I was under the impression that your Jake's D3 was now working?

I would honestly call them... Unless for unforeseeable/ unusual problems... Jake has held a better standing than the others have.

 

vorteciroc: Yes, my separator problems are cured on my trans with the Reid case. I have a back-up trans with a stock case and a CK trans brake which doesn't bump properly. That's why I'm looking for the new solenoid and plate. Trying to get all my ducks in a row in case racing finally opens up again in California (anytime soon). COVID sucks. Thanks for all your help and concern.

 

Got it, thank you.

The nitrous-oxide canister-type solenoid is considered to be a significantly higher-flowing valve compared to the old-style THM400 Detent-solenoid.

Depending on how one of these canister-type solenoids are used...
They will exhaust fluid more rapidly (leave off trans-brake)... or when used for other purposes; held open to flow more fluid through the valve (such as N2O injection).

Even a stock 4L60E series or 4L80E series shift-solenoid... would do a better job over the THM400 solenoid.

 

Do you definitely have a "Jake's D3" Trans-Brake valve-body, and NOT a "CK Performance" Trans-Brake valve-body?

 

6 months or so ago Chris at CK got upset with me because he found out I was comparing upgraded hard part pricing options and said that he would rather not have me as a customer because I was “shopping around” and he didn’t need the aggravation. Fair enough. I respect his position and his articles that I’ve read have helped me learn more about the high performance 4L80E application. I spent $2700 with Jake on hard parts instead. Jakes staff is very courteous and professional and it’s been a pleasure doing business with them. Jake much like vorteciroc, maroon monster, clinebarger, lonnie and truckdoug have also answered my numerous annoying technical questions. These guys are great and I would not hesitate for a second to give them any additional future business opportunities that I have that may come up in the future on another build.

 

Thanks Dino!

 

As we discussed; Jake prefers to sell ONLY complete transmissions... and really not sell individual parts (Yes he does make exceptions and sells some individual parts).
He does this for good reason... it also greatly reduces the headaches that are created from installer error, when an individual part is purchased.
Jake has far greater success (less problems and headaches) selling complete transmissions (Note: a complete transmission can also be damaged or ruined from installer error... it is a risky business regardless).

CK performance on the other hand prefers to sell individual parts over complete transmissions.
Chris has more issues/ problems with his complete transmissions than he does with his individual parts (also profit from building the transmission vs selling in-house made parts... is nothing to be excited about).
So For individual parts... I often send people to CK Performance.

I wish Jake was more open to selling individual parts... I would completely STOP sending people to CK Performance; since CK can be a pain in the *** at times.
However I understand and respect why Jake does not want to sell individual parts.

I personally, do not like to sell individual parts or even complete transmissions...
It KILLS ME when something that I put a bunch of time into, gets destroyed from installer error!
Thus I will design and build an entire power-train for a vehicle and then install, calibrate, program, and test the entire system and vehicle as a whole to near perfection!

 

yeah its always best when I can do the install. most of the comebacks I get are from low fluid or debris from the previous (dead) transmission

but the "carry-out" game is hot for people wanting to upgrade to 80e's so I give them the golden 3 rules

1 calibrate your dipstick
2 clean or replace your cooler, lines and converter
3 always pull into D3 when whooping on it

a little off topic i suppose but just some info i think people should know.

and I prefer the CK brake with fixed line pressure for carry outs. less chance a tuner will hose the EPC settings.

also for the budget-minded folks TSI makes 300M shafts and billet forward hubs for a pretty decent savings over the two vendors mentioned

 

Good stuff right here!

I wonder how many failures are due to not putting in the torque converter correctly? By this I mean the flats on the pump gear not being properly engaged on the converter drive and the converter not locking in because people aren't checking to ensure that there is a 1 inch gap from the straight edge across the converter housing to a pad on the converter. I believe the pilot needs to be in the crank shaft at least an 1/8" of an inch. So there should be a 1/8"- 3/16" gap between the pads on the converter to the flex plate.

 

I can understand why he doesn't want to sell just the parts because of the amount of questions that could result from a new builder before they even get the part, let alone install it lol.

Sometimes when a first time builder is buying parts for a build, they don't want to buy the same parts twice and have to return so knowing what is included helps. I can see how this is obviously different from someone who builds many of these a month, as extra parts on hand is preferred.

Say someone purchases a modified valve body from a vendor other than Jake's. Right off the bat some of the questions they might have are:

1. What kind of shift solenoid feed filter is in the valve body? Was a replacement OEM filter used, or was something similar to what is in the transgo HD2 kit which has a steel end plug and O-ring and another end plug that goes on the end of the filter along with a spring used?

2. Was the 3/4 shift end plug o-ring replaced?

3. Was the force motor feed screen filter replaced?

4. Was the d-rings on the accumulator pistons replaced? (if no accumulator delete)

5. Was an actuator feed limit valve kit used? Which one?

6. Was the TCC valve replaced with an "anti shudder valve" like the one included in Superior Shift Correction Kit S34165E or was the stock one reused

7. What kind of electronics are included with the valve body? (most will not include a new pressure manifold switch or the EPC, but will include the other solenoids)

Or if someone buys a machined pump/adapter kit to use with a an aftermarket SFI bellhousing some questions may be:

1. Is a new seal and bushing already installed with loctite and the bushing staked?
2. Does it come with the seal drain back hole already enlarged to 0.25”?

I don't like to just put parts in without knowing what was or wasn't done, and if the seller can verify, it saves time having to disassemble/inspect.........but at the same time, I feel like I should just wait, get the parts, and then inspect them myself instead of asking a bunch of questions. Then I can just purchase whatever else I need after inspection/disassembly. Some may advocate that everything should be disassembled/inspected on your own regardless. I don't know... maybe I'm just over thinking all this lol.

 

i can say for certain that any rebuilt pump ive gotten has needed a THOROUGH check over. the only thing I count on a pump rebuild for is the gears and pocket being in good shape. all bets are off otherwise.

if you are wanting your pumps to be really good and last, get yourself a brand new converter hub. You can buy them from sonnax. its a good tactile method of checking not only pump halves alignment but concentricity of the bushing installation. if it hangs in any spot with just hand pressure, you've got an issue.

you can also buy 10" parallels that are ground to a half a tenth and get some steel shim stock in different increments (5 tenths, thou, thou and a half, 2 thou two and a half is my set up) so if i'm doing a pump and the 5 tenths is an easy go, a thou drags and .0015 hangs up then I know I have a winner.

if a 2 thou goes but a 2.5 though hangs....put that one in a box truck lol

 

We sell tons of individual parts. I quit selling parts for a period of time because of the minimal markup and time spent "building transmissons over the phone and email". We send a tech tips sheet with the rebuild kits and above and beyond that we expect the customer to do their research and use a tech manual for basic rebuild practice.

Installer error is a huge problem for parts and transmissions. We've tried to educate the customers, we send a packet out with transmissions that details some aspects that even most shops aren't familiar with about 4L80E specific issues and in general we've found that many shops (yes, even high end performance shops) are not versed on proper transmission installation. Fluid fill, converter installation, etc. Seems to be a lost art.

Our transbrake valve bodies are setup for fixed line pressure. We recommend they are run this way in our instructions and have for years. Same as TH400 and Powerglide setups. We've had transbrakes for over a decade now on 4L80E's. Other than Rosslers and Extreme Automatics billet, any that work are a copy of mine. We've found most to be a poor copy when we are answering tech questions and find out it's not even our product.

 

Calibrating dipstick is something I started preaching (and requiring customers to do for warranty) several years ago that has caught on.

Our transbrakes are fixed line pressure when installed as the directions require.

TSI shafts that we've used years ago had spline fitment issues and are likely made overseas like many of their products. We use and recommend USA made shafts for big power builds. No reason to put a China shaft in any TH400.

 

I made a Facebook post this morning in one of the transmission groups asking if anyone had an extra servo cover lying around (I want to make a custom tool out of it to check pin length) and Jake responded a few minutes later saying that he has several.

I asked if he could have a member of his staff send me one after the holidays and he responded on facebook saying that he'll package it TODAY on Christmas Eve!

Amazing customer service!

 

Hey Doug, Dino, and Jake...

Merry Christmas to you all!
I always enjoy going through threads that have you guys actively participating!

 

Merry Christmas Chello!

 

Poor Jake you gotta keep letting people know the junk brake isn't yours lol, Jakes said he would flow some banjo cooler fittings for me on his trans dyno for some real word results, thats customer support ,ive been wondering if they impede flow , pressure is probably higher due to the added angles of the fittings ,but do they restrict flow in any way is the question , ive been doing some very tight tunnels lately with remote coolers in the rear and its use these fittings or make a new bump in the floor, happy new yr

 

Is this test going to be done with the $45 banjo fittings that have sold over 500 units or cheap $15 banjo fittings on ebay?

 

In terms of flow-restriction... i do not see any difference between cheap and expensive banjo-style fittings.
I try to avoid any and all hard-90* degree fittings (especially with AN-fittings).

AN-style hose-ends that make a 90* degree bend (or any angle other than straight) using tubing will always be superior to a 90* degree fitting.

This will always flow better:


Than this will:



These Banjo-style fittings:



Generally perform like the 90* degree fittings as apposed to the hose-ends.

 

Yes, those are the Sweet Performance banjo fittings I was planning on using. There was a discussion on facebook and I guess many are using them without any issues. I like the idea of the homemade straight ones that are shorter than the ones you can buy. Probably not that much less clearance on these with 90 deg AN fitting vs the banjo fitting. 8mm shorter.