vipergtrdj

I had a friend help me and thats exactly what he used. We then checked clearance and its within spec so got over that hurdle I do know clearances are pretty tight (well seem it), guess a little difference really makes it drivable or not huh ?

vipergtrdj

So finally got it all back together and in the truck. Filled it with tranny fluid and now my neutral goes forwards, and I have no reverse. I dropped the pan again and everything seems good, all the bolts are in their proper places.

I used a new pump with all new seals, and also replaced all the seals inside the transmission when I did the rebuild. any ideas what happened? I am guessing I have to pull it again and tear it apart......

At this point, I am thinking of just swapping in this 4l80e I have lol

mrvedit

First the reverse issue...
You may have over-tightened the clamps around the teflon reverse seals while "resizing it". Others have done this and found that after a day of sitting the seals opened up enough to work properly. So try it again tomorrow morning.

The "neutral goes forward" issue...
Are you testing this on the road or with the wheels up. With the wheels up, this is normal - there is enough friction between the non-applied forward clutch frictions to spin the wheels.
If this is happening on the road, the forward clutch does not have enough clearance.

FIRST - make sure your shifter is aligned with the trans. Perhaps [N] is really [OD] and [R] is really [N].

vipergtrdj

Thanks. I will give it a try tomorrow sometime. I'll double check the shift linkage. This is all with the wheels on the ground. I did keep the clearances according to the instructions that came with the kit. It was an upgraded clutch kit to 8-9 clutches instead of the stock 6.

Also, I used Vaseline to hold the check ***** in place, could too much Vaseline cause any of these issues?

mrvedit

Hopefully it is only the shift linkage then.
The vaseline may need to melt. Since I have time, I don't run a trans until the day after the final assembly. I also warm it up thoroughly with before testing. I also still have the rear wheels up as I needed during installation. I figure this allows all the teflon seals to seal properly and the transgel (or vaseline) to melt. I also lets me check the fluid level several times.

Fingers crossed for you.

vipergtrdj

Thanks. I only ran the transmission for a minute or two to cycle through the gears and top the fluid off so it probably wasn't long enough to melt the Vaseline. I am not overly worried about the neutral going forwards, but more so about no reverse.

vipergtrdj

So I had a few minutes this morning to tinker with it. When the shifter is in reverse or neutral (with truck off), and you try to push the truck backwards it rolls a little then hits something, almost like its in forward gear still. You hear a metal clunking sound then the truck stops moving backwards, won't go any further backwards but will go forwards all day long. I am thinking possibly a valve body bolt in the wrong place ?

vipergtrdj

Checked the valve body bolts and all those were in the correct spots so I pulled the tranny out. Got the pump out, and the reverse input drum out but the input drum is stuck. I have pulled and yanked and something is holding it in. Any suggestions on a way to pry it out ?

mrvedit

Sorry, I have no idea how the input drum could get stuck. The 3/4 clutch frictions should slide right off the front planetary; perhaps you mangled one friction on assembly and it is tightly jammed in.

I am curious what you are going to find.

Also sorry to hear you are having so many problems with the rebuild.

vipergtrdj

Thanks. I hope some parts are salvageable. The reverse input drum and clutches still look new so those should be good. I'll try getting the input drum off tomorrow and see how damaged things are.

vipergtrdj

Got the input drum out. Looks like a clutch did get stuck when I assembled it originally. The teeth on the clutch disc got jammed , so only that clutch is bad. The steels were all good and the reverse input drum is fine too. Guess I got lucky. So instead of having 9 clutches I replaced it with a steel so now have 8 clutches. Clearances are still within spec so should be good. I will reassemble it tomorrow and see how it is.

I also picked up a 4l80e out of a 2002 that I will source out parts for the swap next year.

mrvedit

Sounds like you got it under control.
Getting the 3/4 clutch and the reverse drum-sun shell to all mesh at the same time can be frustrating. Sometime I get it done in one minute; other times it takes so long I lose the strength in my arm to hold the heavy assembly and have to take a 15 minute break. I do try to get all the 3/4 frictions aligned and centered using to two philips screwdrivers (or anything with round shafts).

Good luck. Hopefully it works well this time.

vipergtrdj

Well I got it all together and the output shaft spins both ways, clockwise and counter clockwise. Counter clockwise is a bit tough but I am assuming it was due to the reverse band being new. I got it installed in the truck and will be finishing it up tomorrow (need to put drive-shaft in, and exhaust y pipe so its not so loud). I also ordered a Lokar stainless braided dipstick since the stock one broke at the part that goes into the transmission.

mrvedit

Yes, the output shaft turns both ways - the reverse direction is about 3 times harder than the forward direction because many more parts are moving then.
In the forward direction the low/reverse clutch freewheels, in the reverse direction it engages the sun shell and reverse drum, etc.

vipergtrdj

That makes sense. Well tonight I'll have it all back together. Picked up a new torque converter and my friend flushed the tranny cooler and lines for me so all the old material should be gone.

I also picked up an autometer temp sensor for it, tapped my pan but I may be switching pans. I ordered what I thought was a deep pan but its real cheap and no bigger then my stock one.

Predator T/A

iTrader: (7)

the normal cause of the snap ring lugs breaking on the 3 4 pack is too much line pressure coupled with too much clearance in the pack. I usually set my 3 4 pack installed at around .020 which will break into .030 or so sonnax also makes an input drum with a bolt in pressure plate which has eliminated the snap ring failure

vipergtrdj

hmmmm my clearances were 0.040 which when i checked them and spun by hand it wasn't too loose, and had some drag to it (but not horrible). Only line pressure increase I have done is what the shift kit recommended, and the .500 boost valve. New cooler lines and new cooler so there shouldn't be any blockage causing higher line pressure.

I have come to the conclusion that I will be swapping in this 4L80E. Friend of mine gave it to me and I am really at a lost with this 4L60E. I followed the manual and the same problem again

mrvedit

A .040 clearance would be fine. However the stock spec is .050 to .070. When that is combined with a too-high line pressure, you get a hammering effect.
Predator is referring to the Sonnax "Smart Tech" input drum. While a nice improvement, it cost $400 plus an input shaft which can be anywhere from $150 for a stock one to $400 for a billet one.
By the time someone "needs" these expensive parts, I recommend a 4L80E unless you have a Vette or other smaller car in which a 4L80E will not easily fit.

vipergtrdj

Wow, thats a bit on the expensive side compared to doing a 4L80E swap.... and considering the transmission is already out of the truck again lol. I even bought a new converter from him, high stall - he seems to recall its in the 2500-3000 range, so similar to what I had for my 4L60E.

BBerthod

Mine blew up in my '05 Tahoe. Sounded like a 12 gauge going off. Had no forward gears, only reverse. I'm an engine guy, don't know much about autos. I mainly run sticks. Anyone have any ideas what that would be