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I'm back with another tranny question.
I built a 700r4 last summer and put it into my 89 silverado.  It worked good and I was satisfied...
last fall the Transmission cooler ruptured in the radiator and filled the tranny with water.  We drained the fluid out as best we could and filled it again with new transmission fluid.
Recently the transmission is acting flaky. It seems to operate ok when it is cool, but is slow to engage in gear when it warms up and seems like it is trying to slip when it is warmed up.
I ran a pressure test on it and with the TV cable on low the pressures look like the book says. But with the TV cable pulled, the pressure in park is about 220 pounds and the needle moves alot....that is the needle bounces back and forth from 200-240 pounds very quickly, almost a vibration like action....
Any Ideas?  

Doug

Having opened two trannys recently both with the same rear planatary shell torn up, and one with the rear sprag all ripped apart. What is a recommended upgrade there.  I see 5 pinion rear planet sets, and also a rear shell called the beast...are these good upgrades or are they unnecessary for putting a little hp/torque through the tranny.  
Also what else would be good to do...
I expect the engine will develop about 350-450 hp and have maybe 300-400 ft-lbs of torque  355 CID chevy

Thanks in advance
Doug

I tore down a 1990 700r4 yesterday that had gone up in smoke for me a couple of years back. I knew something would be toast inside and sure enough it was..
If I wasn't on dialup I would post a pic.

the reaction shell and bits around it had burn up so badly that the gear to the rear of the shell had all of the teeth ground off it.


Questions

1. the output shaft is not buggered up, but is nice and black in that area.
Should I reuse it, or could the heat have torn it up?

2. I have an older 700r4 (1983?), will the gears, shell etc. arount the output shaft be the same as the later model...I ask this since I am a little lazy and haven't looked it up yet.


Also, I experienced my first counterfit bolts yesterday.
Where I thought they were pulling threads, they were actually stretching the bolt and breaking at a torque less than required for holding the valve body down in a TH-350.  Pulled the bolts from another tranny and they torqued just fine.

MC
I've been rebuilding a couple of TH-350's.  While torqueing the pump into the case, two of the bolts pulled the threads...
Torque wrench was set at 20 ft-lbs as per the book
Question: Is heli-coiling the threads acceptable? and is the threads pulling on these trannys common? or is the torque spec. just plain wrong?

Also,
next up is another 700r4, how difficult or doable is changing the gear/tailhousing from an early 700r4 with the mechanical speedo with a 90 model tranny?  This is going in my 67 camaro convertible and I need a mechanical speedo.

Thanks in advance
Doug

I have a 283 chevy with a holley projection 2bbl fuel injection, behind it is a 700r2 tranny.  The question is does the projection have the correct geometry on the tv cable or does it need the same correction bracket as does the holley carburetors?  I suspect that it does since the truck 82 s-10 short shifts under full throttle, but I thought I would toss the question out before I went buying the correcter.
Doug

This forum has a lot of pretty sharp patrons, so let me ask about a problem I have been having over and over.

1995 Chevy Cheyenne 1500 4.3 2wd with a 5 speed.

The clutch master cylinder keeps cracking where the line to the slave cylinder attaches.  This happens about once every month like clockwork.

I'm on my 8th master cylinder....

Any ideas about the fix or why it happens or even where I could get a cast iron MC instead of those rinky dink plastic ones


Thanks in advance
Doug

Lets see...
Rebuild kit for a 4l60e transmission......about $300 plus extras
Time required for pulling,
rebuilding, stabing, pulling,
tearing down again, stabing and pulling again.......about 3 months
The time it took the tranny guy
to tear it down, find the problem
and reassemble............................................about 3 hours
My wife's take on how much I looked
like a durn fool..........................................Priceless


After much fussing fuming etc. etc. that tranny that didn't have any reverse was the victim of a snap ring in the pump that didn't quite seat
fully and pushed out when I engaged reverse.  Had the goofy thing pushed all of the way out and into the pan I would have seen it easily, but it only pushed a little and looked right even to the tranny guy, but he ran an air check on the part some how and it flew right out...
Now all I gotta do is put it back in again....grumble grumble grumble

Next tranny question for Tony
What do you recommend for a 5 speed accord tranny (STD 1988) that has no 5th gear.... that is a parts source and any thing to look out for...

Doug

Well, I tried, and I admit defeat....That %@#$$$$**&!!!!!!^%%$@##)(**!! transmission has got my goat.  I put it all back together and installed it in the truck and .....no reverse...... So Monday, I will drag it to a tranny shop (or the dealership) and say fix it..., just tell me what I did wrong.

Not many automotive items have humbled me, but this 4l60E has.

Thanks for your help Tony

Doug

Tony,
I finally got back to that tranny that was giving me fits.
A 1997 4L60E 4wd in a s-10 blazer.
Pulled it down, and didn't find any slipped retaining rings, However the clutches in the reverse input drum showed slippage on the steels.  the clutch pack clearance is 0.075", right on the outside edge of the book's clearance recommendations.  Could the problem be in the teflon seals on the back of the pump? They look fine, but?  No burrs were found in the rev drum either.  Reverse piston was still seated correctly and I could engage it using air with no leaks.

Any ideas?
Thanks
Doug

As usual, if everything is going right, you must be doing something wrong!
The 4L60e I just finished rebuilding and installing into my wife's blazer has no reverse  :cry:
I can feel the reverse make a slight engagement action when the lever is put into rev. but there is not enough engagement to allow any power to be applied.  All of the forward gears work well, good shifts, coverter locks properly, but no reverse
The ASTG book lists a lot of possibilities, but most are discourging since I will have to tear it down again.  This tranny is a real PITA to pull and stab.

Any suggestions of where to look first?  I know this is not a lot of info
I would think that maybe one of the valve body valve was stuck, but wouldn't that affect operation elsewhere as well?

Any Suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Doug        

This forum seems to be the best source for tranny info  
I just finished rebuilding my first 4L60E and incorporated an orange box transgo shift improver kit along the way as per Crosley's advice.
Now I am doing another 700r4 for my extended cab PU, a couple of questions come to mind.

1. what shift improver kit do you recommend?

2. On the inside of the Reverse imput housing there is what appears to be a defect in the metal, this is a swirl that extends from the bottom to about half way up the side.  I plan to replace the housing, but is this how a crack usually appears in this piece? or is this a rare defect?

Thanks in advance
Doug

I have a 1997 chevy blazer 4wd with a 4l60e tranny.  My wife burnt up the 3-4 clutch pack by not checking the tranny fluid and ultimately running it 4 quarts low.  I am in the middle of rebuilding it....this is my 2nd 700r4/4l60e rebuild.

I remember reading somewhere that this model needs to be upgraded somewhere in the valvebody to correct a low pressure problem that has plagued this model.  However I can't find this info again.  Am I dreaming that I read it?

Additionally anybody have recommendations about other upgrades to "wife proof" the tranny?

And finally, should I replace all the electronics as a preventative measure here, or is that a wise move?
Thanks,
Doug

 I just installed a 89 700r4 that I rebuilt into my 92 surburban.  It works great, but the convertor fails to lockup. This is my first tranny rebuild and it works perfectly except for the convertor problem.

In the rebuild I did the normal rebuild kit with steels, installed an alto 9 clutch 3-4 clutch pack, a 0.500 tv boost valve, New bearings front to back and a new lockup convertor.  cooler lines were flushed with carburator cleaner and lots of air until the fluid ran clean.  

I am suspicious of the electrical components in the pan.  either the solenoid, the temperature switch (silver switch on the bottom of the valve body) or the 4th gear pressure switch.  When I check the case connector I get 12 volts to the hot lead and there is continuity between the hot terminal and the ecm pulse connector wire.   How do I test these components without dropping the pan or is this possible?  Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Thanks in advance
entodad