So I have a question here fellas. Imagine that right? Since I have started to vacuum test m valve bodies and pumps, these two areas seem to always be problematic.

The low over run valve is often good but the abuse valve and bore plug are terrible. You can fluid check that the forward accumulator hole at the end of the worm track is also passing a lot of air bubbles during the leak check.

I have only had one of these pass in about 20. Sometimes a transgo boost valve fixes it, sometimes not.

 

I machine my own place for rings to accomodate a slightly larger OD ring to make less likely to tear on install and do all three lands on the boost valve wither using the stock valve or the transgo. I use the TG on my stage three and higher builds. I like that it is steel and accommodates either pump style and comes with new higher tension spring.
I have also just started making a oringed bore plug for the abuse valve on the 3-4 clutch side as even with new plug I found it (while better still leaks), So I set up lathe and started adding a oring to that side of the bore plug. It totally eliminates any leakage in that position. But sadly will not be making them for sale as well takes to long to set up .
Centering that small plug to groove cut is a pain . Now if i can find some aluminum or brass stock of the same diameter already I might consider it, as IMO an ideal plug would have no place for the pin . Be oringed then installed and then drill hole to exact VB hole size for the pin while installed and then put pin in eliminating all movement and leaks.

 

I had high hopes for the TransGo (and also Sonnax) Abuse Plugs when they were First Released...
While there was improvement, the Ideal Solution... they clearly were Not.

The amount of movement of the Plugs, and the size of the Hole for the Retaining Roll Pin...
Are far more critical factors than either TransGo or Sonnax has taken into consideration.

Again, they clearly went in the right direction... but not far enough.
Otherwise the Plugs would be a proper Sealed and relatively Immobile Plug.

 

Yes looking for some stock material the correct diameter though I could just turn it to that, But a pain, Then ideally oring and not make hole for roll pin, Instead -install . hold in place drill hole though to vb SIZE . Then install roll pin, sealed, movement , no leaks ever. For no just added orings to ends of them but still much better.

 

Buy some oversized stock. Turn it to size. Add poring groves then cut to length. Could make several at a time possibly. Or oring the Transgo bore plug. It at least has a screw hole that would center one side.

 

Yes I can turn down if necessary. Ideally would take aluminum or brass rod section off and cut grooves then just slice to little bit sizes, Not sure about adding threads as would take considerable time and no need to make dowel hole instead would just provide drill bit as an important part of it is making it immobile by drilling it to just fit the roll pin to VB. I really do not get why Sonnax nor transgo did o rings as logically if the bore plug is that badly eroded the VB is gonna be eroded and not true either.
Though some would argue oversizing the bore and installing larger bore plug is a good answer and yes it would work fine, But higher risk of messing up. I try and make all my mods such that a layman can do them with little or no risk of damage and also easily reversible or second try friendly.
On my bore plugs I use a kind stiff largest diameter I can fit o ring as playing with it the larger diameter stiffer oring tends to roll as it goes in which is good as it does not easily catch and tear or nick ring that way, Even thinking about making groove with drill bit instead of grooving tool to get round slot so ring can roll easier on install making it easier to push in.
As far as making and selling not sure for a person like myself practical as I would need like 15 dollars each to even make it feasibly profitable.
Now if someone was set up just to do that with lathe and cut off and could make them quickly then maybe.
But Have started incorporating them in all my builds now along with O ringing the Boost valve all three lands Along with end plug for 3-4 signal valve and converter regulator both always badly eroded though you can already buy the oringed end plugs from transgo cheap enough.
Right now though thinking on new 4th servo set up as i wrote about in my 4l60e tips thread last. I started looking into that after seeing a number of post in FB forums where people build trans with the superior 4th servo or similar or even sonnax though it not as likely to slipping after a few 1000 miles of builds in 4th gear. When they set up for factory travel (I go a lot closer) after the band wears in and normal stretch that happens , They find they have exceeded the max travel of the 4th servo in the flat bottom design. Some have had them add a longer pin which works or I have them add an additional or thicker washer between servo and pin, But it is really the servo design itself that is at fault. In each of these cases the servo should be made a bit taller (Might be a clearance issue with sonnax) to allow 1/4 inch more travel and a bump on bottom at pin area to allow this travel before colliding with the second servo which IMO is why GM had that little hump to start with besides just strength in that area too which is Why as I am sure you have noted on tear downs of factory units you many times fine the band just floppy as hell yet all was still working just fine, They allowed for considerable pin/servo travel by design.
Like many afterter market parts as Vortech HAS NOTED also , Yes they do tackle the immediate need or fix but seems the longer term effect of wear is not considered as much as should be, Example D rings on the sonnax second great idea but i have torn down many units with these over the years with only 20-30 k miles to find the D rings badly worn. So I started doing something Vortech mentioned with these and using a DRING in one slot and a teflon ring in the other. My inspiration actually came from looking at how the pinless accums are done.
Right now I am looking for a source of a one piece teflon rings to replace the scarf cut rings on the vette servo , I found some years ago that worked from some other transmissions kit . But they were just in with a bunch assorted crap in a box so not sure what trans they originated in.

I also was disappointed in the sonnax converter regulator sleeve valve fix as I tore one down the other day to find that after only 35k miles the inside of the the sleeve and valve was badly worn at outer side of the sleeve. I replaced but added a groove and a teflon ring borrowed from the drop in 4l80e valve they offer which should help seal and keep the valve centered better which is why I think it wore so much.

On another note I saw where Sonnax now offers a FULL TIME OVERUN MOD VB wonder how much they are charging for a 5 minute mod that does not really even require the VB and they are at least in mine and maroonmonsters case well over 10 years late introducing lol. When I came up with that mod for the units where I was at it was a game changer and made the power levels the units could reach go way way up and eliminated sprag roll over and shatter completely.

OOPS SORRY another long rant lol.

 

I actually wonder if those Sonnax Valve-Bodies are popular or not...
I rarely hear anything about them, and it has been at least 2 years now that they have been around.

Link

 

A couple notes from a machinist/mechanic:
1. O-ring grooves are usually square for 2 reasons: To give the material room to compress when installed, and so that they dont try to "jump" out of the groove when being installed, as they would want to "ride up" one side, and if the groove is round, it is more likely. However, these issues can be minimized by making the groove wider than the o-ring material, and making the groove deeper so that it is U-shaped rather than half-round, it would just have to be deep enough so that there is only about 0.010" or so of o-ring material above the valve OD. One thing about round o-rings rolling on purpose when installed, is that they could roll unevenly, making them twisted in final position, and is a common cause of o-ring failure.
2: You can easily do round grooves yourself, not with a drill bit as you mentioned, but by using a cheap HSS cutoff blade and rounding the front with a bench grinder instead of a dedicated grooving tool, especially with the parts being aluminum.
3. The one issue with drilling them while in place would be centering the plug on the roll pin hole and holding them there while drilling. This could be handled by threading one end like the transgo plugs, and putting a scribe line around the center so you can see through the roll pin hole when it is in the correct place to drill.
4. I think if the plugs were drilled to fit a dowel pin instead, you could use a tapered punch on the bottom side of the valve body roll pin hole to keep the pin from falling through, and a snug fitting dowel pin would stay well enough so that it wouldn't easily fall out if the valve body is turned upside down.
5. With all this in mind, I know I could probably make plugs like this in about 1 minute or so per plug once set up, even if I had to turn down the OD of 1/2" aluminum bar. I have the dimensions of the Sonnax plugs, I could make you a few variations to experiment with on my lathe if you want. Then, since I used to be in manufacturing (aerospace/performance automotive) I could probably hook you up with a source to have them made in bulk; depending on order quantity I would estimate them to cost about $0.50 each or so, probably no more than a dollar each for a hundred.

 

Sounds cool, i have made a few but as I am still kinda new to the lathe thing and doing stuff for me most stuff is tedious and slow, But yes at 50 cents a piece they would be well worth it as most any builder would gladly pay a dollar each for them.,
As for the lathe I am still learning but it is a super cool thing to make and do new things and better things and still learning about all the various bits and cutters to do different things.