What's happening, my transmission brothers?
I'm doing a special build, something you shouldn't try at home. I'm going to build a TH700 with mostly used parts. Over the years, I've accumulated some transmission cores/ leftover parts that are "serviceable."

The transmission in my '90 Squarebody Suburban is barely hanging on, and I know that it's eventually going to leave me stranded in a place I don't want to be.
It actually shifts really well, IF the engine/ transmission is warmed up. From a cold start, it will not move when I put it in gear. I have to warm it up for a few minutes before I can drive it.

Reverse was especially bad; it would take several minutes (depending on engine and ambient temperature) to engage. Once warmed up, reverse would engage, but slower than I'd like.

A line-pressure check showed normal pressures.

I did a thread about trying to patch it together with valve-body upgrades and such here:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...-upgrades.html

The only new parts will be seals, bushings, torque converter, and the 3-4 clutches and plates.

Here's the first thing that really stood out to me: Input shaft seal was hardened and cracked.



In addition, the seals on the low-reverse piston were hardened. I could pull it out by hand, instead of blowing it out with air.

The Low-reverse clutches were pretty bad.




I'm going to be doing @FranksCustomTrans 4L60E pump upgrade on this build; I have a 298mm PWM core that I'm using most of the parts out of.
I'm going to use the 10-vane rotor with a 13-vane slide.
Isn't that supposed to be the highest volume pump combination?

The clearance on this rotor is .0015". I've installed the oversized Sonnax pressure regulator valve, .490" boost valve, and TCC valve in the pump housing.
I also did the @MaroonMonsterLS1 approved mod of shimming the slide-spring with a bolt. Better pressure at high RPM, even though this TBI 350 isn't going to rev over 5K.



I know that most of you guys are going to say I'm crazy for reusing old parts; but some of these parts are really good.
These clutches still have the ID marks on them, and they measure within specs when assembled.




This sprag assembly cleaned up really well, in my opinion.




The reaction shaft teeth don't look bad, either.
Frank is right, these are good for cores, because those older trucks don't beat the hell out of the transmissions.

 

Nothing wrong with reusing frictions. I would never reuse them in a customer transmission but wouldn't think twice in something of my own.

 

Years ago I did units for 3 car lots at super low prices and used good parts left over from tear down of new builds. (Yes they were aware nothing shady on my end) nothing wrong with good used for your own or special agreed circumstance/ That said customers of course get all new,.
And yes the 700s and early 60e are the place to get good hard parts, The engines were wimps , Most didnt get past 100k miles vehicle engine wise , trans to the seals back then would harden and kill them long before any real hard parts wear happned.
On the pump just make sure the slide is in spec to the housng, They come in different thickess, To tall the slide will stick.
Using bolt spacer in the spring I used to do and is fine , Except when pump halves have been machined and are perfect then I found presure control was impossble as the regulator itself could not handle it. Removing the block to spring fixed it as the slide is actually part of the PR function. But In your case should be fine.
Dont forget to block the hole on case top right bell housing up . You can block with ball in case or hole in plate and if aux drill the hole in case for the fwd.
Block hole with 10mm ball in aux not to deep just enough. Leave ball out of accum body- use 4th spring in FWD acum and you should be good with the pump change.
About the only set I would be afraid of are the 3-4 set and steels as the plates are never flat nor the steels I have found and since I have found no simple way to do the overun mod on the 700, I would most certainly use a new 29 element sprag .
But shuld go well with the friction as long as been in a dry enviroment .
Good luck hope goes well.

 

Hey guys, I'm checking in after the holidays. I got busy with other jobs/ duties, and didn't do anything on this project but clean parts for the last two weeks.

Anyway, I had a couple of questions regarding the 4L60E pump conversion.

@FranksCustomTrans mentioned using the 4th accumulator spring inside the Forward accumulator of the auxiliary valve body. The thing is, since I already eliminated the 4th accumulator, I had to dig through my spare parts for a spring, and I'm not sure which one of these I should use:




I know that Frank said to use an old check-ball to block the tube passage on the auxiliary valvebody, but knowing my luck, it would just pop out later. Instead, I tapped it and installed a 3/8" set-screw with some red Loctite.



Speaking of check-*****, I noticed where one of them had beaten up the channel inside the case. Should I take any action about this? Maybe peen the aluminum back a little? Use a larger checkball?

 

just clean up with a small file or dermal if you are good with one

 

USE THE SHORT ONE and the ball hole is no issue other than not being able to get over the hump ,
Dont forget to block the hole top right front of case its a square hole with a round center . If you forget will still work but you wil end up with semi sloppy manual shifts 1-2-3 due to a leak and with the 60e pump that hole leads to NO WHERE.



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Can any of you learned gentlemen inform me on which hole to enlarge for faster reverse engagement?

I think is is #8, but when comparing the spacer plate to the case/ valvebody, I'm not so sure.

 

Yes on holes . But never had isue with delayed rev ? Some reason you want it quicker ?

 

Frank, I ******* HATE slow reverse engagement, in any vehicle. That's the whole reason I decided to finally nut-up and do this; severely delayed reverse when cold.

Reverse is one of those things that you don't really think about until you don't have it. Then, it really sucks. Blocking traffic when trying to make a three-point turn on a cold day isn't fun.

 

Ah gotcha- Funny story , When I was a kid My grandpa had a very old rambler. One of the earliest automatics. We useed to have to push it backwards. I once ask him about fixing that , He said that model did not have the reverse "option" , I just accepted that answer and then later figured it was just an answer to keep a little kid from asking questions. But much later in life thought of it and looked it up and GUESS WHAT? Indeed some types and brands of very early autos did not have a rev option lol.

As for making REV quicker in the 60E I have done some mods for snow plow guys for this ,
1- ENLARGE FEEDS as you allready are.
2- Replace beveled plate in rev input with waves plate and one steel from early 700r4. (IMPORTANT IF YOU DO THIS MAKE SLOT IN BLEED TO OUTSIDE ON APPLY PISTON)
3-Remove waved plate from LR stack and replace with 2 steels (always check clearance it varies unit to unit here , You need at least .060 here.)
4-Enlarge hole in rev part of boost valve by 1 drill size I forget size now.

Note any and all of these will result in a semi harsh rev engagement, But my plow people are more concerned with quickness of apply than comfort .

 

Gentlemen, I have an update: The project was a success. I haven't said anything recently because I've been driving it around for the past week, and I wanted to make sure everything was good before I checked in.

Frank's 4L60E Pump mod worked wonderfully.

My line pressure readings are 100 psi at idle, and 200 max. I was expecting a little more at WOT with a Sonnax boost valve and pressure regulator valve, but I'm not going to complain.

Reverse kicks in immediately, and it isn't harsh.
Forward isn't harsh, but it does "jump to attention" when I put it in "D".

(I've felt harsh forward engagement before, and this isn't it.)

I've FINALLY got a good 3-2 downshift. I literally used the same blocked 3-2 valve that I did two years ago.

I did do a couple of things different: I added the small inner spring for the line-bias valve from the Transgo kit, seen here:



I complained about a too-early 3-4 shift when I first messed with the valve-body (typically 20-25 mph), so I installed a stiffer spring.
I think this is the Green spring for the earlier TH700s :




This worked perfectly! Now it shifts into OD at 45 mph EVERY time. It doesn't lug the engine around town, and I don't have to worry about shifting from OD to D3 depending on conditions.
It's really amazing how much more enjoyable this truck is to drive now that the transmission works the way I want it to.

Last of all, I had the following measurements:

Band clearance: .036"

Input endplay: .019"

Output endplay: .036"

I know that output endplay is way out there, but that was the best I could get; I tried shimming the geartrain with pinion shims at two different points:

Here:

And here:




It seemed like whatever clearance I took out of the output shaft, it would double on the input side. I could get a decent output clearance, but too tight (or non-existant) input clearance.

I finally decided to not let perfection be the enemy of progress, and settled on those clearances.

 

Excellent- and the 60e and 700r4 are pretty forgiving in end play, I actually remember when the SONNAX guy came when we built the first BLACK EDITION and we came to that point I ask .He literally said "do you have any " I said yes just a little -not measured and his response was "all good" lol
If you do want that 220 - 230 at WOT add that little spring from HARBOR FREIGHT kit you have seen me use, It will have virtualy 0 effect on idle and will bump WOT to some place between 220 and 230 psi at your first oil change .
And yes i too either put a slightly stiffer spring or stretch the 3-4 shift valve spring in my builds for the the same reason in the 700r4.
Now I do actually block movement of the line bias valve in my builds.

 

Frank, I did add that little spring inside the boost valve; that's why I'm a little disappointed with the results. I did that on my last 4L6X build, and it did exactly what you said it would.
I forgot to mention that the pump I used didn't have any appreciable wear, and rotor clearance was .0015".
I also did the @MaroonMonsterLS1 approved mod of shimming the slide spring with a 5/16" bolt.




At the end of the day, everything is working like it should, and as long as it doesn't slip, I'm not going to complain about it.

Just to think, some builders never even check their line pressure, and here I am, sweating over it.

 

Ah I think I know why- 4L60E no line bias valve! I always block it and get same max line as the 60e. But I bet it is pulling the line down a little as that is what it does to keep Heavier throttle shifts more in line with lighter throttle feel wise. But 200 psi WOT is plenty unless you have a super power house there.

 

I have found that the Pump pressure relief spring to often exhaust oil at a much lower pressure than specified.
Preventing maximum line pressure from being achieved.

It can be worthwhile to examine the check-ball and spring, then shim it with a heavy washer under the retaining pin.

 

This is something I have long wondered about, On the DYNO I used to on some pumps see the needle start gyrating at about 220 230 psi and wondered if that is what it could be, It was like something was dumping and sealing rapidy.

 

I definitely scrubbed the pressure relief checkball passage. I've thought of shimming the spring every time I've had a pump disassembled on any of the builds I've done, but I never did it because I thought it might cause "problems."

Maybe I'll do it next time; this thing is driving too good to mess with right now.

 

There are "two" different line bias valves. This second design line bias valve (shown in the photo above #12) has a flat on the side of the last land that sits against the spring. The first design line bias valve is round at the last land that sits against the spring. This valve has a corresponding hole #26 in the separator plate. The second design line bias valve will not have a corresponding hole in the separator plate. Here is what to watch out for. The first design valve can use either separator plate (with or without the corresponding hole #26 in the separator plate). The second design valve "must not" have the corresponding hole #26 in the separator plate. Otherwise at approximately 5/8 - 3/4 throttle, line pressure drops dramatically. The TransGo separator plate does not have the corresponding hole #26 in the separator plate. That way either of the two valves will work without any problems. According to Marcello Sr. and TransGo, the better of the two setups was the first design valve with the corresponding hole #26 in the separator plate. I add this hole to the TransGo separator plate when using the first design valve for higher horsepower setups.