... ok, I disassembled my 2001 4L80E today. It, unfortunately, has the older overrun roller clutch assembly That being said I want to do the upgrade that blown3qtr did when he upgraded his tranny. Unless, someone can hook a brotha up, the 01+ upgrade is $400+... not including the shaft. So, has anyone considered the 85E 5 pinion/shaft upgrade? Since I'm tranny iliterate, is this possible? Would I need to do BOTH planetaries?

BTW, I purchased this tranny from a forum member. It was sold to me as a runner... out of a 70k mile rollover. The fluid was in excellant condition... and I can find NOTHING wrong with this transmission. All surfaces look perfect. Hell, the bushings look to be in excellant condition... with little to no wear. Only thing that popped out (VERY minor) was the checkball wear in the valvebody plate. Is the Transgo plate harder/better?

I have a Transgo HD2 kit for this tranny... why the hell must I modify a plate? Why doesn't Transgo sell a plate that goes with their HD2 kit? Sorry, just bitchin...

Thanks

Bill

 

The updated roller clutch/drum assembly is about $300 for all new ACDelco parts where I bought my parts. I was able to find a used one locally, from the place I bought my core (they sell rebuildable cores and used parts) for $180. You probably don't need a new turbine shaft. Does yours have the forward clutch feed hole drilled all the way through? I think the main reason for the change in design was for the roller clutch itself. Mine Had a roller that was "cocked" and jammed into the plastic, as well as others that were starting to do this. Thats why I decided to upgrade. FWIW I put over 200k mi on my stock '99 4l80E with no issues although I haven't torn it down to inspect.(not the same one I rebuilt). Maybe one of the tranny experts will chime in on the necessity of the upgrade. Sorry, Idon't know much about the 4l85E.

The checkball wear is normal. The Transgo plate is suposedly harder and zinc plated to help with this. It may be slightly thicker too. I'm not sure about that, it just seemed a little thicker. I was kinda thinkin' the same thing about a new plate just for the HD2 as I was plugging holes in the plate.

 

I have been told that the earlier overrun is stronger. However I have run them both ways and have seen both fail. IDK Also I wish trans-go would supply a plate with their HD-2 kit as well. Man that would only make sense. However if you are going to install their shift kit I would suggest using a factory plate because it is much thinner. The plugs that are supplied work much better in an OEM plate in my opinion. I do recommend chamfering the whole that the plugs have to be installed into. This will help give the plug something to bite to. I hate those plugs but they work fine if installed correctly. Vince

 

OK, I have the 2nd design tubine shaft with the forward clutch feed hole drilled through. I can also tell the forward clutch feed hole area of the shaft has been shot peened as explained in the ATSG manual.

Aight, so I'll just buy a new stock valve body plate...

So Vince, since my 1st design overrun clutch setup is in pristine condition should I just reuse it? Is it standard practice for you guys to upgrade to the second design or just rebuild what is there considering the apparant mixed results you have seen? How about the 85E stuff... worth it? FWIW, I have no plans to put 1000hp through this tranny... maybe 600rw max and not have to get into the tranny again for awhile. Also, I plan on using the same parts as blown3qtr did in his tranny build...

I really appreciate you guys chiming in

Bill

 

I honestly do not see an issue with the first design of the overrun clutch over the second design. Run it! I used one in Parish's truck if that tells you anything. As far as the 5 pinion planets that are used in the 85, I have not seen issues with the 4 pinion planets. I would save your money. I was told that those planets were used in heavy diesel trucks that made a lot of torque at low rpms.

 

Vince, you ROCK bro! Thank You!

 

Bill, you can buy torlon check ***** to prevent future valve body wear. I put them in mine, so far so good.

 

Any time Bill.

We use these in all of our builds. I have never had a failure that I could contribute to the use of these *****. Only successes!