I was told there are some pretty knowledgable tranny guys in this forum, I'm hoping someone can help. I'm running a GER transbrake valvebody in a powerglide in my Buick-powered roadster. Here's the problem.
Before we leave the house, I can put the car up on the brake, stutter it, and it releases just like it's supposed to, up till it's loaded on the trailer.
When we get to the track, after the burnout and the tranny is nice and warm, NO DICE! It wont engage. After some testing, it's determined that the solenoid clicks back and forth like it's supposed to, until the car is in low gear. I'm guessing the line pressure is higher, and that's why it wont engage, because we put it on jackstands and you can push the solenoid in and engage it with your finger, but it's noticably harder to push in when it's in low gear.
We thought maybe the solenoid wasn't getting enough juice, so we put in a 12v relay going to the solenoid, stronger battery, and same results. Do you think the solenoid just isn't strong enough, or maybe something is binding up in the valve body keeping the solenoid from engaging?
The problem is I don't want to get another solenoid w/o being sure that's what it is, we cant test it, cuz the Turbo Action and TCI solenoid's plungers are too short to use in the GER valvebody. Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this, very open to suggestions. NEW SOLENOID, or DIFFERENT BRAND VALVEBODY??
Any help is MUCH appreciated.
Before we leave the house, I can put the car up on the brake, stutter it, and it releases just like it's supposed to, up till it's loaded on the trailer.
When we get to the track, after the burnout and the tranny is nice and warm, NO DICE! It wont engage. After some testing, it's determined that the solenoid clicks back and forth like it's supposed to, until the car is in low gear. I'm guessing the line pressure is higher, and that's why it wont engage, because we put it on jackstands and you can push the solenoid in and engage it with your finger, but it's noticably harder to push in when it's in low gear.
We thought maybe the solenoid wasn't getting enough juice, so we put in a 12v relay going to the solenoid, stronger battery, and same results. Do you think the solenoid just isn't strong enough, or maybe something is binding up in the valve body keeping the solenoid from engaging?
The problem is I don't want to get another solenoid w/o being sure that's what it is, we cant test it, cuz the Turbo Action and TCI solenoid's plungers are too short to use in the GER valvebody. Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this, very open to suggestions. NEW SOLENOID, or DIFFERENT BRAND VALVEBODY??
Any help is MUCH appreciated.
Everyone I've talked to has said basically the same thing, it's probably the solenoid causing the problem, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to go ahead and get a different valve body. I wish I would have thought of that trick of hitting the brake and then pulling it in low at the track last week, I may have gotten it to work! Thanks again!