2008 GMC Envoy Denali

[THEFERMANATOR]

Tonight I did the trunnion upgrade to the rocker arms. Apparently the factory needle bearings in the rockers can fail which not only means a rocker isn’t doing its job properly, but then you also have tiny needles floating around in your engine. I bought the kit from Brian Tooley Racing.

It has nice instructions.

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Here is an exploded view of a stock rocker after disassembly.

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And here it is with the new parts instead.

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It took a little over an hour for me to do all 16 rockers. Here’s a finished rocker plus some extras. It was nice to see they provided an extra bearing and a couple extra clips so you could make a mistake without having to order more parts. You can also see the new bolts and a 12 point socket for the bolts included in the kit. Pretty nice stuff.

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The factory rockers are a good design, but high rpm's can lead to the trunion coming apart and the needles coming out. Under stock use they're fine, but its cheap to upgrade them to the captive design with a snap ring to prevent the bearings from working out under higher spring tensions/rpm's.

 

[n8in8or]

The factory rockers are a good design, but high rpm's can lead to the trunion coming apart and the needles coming out. Under stock use they're fine, but its cheap to upgrade them to the captive design with a snap ring to prevent the bearings from working out under higher spring tensions/rpm's.

Well said.

 

[n8in8or]

Picked up the block from the machine shop. This is no longer a budget build. Burned, blasted, bored .020, decked, new cam bearings. Prettiest block I’ve ever worked on.



Dropped off the rotating assembly. Having ARP bolts installed in the floating rods I bought and then reconditioned. Then having the whole assembly balanced. Doing it once and doing it right.

 

[DieselSlug]

Wow, no shortcuts here! Nice job!

 

[n8in8or]

Headers showed up today. I read about the Speed Engineering headers on the TBSS Owners forum. They were said to fit well, be well made and fairly cheap. Well as long as they do actually fit well, these were definitely a good buy. Stainless steel headers with stainless Y pipe and band clamps for $370.....not bad at all.

 

[BIGR]

Very nice, hurry get that job done, then get ready to come south for the next project.

 

[n8in8or]

Today I’m embarking on a new adventure: rebuilding an automatic transmission. I bought a rebuild kit from probuiltautomatics.com. The owner, Dana, makes rebuild kits specifically for DIYers. You tell him what you’re putting it in, what’s going on with the engine and how you drive and he creates a kit customized for you. Pretty nice. I’m also going to utilize the videos at transmissionbench.com to guide me through the process. Even though the kit from Pro Built came with a DVD, the videos at Transmission Bench are done so well it’s a no-brainer to use them. He breaks the disassembly and reassembly process up into managable chunks that make it easy to follow along and pause and replay as necessary. I’m excited and nervous for this adventure! I won’t be doing a step-by-step of the process, because I’m a novice and there are plenty if build threads out on the interwebs, but I’ll check in along the way.

Today I made a transmission holding fixture and prepped my workbench for the rebuild. I also got through Part 1, Lesson 3 at Transmission Bench. The good stuff is coming!!

 

[n8in8or]

Oh, and I’m also using the ATSG manual for reference.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

The atsg is good, bit keep in mind it is for a 93/94 4l60e non pwm unit, so the valve body will have quite a few differences. Make sure and put a beast sunshell or better in it, the updated GM one is ok, but they still fail semi easily behind the 6.0l. And if you do a wide band, make sure and replace the reverse drum. Even if it checks flat, don't chance it, you don't want to tear up the band. Aldo be certain to put in the high rpm pump spring. The 13 vane pump is fine imho, but the spring and rings not so much. I also like to do the sonnax 1-2 accumulator valve.

 

[n8in8or]

The atsg is good, bit keep in mind it is for a 93/94 4l60e non pwm unit, so the valve body will have quite a few differences. Make sure and put a beast sunshell or better in it, the updated GM one is ok, but they still fail semi easily behind the 6.0l. And if you do a wide band, make sure and replace the reverse drum. Even if it checks flat, don't chance it, you don't want to tear up the band. Aldo be certain to put in the high rpm pump spring. The 13 vane pump is fine imho, but the spring and rings not so much. I also like to do the sonnax 1-2 accumulator valve.

Ok, I’ll look into that stuff. I did buy a new reverse drum just to be safe.

 

[n8in8or]

The atsg is good, bit keep in mind it is for a 93/94 4l60e non pwm unit, so the valve body will have quite a few differences. Make sure and put a beast sunshell or better in it, the updated GM one is ok, but they still fail semi easily behind the 6.0l. And if you do a wide band, make sure and replace the reverse drum. Even if it checks flat, don't chance it, you don't want to tear up the band. Aldo be certain to put in the high rpm pump spring. The 13 vane pump is fine imho, but the spring and rings not so much. I also like to do the sonnax 1-2 accumulator valve.

By the description it looks like the kit I bought has everything you recommended except for the better sun shell. Is there a brand of sun shell you would recommend?

 

[n8in8or]

The atsg is good, bit keep in mind it is for a 93/94 4l60e non pwm unit, so the valve body will have quite a few differences. Make sure and put a beast sunshell or better in it, the updated GM one is ok, but they still fail semi easily behind the 6.0l. And if you do a wide band, make sure and replace the reverse drum. Even if it checks flat, don't chance it, you don't want to tear up the band. Aldo be certain to put in the high rpm pump spring. The 13 vane pump is fine imho, but the spring and rings not so much. I also like to do the sonnax 1-2 accumulator valve.

What do you think about the Sonnax Smart Shell? It sounds like it can handle a lot of power and I see some people complain about 3rd gear vibrations with Beast shells.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I've put a few of the beast sunshells in with absolutely no complaints. The sonnax is supposed to be better, just alot more money(or used to be). Seen to many of the revised GM ones break in stock work trucks to trust one.

 

[n8in8or]

I've put a few of the beast sunshells in with absolutely no complaints. The sonnax is supposed to be better, just alot more money(or used to be). Seen to many of the revised GM ones break in stock work trucks to trust one.

Good input, thanks. Bummer to find out now though because I could have added the Smart Shell as an upgrade to my kit when I ordered it...I’m kind of disappointed that Dana didn’t recommend that upgrade to me.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Good input, thanks. Bummer to find out now though because I could have added the Smart Shell as an upgrade to my kit when I ordered it...I’m kind of disappointed that Dana didn’t recommend that upgrade to me.

Alot of shops say the new style GM sunshell is good. I know the local GM trans guy has a stack of them on his bench, all broken just like the old style sunshells.

Was just doing some reading on the beast vs sonnax. The sonnax is an 03+ GM unit that has been hardened, had a reinforcing sleeve installed at the splines, a torrington bearing instead of plastic thrust washer, and a new shortened sleeve for the one way clutch. It says it is designed to not only be stronger, but to transfer the load, and heat better via more contact area in the thrust. So it seems to be a really nice piece even compared to the beast.

 

[n8in8or]

Alot of shops say the new style GM sunshell is good. I know the local GM trans guy has a stack of them on his bench, all broken just like the old style sunshells.

Was just doing some reading on the beast vs sonnax. The sonnax is an 03+ GM unit that has been hardened, had a reinforcing sleeve installed at the splines, a torrington bearing instead of plastic thrust washer, and a new shortened sleeve for the one way clutch. It says it is designed to not only be stronger, but to transfer the load, and heat better via more contact area in the thrust. So it seems to be a really nice piece even compared to the beast.

Yeah that was the same thing I read. It sounded like a good solution.

 

[n8in8or]

I didn’t work on the trans at all Sunday. Today I got it torn down all the way.



Then I took the case, bellhousing and transfer case adapter to the pressure washer. Lots of fun when it’s 18 degrees out!! I think the beard saved my face from freezing.



After that I got all the rebuild parts arranged on the bench.



I had to run for some supplies and generally just took my time so I ended up just getting the 3-4 clutch reinstalled. I won’t be able to do much more before the Sonnax Super Shell arrives from Summit. That will probably be about 3 in the afternoon.

 

[n8in8or]

Oops, not 3-4 clutch. Reverse piston and rear platenary gear set.

 

[Will L.]

You look might cold Nate!

 

[BIGR]

He looks frosted over, almost about what I look like after being on the deer stand in frigid temps for several hours.....

Heck the car wash out the road shuts down when its 20 some degrees or less, you can't stand up in there when it gets so cold. I think they are afraid of liabilities also.

Nice work Nate, keep the pictures coming.