If its shifting to second with the shifter still in 1, you need to modify the 1-2 shift valve

 

Alright how does one go about doing that? its a stock valvebody and i know nothing about transmissions to be totally honest

 

you can get a Transgo -2 kit or buy a valve body ready to go from one of several sources...

 

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1339837&postcount=11

 

How do you grind the flats?

 

I grind the governor weights to get the ideal 1-2 shift leaving the shifter in low.

 

thats what i thought i had to do, can you go too light?

 

Are there any better kits for the money than this one? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/trg-400-3/overview/

 

you want this thing to shift Higher when left in "Drive" range....????

It's a fully automatic valve body Right, meaning you can put it in third and it will up shift/Down shift itself???

Be a little more clear.....

 

its a stock rebuild th400 with some minor shift kit. It will shift into second gear at 5000

 

It's trial and error as to grinding. Your just making the weights lighter which raises the 1-2 governor shift.
There are various governors and parts available but grinding works the same. Governor must be kept spotless !!
To those not familiar with T-400's, they had a feature where the trans would shift into 2nd at approx. 5000 rpm with the shifter still in low. Its a great feature for some as you can tune the 1-2 shift to your desired RPM precisely and consistently. Also a bit of a safety feature as you cant over rev your engine in low gear.

 

I understand this, But OP, are you wanting it to go higher then 5000 with the shifter in the drive or 3rd position
and it shift on it's own, or are you saying it shifts at 5000 with the shifter in 1st or low???

 

I have posted this somewhere before on here when someone was looking for the same features out of their transmission, but it was a 350.
There is a lightweight governor available for the 700r4, from the Corvette as well as some 4.3 v6 applications. The primary(heavier larger outer) weights have large square windows cut out of them.This will give later lite to minimum throttle upshifts when installed onto the TH400 governor. Great for a car with a numerically high rear end ratio that tends to stack shift downstairs. The secondary (lighter smaller inner) weights came in two variations. The first is a thin square and the second is a triangle. The square will raise shift points @ wot approximately 250 to 450 rpm and the triangle 350 to 700 rpm. As for fine tuning wot you can use a light weight / heavy weight combo if you have acess to two of these governors, as well as create your own combination using 400 and 700 weights together. In most cases though, installing the weights onto the 700 frame will get the desired result. If you are savvy you can install the 400 governor gear onto the 700 governor and then grind off the thrust nipple on the outboard end of the governor and install it in the TH400 after setting governor end play. The main thing is do not install the 700R4 governor springs into the TH400 governor or you will undo what you accomplished by changing the weights because the spring rate is much higher and will cause earlier shifts by throwing the weights out faster at a lower governor speed.

 

>

 

Can you go too far with the weight removal i want it to shift around 6700-6800

 

You can, but a stock trans will not take that kind of rpm.

 

I was just about to post a th400 governor thread. Oh well lots of good info in here.
chris718 can 700r governor weights be used on a th400. As i have some 700r bits lying around
At the moment my th400 box is a 74cj truck box. Rebuilt and tweaked a bit thanks to you guys, and the box has a lazy way to itself. Drives ok but shifts 2 early at part throttle and full throttle, and lazy will stay in 2ng gear down to like 10kph when coming to a intersection say, even with the adjustable modulator screwed in. Box is fitted behind a car now with ls1 3.45 diff and 3000rpm stall

Would a governor from a car that come with a th400 be a lot better to start of with/ work with ?

 

The installation of the lite 700r4 weights is what I was referring to installing on the 400 governor body.Works great.

 

The SS454 trucks from the 90s used the lite 700R4 style primary weights to prevent stack shifting at low and medium throttle.The secondary weight was a thin square. Remember the primary weight is done influencing shift timing at around 30 to 35 mphour. The secondary weights are then in control as centrifugical force has acted on the primary weights holding them open against the stop due to their weight.

 

Chris,

Can you explain how the springs influence shift timing? And, are there specific springs we should use?

Can these weights be duplicated using stock 400 parts?

I have experimented with different weight primary weights and haven't seen much difference with shift calibrations under 6000rpm; I am able to adjust shift rpm by varying spring pressure.

I have had good luck with what I do, but I am always looking for a better/easier way.

Thanks,

Jim

 

Thanks for the info Chris
Dam pain in the ass trial and error on the ground getting covered in oil whenever you open the governor cover lol

I know their is so many variables but wish there was a governor of the shelf bang just throw it in and you got say 5500 at least changes and it's not so lazy lol
Maybe I'm just dreaming

 

install the 700r4 weights described on the 400 governor body with original 400 springs and you should be right between 52 and 5600. Then you can fine tune via the springs. You can use any combination of springs as well as delete one of them if necessary.The governor I mentioned is all I ever start with and will usually cover most applications up to 5800 rpms.

 

Found the 700r governor i had lying around in my garage and took some pictures of it may help other people also.
this governor is of either a 3.8 v6 buick powered rwd holden or 304ci v8 rwd holden (australian car) both cars come with a 700r here.

chris do the outside weights looks the same as the one you use? Inside it has 2 different size and colour springs as you can see by the pictures. Both weights look the same.

 

That governor has the correct outer weights I spoke of but not the inner. The outer weights, if installed on the 400 frame, will result in later low/lite throttle upshifts but will not affect wot. You will need lighter secondary weights to raise wot upshifts but if you want to stop stack shifting downstairs that is the fix. Also if the inner weights on the 700 are lighter than what is on the 400, it will give later wot upshift. Just remember , do not use the 700 springs. Rate is much higher and will fight with the weight mods.

 

I think everyone missed the part that this guy know's nothing about transmissions so all these posts are a waste of time !! lol
Frank

 

I know nothing but i read a few books and with the help of you guys rebuilt my own th400 and it runs like a dream

 

Thanks heaps for the info chris
Il try and look at it over the next week or 2 chris and tell you how i go.
Il weigh the inner weights on my 400 governor and the 700 governor also.
Will weigh the outer weights and change also as the 1-2 and 2-3 change i want to raise by around say 4-5mph on each gear as it shifts way 2 early at light throttle now.

Will the outer weights also make it change down a little earlier as now when you slowing down say for a give way sign , corner etc it wont change back to 1st gear in drive untill your like say below 6mph or so

 

Great info. Now that I have my car shifting (manually) under boost, a side effect was stacked light throttle shifts. Like into third in about 100 feet.
Ill hunt up a 700R4 gov for those weights.

Ron

 

Removing the MTV spring from the valve body will raise your minimum throttle up shifts..... desirable in vehicles with higher numerical ring pinions.

 

bump can anyone else help me with my post above
thanks

 

4000 lb Belair, 409 cu, Th400, 4:56 gears, 31.5" tires, 3,000 stall. This governor will make auto shifts at 5800-6000 in Drive. I used a digital scale in grams. Grind as necessary. Use a finishing nail for the hinge and smash the end to lock it.

Top piece 16.4g
Outer weights 30.1g ea.
Inner weights 9.8g ea.
Body 118.9g
Piston 23.4g
Spring #1 depressed half way on the scale is 4000g
Spriing #2 depressed half way on teh scale is 155g

 

Models916 a bit more radical than my car but thanks for posting anyways

 

400, 350, 700 use the same governor. This should be pretty close. Skeleton Governor used in 350 IROC Camaros.
Drop it in the hole and go. That's a seriously good price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TH700R4-Aut...overnor-Chevy-S10-S15-Camaro-Firebird-/400913538202?hash=item5d584f1c9a&vxp=mtr