pretty good, and was about the same viscosity as the new fluid, so I felt pretty good about that. My flushing method is completely natural and will not disturb any particles in the transmission and do possible harm like the machines may.

The magnet in the pan will always be coated with the clutch material, even after 30k miles. Picture #6 shows my magnet. There's a decent amount of material on it, not something I should be worried about, especially if it's original. If it is the original fluid, that amount of material is a good thing.

My trans is shifting better than it was before the service/shift kit, so I believe I'm in the clear. But going past 120-150K miles on the original fluid, and changing it does pose much greater risks.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to include information about that in this post or not. I really didn't want to put anymore than maybe a sentence or two because its just a how-to on a shift kit installation. I would say if the fluid is dark, that is clutch material and are those particles you were talking about. They have "scarred" the transmission, and are keeping it working because they resist the flow slightly(keeping pressure up). My trans fluid was still red so you could tell it didn't do much scarring like a brownish or dark brown fluid does. All I can say is make sure to disconnect the battery so the transmission can relearn the shifts and pressure related. I may make that text in red to show it's important.

Im sure your trans is good 02, the pan was so clean you can tell the car was not abused. I just mentioned to be cautious changing all the fluid can do more harm than good on high mileage abused transmissions. As you know there are a lot of these cars around with a lot of miles and burned trans fluid. lol

Yeah I spent months deciding whether or not to change it, with people on other forums talking about any trans on the original fluid at 100k should never change it, blah blah. The pan did have a layer of clutch material on it, it wasn't too noticeable because it was evenly spread. Also the old filter was the same shiny color as the new one, that was clutch materiel making it look like maybe a black plastic like the top half is. Overall I knew the risks but felt fairly confident with my situation. Oh and greetings from warren Michigan.

Is this kit easier on hard parts than zzp's? It said right in the instructions that hard parts could break easily with their kit. I put a zzp kit in my 99 and I ended up exploding the 2nd gear apply piston. I like the idea of completely different new springs rather than the spacers in the zzp kit. Also would this kit work in an 04 compG?

That should have a 4T65E-HD so yes. And I do like having new springs with the TransGo kit.

Glad it helped, thanks for the feedback

Looks like a few pictures are missing... Do you still have them?

I still have all of them, but didn't notice any missing

Edit: crtl + F5 shows some missing, I'll have to fix that.

There are a few in that if you look close enough.


Anyone ever use this stuff? http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Tranny-1900.../dp/B001DKNH8I

Originally Posted by Slick2500

There are a few in that if you look close enough.


Anyone ever use this stuff? http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Tranny-1900.../dp/B001DKNH8I

I haven't personally but have heard of people using it, seems to be a good idea if the old trans grenaded or something.

Originally Posted by industrialfish

Does this kit work for the HD tranny in the 04+ ?

I'm almost positive it does.


Now none of the pictures show for me. Dang imageshack.

Wow something doesn't want me putting pics in this thread. I'm uploading to photobucket, halfway through it keeps signing me out and won't let me log back in now.

Does this kit work for the HD tranny in the 04+ ?

Try Imgur if photobucket keeps being a turd.

Sent from the Milky Way

Imageshack looked to be having issues last night, a lot of threads had pics randomly missing