until tmw. i was trying again one last time as it got dark, and OF COURSE I lose the e-clip again...beyond frustrated.This job sucks,lol.

 

If I can find that e-clip, and once VB installed (again), I am going to manually rotate the gear selector shaft to park and see if that brings it far enough ahead to engage the pawl--before I had the VB on L as well as the steering column shifter on L, and after I installed, I was able to go into P, but as stated earlier it wasn't "real" park--so maybe manually going into park somehow will "adjust" any weird minute differences so it was like it was before. I thought that if I kept the rod in place and put everything back in since everything was the same (gear, etc) it would just work. With just the rod, I was able to get the wheels to lock, but not sure if the pawl was locked in or not because I think I was able to remove it , but if it was just forward enough it would lock the wheels. I would have to rotate the drive shaft to align it, so not sure if i should rotate it a little after getting rod in, before going into park, to lock it , then finish up. hopefully better luck tmw.

 

just found the e-clip. it was driving me insane. going outside every 20 min from 9pm-12am..now i can sleep and dream about parking rods.

 

So after not having as much luck with the getting eclip on (which is ironic because for me that was the easier part of this job), I decided to *$&*$& it and removed VB. With just the rod, I jammed it in (not hard), rotating driveshaft so it can move in and out. When I move it forward not not forward enough to remove it) the drive shaft locks up. I removed rod, and reattched to VB, and just put in in, with rod down the hole. The rooster was set to Park. I bolted 1 corner bolt to the VB and had a helper every so slightly move the gear selector at steering wheel so my linkage dropped on the manual shaft gear selector.

I need confirmation: When set to Park, the drive shaft doesn't move. BUT, the rear wheels DO move (one moves forward, one moves back). I need to confirm if PARK is when driveshaft locks up, and the wheels turning in the air is normal. Please advise. I'm about to tighten down the linkage and test that I can shift gears from P-L and if this is correct, then I don't have to worry about the rear wheels as this is normal . Please advise.

 

Yes, park is when the driveshaft won't turn. You have an open rear diff, so, with the rear off the ground, and the d/s locked, spin one tire, the other turns the other direction.

 

YAY! Got it. Yeah it was easier with the rod attached and pre-setting up the alignment. I think I got it right the 1st time but didn't understand the dynamics of the wheels rotating vs driveshaft. Taking a hot dog break. Putting pan on in a bit, its sitting with screws in the gaskets waiting for me. Will update with test drive.

The kit included wrong neutral safety switch (3 pin vs 2), so reused old one. As far as I know it works fine.

 

Tested in the truck the LV3 build I did on mine a week ago and not dissatisfied with the result. Was waiting for destruction on first drive, *******.

 

pans on, getting fluid. It might be the gasket, but I noticed there is a slight gap between a couple bolts between mating surfaces of pan and transmission pan flange, but it seems to lock in further/deeper in the flange area. I finger tightened everything, and in cross cross as best I could, I torqued them down to `156 in. lbs. (13 ft lbs). If you look down the line of the pan and transmission flange, I noticed that its not flat but kinds bends in and out sorta wavy like. Hopefully its ok and sealed. I'll know soon enough. Could just be the rubber gasket.

 

Flange is probably warped a bit. It happens.

 

Well...

Put 4 quarts in, started it in neutral, went through all the gears. couple times, put back in neutral, added another 4 quarts (i took out about 2 gal),Took it down road and freeway, topped with another 1.5 quarts, the level is literally in the middle of hash mark of OK, so I could add another 1/3 quart later if I want to.

The truck shifts! flooring it/kickdown down-shifts to lower gear and accelerates and shifts back up at speed/let off the gas....it does not do that neural slip thing anymore...W00H00!!!!
I checked for leaks like an OCD bastard and I can't find a single drop. When I came back I put drain pan on piece of cardboard under truck tranny pan on angled driveway for the night to double check tomorrow morning.

No check engine codes, all gears available. OD works. reverse works, reverse lights work. I do believe I fixed it! Yabba Dabba Doo!

Thank you so much for all your help. The truck is drivable! Normal shift ranges around 2K rpm or so and shifts fairly smooth, not jerky.

* Just checked the tranny pan and drain pan and I don't see one drop.