Plan to rebuild a transmission, thoughts, recommendations...

[Crazy K]

I believe that I'm going to go ahead and rebuild my 91 CS convertablke tranny myself. This would be my first transmission rebuild. And I think numbers matching may be valuable since I plan on keeping it for... oh tilll I'm buried in it....

 

The symptoms of the tranny are no 3rd gear, but you can get into OD if you get to 50mph in second then manually throw it into OverDrive...

also when started the transmission won't engae at all until warm, and sometimes pushing it will make it go.

It was used to tow without a proper tow package, and the fluid was rich with powdered metal, (the magnet was saturated) but not burnt.

the questions:

How much of a glutton of punishment am I?

Can the drive chain be removed without removing the torque converter?

if it can, can I rebuild it in car since it seems that it's the clutchs and valve body that are bad? I'm really hurt for a place to work on it...

and has anyone had good luck rebuilding their own transmission?

Serious questions, thanks - Ken

 

p.s. I am adding an extra super-magnet and a tranny cooler when completed.

[Jcrow]

buy the book

[pwmin]

ive rebuilt my camaro and blazer trannies, but not without help and special tools. youre looking for trouble trying to do that yourself, but go ahead. and, yes, you can rebuild it in the car but it will be more of a pain without a lift and its even harder to do. not saying you cant do it; you seem mechanically inclined. i just wouldnt try it unless you know someone that can help. not sure if anyone on here is an expert at trannies, but there are other sites you can visit that can help

[Crazy K]

Your recommended book? I have a manual that covers the 4t60e but not the regular 4t60.

 

p.s. I don't have a lift, and the car needs to look normal while not being worked on... (stupid cities) and I'm extremely mechanically inclined, I did the brake conversion of both the abs and rears before finding this awesome sitee

 

P.P.S how would be best recommend removing the tranny if I have to remove it? it is a 3.1 motored car

[pwmin]

atsg or gm maunal

 

http://www.storesonline.com/site/573683/product/83-440TTM-U1

 

 

thats gon be harder to "disquise" it if you dont do a bench rebuild.

[Crazy K]

thank you for the book link, but I should ask, it does say from 84 to 89... I know it is still the same transmission, 4t60=440t4 , but could that be a problem for me?

[pwmin]

pull the whole engine/trans assembly. would be easier though to build it in the car if you dont mind putting all the suspension back together every time you quit working on it.

[z284pwr]

I don't suppose that book also shows modifications/tricks you can do to make it more "performance" oriented. We just finished building a Turbo 400 for our Trans-Am, thinking we are going to try the TGP next. Oh yeah, and I don't suppose someone has the links to the "other" trans rebuilding sites for this trans?

[Jcrow]

It shows the special tools in the book. I rebuilt a 700-r4 and made the tools to do that. It didnt work, so I had to take it out again and figure out what I did wrong, then it died a week later, and I took it to a shop. I do plan to attempt it again as I have another 700r4 in need of rebuilding. I thought the 440 special tools looked a little more intimidating so I forked over $1100 to have that done.

[z284pwr]

What kind of special tools are we talking about? Or did you not see that far?

We put the Turbo 400 together with very few special tools, and what we don't have here, my friends Machine Shop will probably have

[Farqineh]

It shows the special tools in the book. I rebuilt a 700-r4 and made the tools to do that. It didnt work, so I had to take it out again and figure out what I did wrong, then it died a week later, and I took it to a shop. I do plan to attempt it again as I have another 700r4 in need of rebuilding. I thought the 440 special tools looked a little more intimidating so I forked over $1100 to have that done.

 

I tried to build an E4od on the bench and found that the price of purchasing the rebild kit, and the tools to do the job would be about as bad as the cost of having it redone professionally. The tranny was already out on the floor so of course I saved R&R costs.

 

I remember the tool that hung me up was a seal installer for one of the acumulators I think. Maybe a piston....I cant remember which..As I recall the bore wasn't champferd and everytime I went to install the block into the housing I'd fuck up the seal.... Then the seal was a bitch to get individually w/o buying another kit, so I had a couple made up, fucked those up.... then decided to phone up my local tool dealer to price me a rebuild tool kit for a Ford E4od and I just said the hell with it. I boxed up all the parts and chunks and sent a basket case to my local tranny shop.

Only worked for a year anyways.....piss me off.

I never found it to be worth it unless you plan on doing a couple of them!!!!

 

Best of luck!!

[pwmin]

its not really a specific rebuilding site or whatever, but theres a few knowledgable people over there. any specifics i can answer or have answered for you also.

 

forgot the link :cringe: http://www.60degreev6.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewforum&f=9

not saying you cant get good info on here, just another reference

[White93z34]

if your going to atempt it yourself i'd definately pull it from the car, however if you go that far its fairly cheep to have it rebuilt last 4t60e the shop i worked at cost in the ballpark of $500 since we removed it ourselves and took it to the shop.

[Crazy K]

Anyone know it the chain and gears can be removed without pulling the tranmission? -Ken

[pwmin]

that i dont think, but i can ask if i remember. i know someone that knows A LOT about domestic trannies

 

edit: actually, im not sure

[z284pwr]

that i dont think, but i can ask if i remember. i know someone that knows A LOT about domestic trannies

 

edit: actually, im not sure

 

Okay, like I posted in one of my other threads. What does he know about making a "performance" oriented 4T60?

 

I'm going to go ahead an assume this guy has done some work on your Grand Prix, or your Camaro's 700-R4?

[pwmin]

quote yourself. im too lazy to look. he hasnt touched my 60, i just put a shift kit in it myself and it already had the updated valve body in it. i also just put a shift kit in the camaro and he helped me rebuild the 700 in blazer and the 350 i used to have in the blazer. hes been doing trannies for 30 years, starting with mostly cadillacs. he knows a lot about beefing up 60's. what do you want to know?

[bluegp]

Crazy K, where are you located? If you are anywhere near western PA, I have the tranny for you. (click here)

[pwmin]

much better idea imo

[Crazy K]

I moved to cleveland, the car is stuck in Indianapolis. But I can get a used tranny to install real cheap in indy, but I'd love to rebuild and keep the numbers matching, although..... I need to figure out where on the engine the code is to check it.

 

I may buy a used tranny in the spring and store the worn one and rebuild it if i get a house someday.

 

But my biggest problem, even if i had a brand new tranny in hand is a lack of place or time to work on it, I'd have to do a complete turnaround in one day where it's stored right now. If I can replace all the clutches and the valve seals and anything else I find without pulling the tranny out, I would prefer to do so. I'm thinking that the drivers sider of the case comes off (drive axles already removed...)and you get to the point where you see the chain.If the chain comes off, all the driven guts would be free to be removed.

 

Ok I need to buy a specific manual (I need to see if the library here has MOTOR manuals) and I saw am OEM tranny kit for sale I would like to buy.

One was already recommended to me

http://www.storesonline.com/site/573683/product/83-440TTM-U1

Do you think this is the best one to purchase?

[z284pwr]

I have been wondering the same thing, which one of those manuals is the best to get because they have 3 different ones?

 

http://www.storesonline.com/site/573683/product/83-440TTM

http://www.storesonline.com/site/573683/product/83-440TTM-U1

http://www.storesonline.com/site/573683/product/83-440TTM-U2

 

And I guess for the real serious ones, the big ass poster

http://www.storesonline.com/site/573683/product/83-4T60POSTBIGMAT

 

Oh and for my question Paul, do you, or your friend, know what tricks there are to make the thing more "performance" oriented. So the thing will actually shift faster and harder instead of this "slip" into 2nd gear it does now. When I say harder, I mean, a lot harder, as in, our '79 Suburban will chirp the tires into 3rd gear hard

[pwmin]

theres nothing that will match a superior kit. sounds like what you have. the junior kits are pretty worthless, but the regular ones do pretty well. theres not much you can do besides sonnax stuff esp to the 4t60e, but the 4t60/440t4 are easier. powertuner, of course for obd2 cars. you can get inventive with different valve body springs too but thats risky. actually found out a trick cause someone actually did something wrong that made a 3100 lumina chirp hard in 2nd but i forget what it was exactly. theres def more options with the older rwd trannies. ill have to ask for specifics, cause im going to eventually build a 4t60e. hes got cases and valves bodies; everything to make a complete tranny, id just have to get hardened clutches and all that. hope that helps a little. thats just off the top of my head. no editting.

[Jcrow]

that would be sweet! I miss how my old monte would chirp into second