Not sure where you got the info that we do not use them. The sonnax 2nd servo is an option in all of our units. The sonnax 4th is an option in our level 3 and 4 units. Level 5 units come with the 4th servo installed for you and is one of the parts listed in our build sheets. Vince

 

We have quite a few running in the 9.xx. I feel 750rwhp is a good # for a fbody.

 

Here are a couple video clips I put together for you guy's to see our Dyno in action. This trans is one of our level 5 4l60E transmissions. With the use of this machine it allows us to give you the quality you deserve. It really is a quality control/research and development tool that we use to insure that when you get your transmission it works. These are pulls at different amounts of pressure.

The first one is at a 125psi.


This is a pull at 150psi.


This is a pull at 185psi.


This pull is at max pressure.

 

This was a question in another thread of ours and thought it would bring some more understanding to the tech info of this thread. Vince

 

Sorry for the delay. I am starting the build of the front half of the transmission. Refer to post #35 to see where we left off. This next set of photo's is going to show how we build our input drums in our level 4 and 5 units. This will be a segment on how each and every sleeved drum gets done here at FLT. This drum in my opinion is a very good upgrade and makes this trans much stronger. The idea behind the sleeved drum is that it will keep the aluminum drum from expanding and not allowing the input shaft to float in the drum. We have seen this many times in the past and also in cores that we tear down. Most shops never remove these shafts and for us it is mandatory. This is a picture of where we left off.


Here are some photo's of the drum completely disassembled. All surfaces have been inspected, cleaned and critical surfaces have been polished ready for assembly.


We always pay close attention to the surfaces where the input shaft will be pressed in and also that all splined areas are acceptable. This first picture is where the shaft will be pressed in.

Here is a photo of the area where the reverse input clutches will ride. Also note the area where the feed holes will be aligned and the quality of the surface.

Now we take a look at the inside of the drum. We are looking for bad ridges where the steels will ride. Slight wear marks are ok and in most cases the drum is reusable. Here is a photo of the inside of the drum.

Here is the pieces that will be installed next. They include the drum, sleeve and the input shaft.

Now we are ready to install the sleeve in our drum. The first thing to do is to apply a thin layer of lock tight to the drum and the sleeve. Then line up the lube hole slot for the overrun clutch. Here are a couple photo's.


Now that we have the sleeve in place it is time to put it in the press. In most cases the arbor press will work for the install of the sleeve. If not we have larger press that works as well. I will make sure to support the drum when pressing on the sleeve. This will assure us that it will not get cracked or stressed during the process. Here is a photo of the setup on the press.

After getting things lined up, I use an old bearing race to press the new sleeve on the drum.


Then we press the sleeve down. They go on with quite a bit of resistance and that is what we are after. Here are a couple photo's of the sleeve being pressed on. One from the top.

Another that I got a little creative with. Thought it was a cool picture.

The drum is now sleeved. Here is the photo.

Next we will install the shaft.

 

Here we are going to make sure to line up the splines for the input drum an the shaft. Notice the double wide spline that centers things.



Next we will use a light amount of lock tight on the area where the feed holes are on both the shaft and the drum. Also put a good bead on the splines of the shaft itself.


Next it will be time to put the shaft in the hole of the drum. Making sure to line it up properly and then tap it down with a rubber mallet or plastic dead blow hammer. It should not go in very far and we are just making sure that there is proper resistance at this point and also that it is seated properly/aligned.

Now we will head to the press. Once again using a large socket to support the drum to avoid any chance of cracking or stressing it. Here are a few photo's of the setup.



The shaft is now installed and here are a few photo's of the finished product of the sleeved drum.



Next we will install the input shaft Teflon seals. These are done by the use of a seal installer and a resizer. Here are some photo's of them being installed and then sized.








I will next do the assembly of the clutches, steels, pistons, spring cages and the input sprag. Stay tuned and enjoy the photo's. Vince

 

We use OEM frictions in our units. I feel a clutch is just what it is and if you are having issues with them failing then there is a problem other than the clutch. I have used and tested all the ones on the market and the OEM ones are working just fine. As far as the steels I do use them in my 3-4 pack and have had great success with them. Hope this answers your question. Vince


The level 3 is built for bolt on cars or cars with minor mods. Mild head and cam. We build more high end product here but thanks for asking. I will tell you that they meet or exceed most of the units that I see on the markets these days. They do come with everything listed on our web page and then some additional parts that we feel should be used in all rebuilds. They also are shipped complete with bell an tail housings. There is nothing for you to do but install it. A very nice piece for the money. Feel free to contact us or pm me for details about your car. I will need to know some more info about it. Yes we can ship to you. We do it all the time. Please pm me with sales questions as this is a tech thread. Thank you in advance. Vince

 

I've seen a few builders skip the simple step of installing new teflon sealing rings. On a few teardowns (to prove a point to a few guys who say they never replace them), I,ve stacked the reverse/input drum onto the input drum and the slid the pump assembly on and then air tested thru the pump. Then replaced the sealing rings (also on the stator support) and air tested again. There is ALWAYS an improvement in the reduction of cross leaks in this area. (along with fresh bushings to keep everything centered) This is just a few examples of the simple things, but FLT is just over the top in their effort to build a strong and reliable unit. (I liked the peep thru the hole in the drum pick too!) FTL has a firm building tenique. Pay attention to this folks. If you study what Vince is donig in here, you WILL be able to talk your local builder under the table!! Props to FLT!

Mec

 

Thanks Mec for the input. I feel that when seals come in an overhaul kit, they are there for a reason. It's part of the overhaul. You are correct that we do a complete build on each and every unit. Every single piece is replaced or address in our builds. I guarantee it. I feel what we do at FLT is very important in rebuilding transmissions and that will never change. Thanks for the tech comment. Vince

 

In my last post we left off at the input drum being sleeved and the input shaft being pressed back in the drum. Refer to post #49 for reference. These next photo's will be of the internal pistons, retainers, modified spring cages, seals and 3-4 clutch apply ring being installed.

This first picture is of the sleeved drum ready for the assembly of the internal components.


The first steps that we take are to install the internal seals of the drum. Here are the ones that I am referring to. The top one is the new 3-4 steel bonded apply piston. Bottom left is a oring that seals the forward clutch housing and also the new 3-4 clutch piston. Bottom right seal is a seal used for lube oil from the input shaft to the output shaft. Here is a photo of the seals.

Here is a photo of the lube seal for the two shafts. It gets installed in the input drum here.


The next seal that I will install is the green oring. Here is where it will be installed.

The new 3-4 clutch apply piston is the next to be installed. Here are a couple of photo's.


Next we will install a modified seal installer. This installer has been bored to accommodate for the steel sleeve that we have installed.

Here is a line up of the components that will be assembled into the input drum.

The next step that I will do is to get our spring cages ready to be installed. These are the cages that we will modify with the use of springs from transgo. The idea with these springs is that they are heavier and also will greatly reduce any centrifugal apply at high rpms with the 3-4 clutch/overrun clutch. Here are the factory cages.

As you can see in this photo the 3-4 return spring cage is held together with little hooks. They will need to be bent out of the way in order to get it apart and remove the factory springs. Here are a few photo's.



Here is a photo of the overrun/forward return spring cage. I will first remove the bottom of the cage using a small screw driver. Then I will use a pair of wire cutters to remove the springs from the top portion of the cage.

Here is a photo of both cages fully apart with the new springs that we are going to install.

Here are photos of the 3-4 cage and it's new springs. Note the first picture the springs are tapered and will snap in place.



To be continued............

 

The next step is to get the forward piston, forward piston housing, the modified 3-4 clutch spring cage and the 3-4 apply ring ready to be installed. Here are a few pictures of how I stack them up.



This next set of photo's are of the install of these parts.





Next we will install the modified overrun piston and the spring cage.


With the new modified spring cages transgo supplies us with a larger washer that will be used to compress the spring cage. It is needed so that the overrun cage does not get bent when it is compressed and the snap ring is installed.






I will remove the washer supplied from transgo and the drum is now ready for the overrun, 3-4, and forward clutch assemblies to be installed.


In the next segment I will show the clutch assmeblies being installed. Enjoy the photo's and feel free to ask a tech question. Vince

 

I have read the following from www.msefi.com:

Quote: Do not use Kevlar bands. Kevlar, the material bullet proof vest are made from, is very hard material which does not have the holding capacity of other, more conventional materials. If you are making a lot of horsepower, you will have excessive slippage on the 1-2 shift with a Kevlar band. Instead of Kevlar, use a performance band made by ***. The band is a wider and provides much better holding capacity than the Kevlar band. Shifts are crisper and the durability is very good with the *** band.

I have a great deal of respect for how you rebuild these transmissions and the way you post what you are doing. What is your experience with bands made of kevelar, are they any good?

 

Please post comments for feedback for us or others in the sponsor feedback section. As said they do not belong here. Thank you for keeping the thread on track Tony. Vince

Nice link that you provided. I just got done reading it and 99% of it is great info. We do a couple things different as far as the brands of the products mentioned. There are also a couple of things mentioned that can be accomplished by different methods but for the most part a very good article. Builder preference is what I will call it. Thank you for adding it to this thread. The band that we use is the Alto wide band. The issue with the Kevlar material is that it will slip for a second and then grab hard core. This in my opinion is a good band for a race only vehicle. I myself have never had very good luck with them for street cars due to the fact that they are very hard on internal parts. Also I have heard that the around town shifts are undesirable. For it's day it was great but there are other bands out there now that meet or exceed it's capabilities. Just my opinion from my experience. Thank you for the question and also the kind words about this thread. We have put years into our product and it continually gets better. Thank you for your time. Vince

 

In this next portion of the thread we will be installing the clutches in the input drum. We left off in post #54 with the internal pistons being installed along with the modified spring cages. Here is a picture as to where I left off.

The first things to do now are to install the input drum to sprag bearing and put a little assembly lube on the seal for the lube circuit connecting the input drum to the output shaft. Here are some photo's.



Now it is time to install the overrun clutches, steels and also the backing plate which also acts as the apply plate for the forward clutch. The line up of these parts will start with a steel, clutch, steel, clutch and then the backing plate. Here is the line up of these parts outside of the drum.

This first picture has the first overrun steel installed.

Then we will install the first clutch and repeat the process.



And then finish up with the backing plate.

At this point the wave plate can be installed for the forward clutch. This plate is designed the way it is to absorb some of the shock of the apply of the forward clutch. Here are a couple photo's of it.

And one with it installed in the drum.

Next we will get our input sprag assembly together. It will have have the sun gear for the front planet with the bushing already installed. The sprag race surfaces carefully inspected to be in good condition. The sun gear will also be inspected for pitting or abnormal wear. If any of these pieces do not meet our criteria they are replaced. A new Borg Warner sprag is also installed at this point and time. Here are a few photo's of the assembly as it goes together.




Also once all the pieces are installed and the snap ring that keeps it together is in place, I will lube the bushings.

Now the sprag assembly is complete and can be installed in the drum.

The next step will be to get the forward clutch assembly ready and installed.

 

As I left off in the above post it is time to get the forward clutch assembly ready to be installed. Note that 5 frictions, 5 steels, a new pressure plate installed for adjusting clutch clearance, and the snap ring that keeps everything in place here in this photo.

Here is a line up of this assembly.


The first step is to install the first forward steel. This is much like any other clutch pack as it will alternate from a steel to a clutch and end up with the pressure plate. Here is a picture with the steel in the drum.

Then a clutch will be installed and the the process will be repeated until all 5 steel and clutch plates are installed. Here are the photo's.



Then the forward clutch pressure plate will be installed. We do use different thickness plates from GM to achieve the proper FLT clutch clearance for this clutch. Here are the photo's of it being installed and also the snap ring that is used to retain these parts.




The next step will be to install the 3-4 clutch pack assembly. At FLT we use an 8 pack clutch set up with Coleen steels. All of these pieces are replaced with new parts in every new unit that we assemble. This includes both the apply plate, pressure plate, frictions and the steels. Here are a couple photo's of the parts used and also the line up of the parts.



Next we will install the 3-4 clutch assembly.

 

Here is another picture of the 3-4 clutch assembly ready to be installed in the drum.

The first plate to be installed is the new 3-4 apply plate. Here are a couple photo's of it being installed.


Next we will install the clutches and steels. Once again it will start with a clutch followed by a steel until all 8 frictions are installed along with 7 steels. Here are the photo's.






Now it is time to install the new pressure plate. These plates come in different thicknesses to adjust the 3-4 clutch clearance. You can also tighten this pack up by the use of thicker frictions. Some guy's will use different thickness steel plates or snap rings but I like to do it with frictions and pressure plates. Here is a photo of the pressure plate being installed along with the snap ring.



The drum is now complete. It is a good practice to check the clutch clearances with the use of feeler gauges after air checking the drum. Air checking the drum will seat the clutch pack and the snap ring in the drum. This will give us the most accurate measurement. Also while air checking the drum it will verify if there are any leaks in the drum and the seals of it. Here is a picture of the drum fully assembled ready to be installed in the trans. One picture of the trans without the drum and one with it in the trans.




In the next segment I will be assembling the reverse input drum and it's assemblies. Stay tuned and feel free to ask any technical questions. Enjoy the thread. Vince

 

I feel that 180-200* is about where the transmissions should not exceed, obviously the cooler the better. As far as the hp for a f-body, 500-550rwhp is what we recommend in a head and cam car. We have plenty exceeding it but we do not recommend it. Hope this answers your question. Vince

 

Sorry for the delay guy's. As mentioned above we have been working on a trans that has taken up a lot of our time this past week. This project is a one off show car that we have built the trans for, is about all I can say. I will be posting some pictures in mid March. This car nor the components can not be viewed until after the first showing of the car. Hang in there guy's it will be very cool. As far as this thread I will see what I can do this weekend. The work that I do on the forums is done on my personal time. It's really is not my job to do so but I try to when I have free time. I hope you guy's appreciate it and I have enjoyed doing it. Stay tuned. Vince

 

In post # 60 I left off with the input drum fully assembled and installed in the transmission. The next step will be to get the reverse input drum ready to be installed in the trans. Here is where we left off.



Here is a photo of the reverse input drum.



This is a piece that is used for more than one purpose. Not only do the clutches inside the drum get applied when the trans shift selector is placed in reverse, but the outside of the drum is used to apply the 2-4 band. With that being said it also is used for 2nd and 4th gears. Here is the photo of a new drum that we use in almost every unit that we build. Also here are the internal components and the band that this drum uses.



The only time I will reuse this drum is when it is totally perfect which is very rare for a used 4l60e. Most companies will reuse these even though they have signs of wear. The band surface warps. The lugs where the sun shell splines together wears. Also the area where the apply cushion plate rides wears out. This will cause damage to the input drum from it being allowed to rub due to more travel side to side in the reverse input drum. Also I have seen where it can cause the reverse input piston to bind on the apply. Causing a delayed engagement in reverse or a strange double bump apply. A used drum when in good condition should have the bushings replaced and also have the band surface resurfaced. I have seen many attempts of the outside to be resurface by hand sanding or sanding discs on a die grinder. I prefer to use a lathe to resurface the drum. I will use sandpaper by hand to resurface it while the drum spins on the lathe. Then finish it off by polishing it with scotch bright. When I'm done it looks very close to the one in the picture above. It will then be checked to verify that it is flat and smooth.

Once the drum is clean and ready to be assembled the first step is to get the seals installed. Here are a couple photo's.



Next it is a good practise to lube the seals with assembly lube or use a seal lubricate stick to do so. I like to use the seal lubricate stick but it is just builder preference. Here is a photo of the piston lubed and ready to be installed.



The next it is time to install the reverse input piston. Here are a few photo's.


I like to use a long feeler gauge to help install the piston. This will help to not damage the seals.




Once it is all the way down it is time to install the spring cage and it's snap ring. Here are a few photo's of how it's done.







Next we install the reverse input clutches.

 

Next we install the clutch pack for the reverse input clutch. The first plate to be installed will be cushion plate. It will be installed cone side up. Here are the photo's.







Next is to install the first steel. This will be followed up with by clutch and then repeated until all four steels and four clutches have been installed. Here are the photo's.









The next step is to install the pressure plate and the snap ring. Here are the photo's.









In the next set of photo's I will show how I preset my end play by using the pump stator. Also I will cover the machine process of our pumps along with the assembly of the pump. Enjoy the photo's and stay tuned. More to come. Vince