1979 Chevrolet C-10 - Gear Star 4L60E - Tech

The new Yank Racing torque converter reattaches to the stock flywheel thrust ring with new bolts supplied by Yank Racing.

The overall length of the stock transmission was measured and compared to that of the Gear Star 4L60E. In addition, the stock driveshaft yoke was inserted into the tailshaft (output shaft) to check if the splines matched.

Here's the new Gear Star 4L60E loaded on the Snap-on transmission jack and ready to roll over to the truck for installation.

The right tools really help. Jason slipped the Gear Star 4L60E into place with the very first attempt. You can't do that with low-quality tools from China.

The last step before installing the new transmission into place was to ensure the torque converter was lined up.

Jason used a Snap-on impact wrench adjusted to a low torque setting to tighten the transmission down evenly, observing a star pattern (criss-cross).

After the new transmission was properly tightened, the CPP tubular crossmember was bolted into place.

The last and most critical stage of installing the Gear Star 4L60E was to correctly install the TPS, which isn't all that hard to do if you understand the following steps. First, the mechanical kickdown (passing gear) had to be disconnected from the Quadrajet carburetor, and preparations had to be made to install the Compushift ratio arm.

For pre-smog years ('75 and down in California; your state may vary), there aren't a lot of hoses, etc. to hook back up, but on smog-equipped trucks it is a good idea to mark everything before removing the carburetor.