Installing the beast shell question.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2013
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Installing the beast shell question. I was looking at the video on installing the beast shell and it says you should grind down the lo/rev clutch race tabs by about .035 to achieve the proper clearance. THe stock shell has a tab clearance of about .060 and the beast 0.025. However, I have never read this recommondation in all of my searches and a clearance of 0.025 seems reasonable. Should I grind down the race tabs to achieve a 0.060 clearance?
Thanks
Thanks
Moderator
Joined: Aug 2010
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From: Ann Arbor, MI
I would recommend the Sonnax Smart Shell. Here are two threads I posted on it:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...art-shell.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...-hp-4l60e.html
I now see that sponsor FLT is also using it in all their transmission, as are many (most?) other performance builders.
As I mentioned in my threads, besides being stronger, it removes potentially damaging load on the small torrington bearing in the lower planetary.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...art-shell.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...-hp-4l60e.html
I now see that sponsor FLT is also using it in all their transmission, as are many (most?) other performance builders.
As I mentioned in my threads, besides being stronger, it removes potentially damaging load on the small torrington bearing in the lower planetary.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 32
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Thank for the information. I have already bought the beast and it is stronger than the stock sun shell, so I am going to use it. The question I have is whether the clearance issue contributed to the beast failure. The video implied that without the increase clearances, that metal on the beast would grind with the race tabs. Therefore, should I grind the tabs down to achieve the 0.060 clearance seen with the OEM shell.
Moderator
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 7,323
Likes: 529
From: Ann Arbor, MI
Looking at the pictures I took in my thread above, I see plenty of gap between the Beast sunshell and the race below it. The Beast is thicker, and I would expect this to be accounted for by a thinner selective washer on the input drum.
Since I have not assembled an entire trans with The Beast, I hope one of the experience builders can correct or confirm this. Also, I recall a recent post where the OP said his Beast came with a thinner plastic washer that rides between it and the race. (Mine also came with its own washer.)
Correction: I now see that I misunderstood your question - you are not talking about the gap in my picture but the lugs on the inside
of the race to accommodate the thicker material around the OD of the splined area of The Beast. (CarsonAuto explained it to me.)
Since I have not assembled an entire trans with The Beast, I hope one of the experience builders can correct or confirm this. Also, I recall a recent post where the OP said his Beast came with a thinner plastic washer that rides between it and the race. (Mine also came with its own washer.)
Correction: I now see that I misunderstood your question - you are not talking about the gap in my picture but the lugs on the inside
of the race to accommodate the thicker material around the OD of the splined area of The Beast. (CarsonAuto explained it to me.)
Last edited by mrvedit; Apr 2, 2013 at 09:26 AM.
On The Tree
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 168
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I have put in hundreds of those before switching to the sonnax smart shells and have had quite a few of them back apart again for various reasons. I have never seen one rub on anything and have also never had one fail and we have had them in some pretty extreme applications. Put it together and run it!! Dont think twice about it!!
