TCI Trans Scat Install - Get Your Shift Together

Our attention is now turned to our separator plate, which is modified by enlarging several of the drilled holes to increase fluid flow to certain areas of the valvebody. All of the required drill bits are supplied with the kit. Remember to follow the kit's instructions carefully and be sure to deburr any holes you drill with a file, deburring stone, or sandpaper so that the valvebody parts all mate properly. Clean the transfer plate and separator plate in solvent and dry prior to assembly. With the casting lying on the bench, the steel check balls are reinstalled. Our application had five quarter-inch balls, but the street/strip version of the kit dictated that we only reinstall four of the five. All models retain the 11/32-inch ball in its stock location. The instructions and diagram were clear and easy to follow.

The transfer plate assembly, separator plate, and casting are now put back together, and the 14 screws are reinstalled. Now the pressure regulator spring, converter valve spring, adjusting plate, and retaining cage are reinstalled. All transfer plate and end plate screws are now tightened to 35 inch-pounds.

The pressure regulator spring retainer cage is now adjusted so that the distance from the manual valve to the adjusting screw is 17/8-inch. We used the gauge supplied with the kit to measure for this adjustment. The throttle pressure adjustment is performed by inserting an 1/8-inch drill bit between the kick-down valve and the throttle pressure cam. Now adjust the stop screw until it just touches the cam. Be sure to tighten the jam nut after performing this task.

The pressure regulator is now adjusted with a 5/16-inch allen wrench and the paper gauge supplied with the kit. For street/strip we adjusted our pressure regulator to 13/16 inch. The filter is now installed, and the valvebody is ready to be reinstalled. We chose to upgrade to TCI's deep aluminum pan for extra capacity and cooling, so we installed the filter lowering block to locate our filter closer to the bottom of the deeper pan.

Reinstall the valvebody into the transmission by first inserting the park rod into the hole in the rear of the case and rotating the driveshaft until the rod engages. Now the valvebody can be aligned and installed in the case. Check your shifter seal for evidence of leaks, if you find leaks, now is the time to change the seal. The ten valvebody attaching bolts are now torqued to 100 inch-pounds.

With our pan installed, we're ready to install our transmission and destroy some tires. If you performed your upgrade with the transmission still in the car, you're lucky, you can see the results sooner.