86Tra/maro

Can the average car guy purchase some of the tools used to rebuild a 700r4 trans? Like the Foward clutch drum springs. I also need info on a part that allows me to mount my trans on my engine stand so that I can rebuild it there & rotate it when I need to.
njdaewoo

ede

snap-on, mac, or otc ought to have everything you need

86Tra/maro

SNAP OFF , MAC daddy deep pockets , otc =Out The Cash tools??? Any low buck alternatives?

Denis.V

Alternatives?,

I used my fingers for spring compression when I rebuilt the tranny of my wife's Chevrolet Corsica with a THM125.

(Price for this tool = $$$$ 0000).

Review all the alternatives for your 700R4.

Regards,

Denis V.

TomP

http://www.trannyman.com - site won't work for me lately. There was also spxkentmoore.com , but looks like they don't sell to the general public anymore?

JoelOl75

Heres some pics on "home-made" tools.

This is some various ways I compressed the springs and sized the seals. The hardest part was all the way in the back. The special tool locks into the case lugs, I used a pitman arm puller with a piece of threaded rod and washers out the back. Tighten down from the back and it compressed the springs. The other one I used an old servo piece and c-clamps, all the rest, C-clamps worked solo. Seal protectors are cut dixie cups. Those difficult one piece seals are no prob... Use the dixie cup to slide them down, then use it on the outside with a hose clamp to 'size' them. I redid the entire deal (Seals, bushings, frictions, everything...) with no special tools besides what I mentioned and a bushing driver kit.

JoelOl75

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JoelOl75

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JoelOl75

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Denis.V

Thats is the idea: Think, think and think. Be patient and the solution will arrive at any time.

For a more easy overhaul you will needs a closed room for put all the disassembled pieces in the original position for no confusion.
This is an important "tool" for rebuild purposes.

Regards,

Denis V.

86Tra/maro

Thanx

FJK

I'm just finishing up rebuilding my first 700R4. Relative to the spring compressing tools, I borrowed a set of homemade tools from a truck mechanic friend. Although somewhat crude in appearance, they worked perfectly. The way he made them was:For the portion of the tool that would press against the spring clutch, he used a large round metal piece, in one case a large bearing race & in the other case, a thin gear. Whatever meets the Id & Od requirement of the spring clutch. From the round piece, he welded 2 long bolts on an angle & on the other end of the bolts he welded a large flat washer. Basically, you wind up with a triangle or a tepee. This allows you to either press against the washer or run a thereaded rod through it to compress the spring clutch. After compressing, there was sufficent room to reach through the tepee & remove or install the snap ring.

Relative to the bench mount, all I did was install 4 long metric bolts in the 4 corners where the trans oil pan mounts . These served as "feet" to support the trans. However, many operations require the trans to be in verticle position, either nose up or tail down. It will be obvious to you how to easily position the trans in these positions & adequately support it. Too bad I don't have a digital camera. The home made tools are hard to verbally describe.

FJK

I'm just finishing up rebuilding my first 700R4. Relative to the spring compressing tools, I borrowed a set of homemade tools from a truck mechanic friend. Although somewhat crude in appearance, they worked perfectly. The way he made them was:For the portion of the tool that would press against the spring clutch, he used a large round metal piece, in one case a large bearing race & in the other case, a thin gear. Whatever meets the Id & Od requirement of the spring clutch. From the round piece, he welded 2 long bolts on an angle & on the other end of the bolts he welded a large flat washer. Basically, you wind up with a triangle or a tepee. This allows you to either press against the washer or run a thereaded rod through it to compress the spring clutch. After compressing, there was sufficent room to reach through the tepee & remove or install the snap ring.

Relative to the bench mount, all I did was install 4 long metric bolts in the 4 corners where the trans oil pan mounts . These served as "feet" to support the trans. However, many operations require the trans to be in verticle position, either nose up or tail down. It will be obvious to you how to easily position the trans in these positions & adequately support it. Too bad I don't have a digital camera. The home made tools are hard to verbally describe.

JoelOl75

Denis brought up a very important point. Rebuilding a trans isn't a thing you want to do in a 'garage'. Maybe HotRod TV's garage, but I know mine isn't clean enough, plus there's nowhere to sit down. 95% of rebuilding a trans is best done sitting, and 100% done while in no hurry (just avoid alcohol, it could get confusing )

A good book is a must, although my first rebuild I scraped by with a POS Haynes and some web tech articles and some help from this site (Thanx ProBuilt)

Also don't rip everything apart at once!! Strip the case slowly and dont dissassemble the sub-assemblies until your ready to rebuild them and put them right back in. My 1st rebuild (On 6 now with 3 different types of trans (2 700R4's, 1 TH350, 1 3T40 tranaxle, a 2004R, and a TF-727)) I redid everything just to see if I can! So far it's holding up no probs behind my 388... The TCI Streetfighter bought the farm after 15,000 miles of abuse behind my strong 350. I'm at 1,000 miles on my rebuild and am seriously beating the crap out of it. I can definatly say I like my rebuild alot better than TCI's!

TCI's: Slams into 2nd gear way toooooo hard at extremely light throttle, the TC's suck *** and their Sat night special is what I believe contaminated the whole trans when it lunched.

I did alot of mods I read up on during the rebuild. 1st I kept stiff accumulation (but it has some, not B&M's). I shimmed the 3rd accumulator in the servo, Corvette servo, 500 boost valve, and opened some holes on the seperator plate and installed the B fix kit for 4th WOT shifts.... 9 clutches in the 3-4 pack with kolene turbolator steels, wider band.... ect.


The way I see it is I paid over $1G for a POS TCI trans that didn't last. Now like BK I made it my way and did it under $500 in my spare time with better parts and if it breaks I can't get upset because I inspected every part I put in there, so it'd be my fault.

FJK

JoelOl75 sounds like a true gearhead warrior and offers good advice. The key to doing a auto trans at home cleanliness (good housekeeping), organization, attention to detail, & whatever time it takes to do it right, including time to do it over if your not convienced something is assembling correctly. I'm expecting to have the same results Joel had.
Other tips I found useful include:
Have available dozens of large clear zip lock bags to store the parts in, as you disassemble the trans. Mark the bags with an ink pen. I used a gm shop manual & every part in the trans has a refrence #. I marked the bags with the refrence # of the part(s) & in some instances, the paragraph section of the manual. The first time you do a trans, you are not familiar with part names & the flow of the assembly. I also used a separate, large folding table, separate from the workbench, to store all the bagged parts as they were disassembled. In my case, its probably taken me about a month to do this trans & you have to maintain a history of how you disassembled the trans.
Some of the more tricky steps for me on the 700R4 were: the stator support anti-klunk spring (ez once you know the trick), the rear most snap ring in the case, & assebly of the reverse input piston once new lip seals are installed.

Denis.V

GM Haynes manual was other very useful tool for my rebuild job. It has a big, big number of photos for 4 tranny models. I review it 5 or 6 times all the models (the photos doesn't the same for all the models, for example: photos about disassembly the oil pump are in one model only).

But, for me, Haynes book has two omissions:

1.- How install oil seals (without damaged it with the hammer).

2.- How clean the case (exterior with "welded" black oil and grease).

I'm writing a post about this for next week, I hope (with a little help of my brother Alexis: a mechanical engineer) .

Denis V.

TomP

For case cleaning, I'd plug up the TV cable hole, and the vent on the top of the trans, then use a stiff brush and brake cleaner.

JoelO, which book would you recommend? I have the Haynes GM Trans Overhaul book (the one with the pictures, just mentioned), the GM/Helm shop manual, and the ATSG service manual.

Is the bushing driver kit needed? Or will a BFH and a socket work?

JoelOl75

Thats the book I used... For more important info though, I dropped in on: http://www.transonline.com and printed all the 700R4 info and read it 100x....

Lotsa good stuff in there. I was also kinda disappointed by the Haynes manual in certain spots... that's why I took pics of every aspect of a rebuild.. to write my 'own' manual but... never got around to it.

The Haynes has a good 'order' to it though.

Crosley4

95% of tranny building is done sitting down?? I need to talk to my dept manager about the chair i need.

IT's quite important about the porper assembly of parts and keeping stuff together like the early posts mention.

I recently re - rebuilt a 4L60 that a customer bought a premium High performance OH kit and did the work himself. I have not seen such a mis-assembly of parts in my 28 years at this. He burned up most of the Red Alto plates and Kolene steels. Not to mention the hard parts damage.

Bushing wear is a big factor in a 4L60 trans. If there is too much clearance in a couple of areas you can starve the back of the trans for lube oil. I would recommend the proper bushing drivers to avoid damage to the bushings. THe two major areas of this tranny that fail are the rear planetary unit from loss of lube and the 3/4 cltuch pack from lack of proper line pressure rise.

JoelOl75

All you need is a nice desk/table and something to support the trans upright on the floor (cinder block...)

I guess since you get paid for the job, you should stand... But I'm lazy....

That's why I like cam/fbds, they are the only car that keeps my from falling asleep behind the wheel..

Denis.V

I used a barbecue base in order to support the trans upright.

Books and manuals are too many "professional". They give "professional" recomendations with "professional" tools and methods.

We are "homemade" rebuilders. We needs "homemade" recomendations with "homemade" tools and procedures and we have "homemade" money, but we have this board with a lot of help.

Regards,

Denis V.