'90SE trans to '87LE issues
- Backhoe
- Posts like an L27

- Posts: 622
- Joined: Tue May 11, 2010 12:48 pm
- Year and Trim: '98 LSS L67
- Location: Victoria B.C. Canada WCBF '11 Survivor
'90SE trans to '87LE issues
Well I just finished installing my 90SE trans into my 87LE, good fun for a relatively novice mechanic,and I went ahead and installed new mounts and replaced almost all hoses. The car seems to run great, (I raided the tranny from a running 90 which i was able to drive before buying) but the shift points seem to be at a higher RPM than the previous trans. I realize the SE had a shorter final drive than the LE, but am concerned the wiring may be an issue since the 87 had a 4 prong plug on the front of the trans, and I had to install the 5 prong plug from the 90,but only have the 3 wires hooked up that were definitely matching in color. Also the wiring clip at the shifter arm was different, so I swapped that over as well as the arm, the only difference being the length of the arm and a large purple wire in the 87 that exited the bundle before the clip at the shifter arm. The tranny shifts fine from 1 to 2, but needs to reach about 38-40MPH, roughly 2700-2900 RPM for the shift to 3rd. This seems to be a fair bit higher than the old trans, so any help regarding the trans wiring would be greatly appreciated. Also the O/D works fine.

1998 Olds LSS/L67, 92K miles, Intense FWI, SSAC headers, 3.2 MPS, cat delete, 180 stat, AL 103's, HPT.
1996 Olds Eighty Eight LS/L36, 146K miles, mostly stock
1997 Olds LSS/L36, 95K miles, raided for dent free parts and sold
1989 Bonneville LE Gem (sold)
1987 Bonneville LE (retired)
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Jrs3800
- Retired Admin/Techinfo Admin

- Posts: 26009
- Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 2:08 pm
- Year and Trim: 03 SLE, 95 SE, 95 TS SE
- Location: Space Coast, or at least it used to be
Re: '90SE trans to '87LE issues
Have you adjusted the Kickdown cable?
- Backhoe
- Posts like an L27

- Posts: 622
- Joined: Tue May 11, 2010 12:48 pm
- Year and Trim: '98 LSS L67
- Location: Victoria B.C. Canada WCBF '11 Survivor
Re: '90SE trans to '87LE issues
Outstanding!! You nailed the one thing I forgot to put in my post, because I swapped the kickdown as well, but at first glance I thought the cable was a fixed length. After a quick adjustment, the car shifts perfectly. Thanks Jrs3800, I shall never utter any disparaging remarks about minivans ever again. Hope to get some pictures up soon. Thanks again.

1998 Olds LSS/L67, 92K miles, Intense FWI, SSAC headers, 3.2 MPS, cat delete, 180 stat, AL 103's, HPT.
1996 Olds Eighty Eight LS/L36, 146K miles, mostly stock
1997 Olds LSS/L36, 95K miles, raided for dent free parts and sold
1989 Bonneville LE Gem (sold)
1987 Bonneville LE (retired)

