Rebuilding 700r4
06-30-2018, 10:10 PM
#21
Melting Slicks
Front seal is very common, while your in there sonnex has several upgrade parts such as the front pump bushing and the rear extra wide pump bushings.
There is also an extra wide sun gear bushing, and the beefy sunshell.
I went with the generic "beast" sunshell while I was at it.
With the miles you have, I would also replace the planetary gear set for front and rear...
I have the full forward sprag assembly out of a 2000 4l60e (ebay), however I replaced the sprag clutch bearing with a double cage borgwarner unit (29 sprag), I also did the same with the rear sprag, got a unit out of a 2002 4x4. Gave me a much wider and beefier unit.
For my front and rear planetary gearsets, they are out of a low mileage 4l65e...
I bought the whole assembly.
Where I'm going, lots of upgrades available, and GM was good enough to make them backwards compatible, even with my super early 84.
There is also an extra wide sun gear bushing, and the beefy sunshell.
I went with the generic "beast" sunshell while I was at it.
With the miles you have, I would also replace the planetary gear set for front and rear...
I have the full forward sprag assembly out of a 2000 4l60e (ebay), however I replaced the sprag clutch bearing with a double cage borgwarner unit (29 sprag), I also did the same with the rear sprag, got a unit out of a 2002 4x4. Gave me a much wider and beefier unit.
For my front and rear planetary gearsets, they are out of a low mileage 4l65e...
I bought the whole assembly.
Where I'm going, lots of upgrades available, and GM was good enough to make them backwards compatible, even with my super early 84.
07-01-2018, 10:12 AM
#22
I rebuilt mine, in my '93 C4 when I lost the low/reverse clutches. There are SO many resources, including threads on this forum, youtube videos, and Dana at probuiltautomatics.com & I used them all. Dana's great, he'll return your emails & you can call him on the phone.
You have to be very careful with rebuilt kits. There are literally dozens of 700r4 configurations in GM cars, & Corvettes pretty much got the best. A lot of rebuild kits & shift kits that are meant to "improve" durability & performance of 700's include upgrade parts that upgrade a regular 700r4 to Corvette specs & you already have that.
It's also really hard to get every single thing you need in one kit. I still had to get a 1-2 band, & bushing kit. You'll also need a few spring compressor type tools, & a bushing driver set of some sort if you want to replace all the bushings. Also the ATSG manual. I would call Dana, tell him what you want to do with your Corvette & he'll give you some good recommendations.
Good luck! It's actually pretty fun once you get that sucker on the bench.
You have to be very careful with rebuilt kits. There are literally dozens of 700r4 configurations in GM cars, & Corvettes pretty much got the best. A lot of rebuild kits & shift kits that are meant to "improve" durability & performance of 700's include upgrade parts that upgrade a regular 700r4 to Corvette specs & you already have that.
It's also really hard to get every single thing you need in one kit. I still had to get a 1-2 band, & bushing kit. You'll also need a few spring compressor type tools, & a bushing driver set of some sort if you want to replace all the bushings. Also the ATSG manual. I would call Dana, tell him what you want to do with your Corvette & he'll give you some good recommendations.
Good luck! It's actually pretty fun once you get that sucker on the bench.
07-03-2018, 07:52 PM
#24
Racer
Thread Starter
Got the tranny in pieces. Looks like it’s been rebuilt at one time. The valve body gasket said Transtec. Question is how good of a rebuild was done. The band looks all cracked. From what I can tell the clutches look good. When I removed the side servo it came out really easy so I think those seals were worn. I still need to make a tool to compress the springs to get the rest apart. Also saw wear on the governor gear. And the planetary gears there is no play but I can see markings on the gears teeth. Not sure if that’s a big deal or not.
07-03-2018, 08:35 PM
#26
Racer
Thread Starter
07-04-2018, 07:34 AM
#28
Melting Slicks
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What I see looks just fine. (Sometimes lack of lube will wear and "sharpen" the teeth. That was the concern. )
"Beast" hard shell is what is in mine. It's a good part. If the splines are okay it's good to go. There's a lot of band options. I like the Kevlar reline from WIT, myself. It's about the hardest thing known to man. The late model carbon band is good too.
Just talking about the clutches, the early ones had a real Mickey Mouse 3/4 apply/pressure plate setup. IMHO, I always upgrade that. You might be able to play some games with old bearing races and little c clamps to get the LR spring retainer off if you are patient.
"Beast" hard shell is what is in mine. It's a good part. If the splines are okay it's good to go. There's a lot of band options. I like the Kevlar reline from WIT, myself. It's about the hardest thing known to man. The late model carbon band is good too.
Just talking about the clutches, the early ones had a real Mickey Mouse 3/4 apply/pressure plate setup. IMHO, I always upgrade that. You might be able to play some games with old bearing races and little c clamps to get the LR spring retainer off if you are patient.
Last edited by confab; 07-04-2018 at 07:34 AM.
07-04-2018, 08:54 AM
#29
Racer
Thread Starter
One more picture I needed to post that has me concerned. I took pics of the check ball locations but there’s damage at this one spot.
Last edited by kitttransam; 07-04-2018 at 08:55 AM.
07-04-2018, 09:10 AM
#30
Melting Slicks
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If we're talking about the deformation to the left of the leftmost ball. It's normal.
Replace all the 1/4" ***** with torlon. Keep the large steel safety ball.
Replace all the 1/4" ***** with torlon. Keep the large steel safety ball.
07-04-2018, 12:30 PM
#33
Racer
Thread Starter
Since this tranny held up pretty good I think I’ll just do a stock rebuild and do a few of the small upgrades like a shift kit, .500 boost valve and the torlon check *****. I am going to replace the valve body plate for sure. I saw one check ball hole with cracks. And get a 2000 stall converter. Need to make my spring compressor today so I can take the rest apart.
07-04-2018, 01:55 PM
#34
Melting Slicks
Since this tranny held up pretty good I think I’ll just do a stock rebuild and do a few of the small upgrades like a shift kit, .500 boost valve and the torlon check *****. I am going to replace the valve body plate for sure. I saw one check ball hole with cracks. And get a 2000 stall converter. Need to make my spring compressor today so I can take the rest apart.
07-04-2018, 04:01 PM
#35
Racer
Thread Starter
Well the piston seals are worn. Did not take much to get them out after removing the clutch spring the case and drum. That would explain the ocassional slippage.
07-05-2018, 02:37 PM
#36
Racer
Thread Starter
So I’m looking to order my parts. Was thinking of getting a torque converter in the 1800-2000 stall range. My stock is rated at 1654. Would this be a good choice? For good drivability and ocassional drag racing.
07-05-2018, 05:06 PM
#37
Melting Slicks
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I used a BU18AH (I think?) in mine, and it raised the stall to about 1850..
It's a stock converter from a Buick Grand National. Lot of stock stall options available that are fine for the street.
If you want to go aftermarket the sky is the limit.
It's a stock converter from a Buick Grand National. Lot of stock stall options available that are fine for the street.
If you want to go aftermarket the sky is the limit.
07-24-2018, 05:42 PM
#38
Racer
Thread Starter
So I had some issues with the parts I got so been on hold for the moment. Had to send my carbon band back because it got damaged in the box. Waiting for another one. I’m not digging the alto HE grey clutches it came with. Thinking about going with a Borg Warner set of clutches. I did a test fit in the foward drum with the parts I have. The steel plates I will use. So I threw this thing together just to see what my 3-4 clearance would be. I measured .050 clearance for the 3-4 clutches. Stock spec is .060-.080. I did read that others have gone as low as .015. Is .050 ok for a daily driver? I’m assuming it is. I’m assuming the Borg Warner clutches will be close to the same thickness as the altos I have.
07-24-2018, 07:47 PM
#39
Melting Slicks
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50 is fine for this unit. I do 40 to 50ish daily here.
You can run closer on the forward because of the way it works.
Air check the drum. You can quite often knock 10 or 15 out of a snap ring when it is driven to the top of the groove.
If you had a burned 3/4 before for no obvious reason, there is a sonnax update for the checkball capsule in the servo bore. Major cause of 3/4 failure.
You can run closer on the forward because of the way it works.
Air check the drum. You can quite often knock 10 or 15 out of a snap ring when it is driven to the top of the groove.
If you had a burned 3/4 before for no obvious reason, there is a sonnax update for the checkball capsule in the servo bore. Major cause of 3/4 failure.
07-24-2018, 09:12 PM
#40
Racer
Thread Starter
Yeah I think I caught the 3-4 clutches before they got totally scorched. The 2 outer clutches of the pack are colored like normal. But inside of those 2 clutches and the others are black. I measured that pack at the max of .080. Someone has been in this tranny before. Just don’t know how long ago before I got the car. Also noticed today I took apart my pump and the bushing is all beat up. And I need a new reverse drum the surface don’t look good. Put a straight edge on it.
