Try a new mod.

 

If your saying that the car will not move in 3rd or 2nd position but rpms drop and it moves when low is selected, don't use this trans any more or there could be a very bad end result.


Hutch

 

It'll move in 1st and 2nd position, not 3rd. Im not 100% sure, but I think when I had it on the lift, the output shaft did rotate in 3rd so I would assume its just massive slip?

What would be the very bad result? Trans is coming out later this week. Curious what to look for inside.

 

Sounds like possibly the low roller clutch has had it which I think it what hutch was getting at. The low roller holds the reaction carrier from counter rotating in 1st gear drive so if it is blown up it will have no 1st gear drive. The rear band is applied in manual 1st so the rear band will hold the reaction carrier enough to make it drive in manual 1st. If the low roller is not holding it could cause the direct drum to overspeed and explode

 

What do you guys recommend for the most complete one-stop rebuild kit for these things?

 

There is no "kit" that does it all. You need to evaluate what you have and make a list of what you need based on experience with what actually works for your given application.


Hutch

 

I broke the low roller and it would lock the output shaft in 2nd and 3rd gear. First would disengage at release of TB and then re-engage when rpms came down. It also damaged the sprag. Makes you pay extra close attention when you think how close something spinning 10k rpm is to your legs

 

I meant kit in terms of consumable parts such as frictions, seals, filter, etc. I know hard parts and modifications are as-needed for the application...or does that still apply?

 

Got the trans apart, but I still need to disassemble the direct and intermediate clutches. There was a ton of debris in the pan.

The low roller clutch seemed to be OK. Rollers were still in place and they didnt fall out everywhere when I removed it. Could this part still be bad if there isnt obvious damage? I will snap some pics tomorrow.

Is there anything else that could cause the transmission to free rev in Drive (3rd) but still work in all other gears?

 

Get it all apart. If you got the back out, you do have the intermediate clutch apart.


Hutch

 

Mixed up my terminology, forward clutch and direct clutch need to be further town down.

 

Here are some more pics. The trans obviously had some water in it at some point. The forward clutch plates were all sorts of fucked. To me the pump gears and wear surfaces seem to look OK from a general machined parts standpoint. The part the reverse band clamps to (reaction drum?) has some pitting, but overall isn't scored up. This is just going to be a forward pattern manual trans so I assume this will still work? Now that it's all apart it doesn't seem overly intimidating. The piston seals were all in decent shape from what I could tell.

 

Water will de-laminate clutches like that. It also looks like your electric detent solenoid is messed up, might be just the picture angle. a bad solenoid will cause it to not have high gear.

 

What do you do with the detent solenoid after converting the trans to full manual operation? Is it still required? Plug it? Bolt it and leave it?

 

Depending on what valve body kit you use, I would follow their directions. Some retain it and some don't.

Most T-Brakes and Full Manual valve bodies you purchase will not have the detent hole in the plate but will still use the old solenoid to hold down the plate.

 

This will just be getting a modified stock VB, plugged governor tube holes and modified according to a Transgo 400-3 kit instructions.

 

So I've got most of the trans, less the valve body back together. Left the appropriate seals out for the direct feed mods. Using the thick steels in the direct and thin steels in the forward drums, I only had .020-.030" clearance with 5 clutch plates. Machined the snap ring side of the backing plates to get them to .050". Air tested all three clutch packs on the bench and in the case and everything seems to work as it should. Hopefully Ill be able to wrap up the rest of the trans this week and give it a test drive over the weekend. A ton of trash washed off the hard parts as I cleaned them. Nothing exciting but here's some pics.

 

Since my solenoid basically fell apart on dis-assembly, anything wrong with just bolting the bottom plate to the trans without the solenoid body/coil, thus leaving the hole open on a full manual setup?

I also replaced the low roller clutch just to be safe. For the money it was a no brainer.

 

Who's valve body or valve body kit are you using?

 

I don't like machining the direct press plate to gain clearance. It is supposed to be a tight fit between the snap ring and drum ledge but it doesn't always work out that way.


Hutch

 

Not sure why he didn't just use a few thinner steels?

 

Coolant in the fluid....

 

Transgo 400-3.

 

Something will need to block/cover the detent hole in the plate.

Their plate retains the detent hole, so you will need a good solenoid or a plate to block the hole.

 

Did you understand what I said about it fitting tight in the drum? These pressure plates break often enough now at the stock thickness. I'm just saying, I personally wouldn't do it that way.


Hutch

 

I think that's what I'm not getting. I get potentially weakening the plate from having less material. Can you eleborate on where you are referring to as "tight"? If there is .050" of clearance available to the clutch stack when the piston is bottomed, wouldn't the pressure plate, frictions and steels all be allowed to float axially within that space, even if the clearance was made via thinner steels? The OD and finger clearances haven't changed from a radial fitment standpoint.

As I said, it's my first try and this and you really seem to know your shit. I'm just trying to fully understand what you meant. Please don't take my comments as argumentative. The help is definitely appreciated.

 

All seems well. Got the car back on the road. All 3 gears work. Shifts nice. Hopefully it lasts haha.

 

Glad you got it all fixed up.


Hutch