You are going to get some break in between the steels and the bushings etc. I actually just drained mine this weekend after about 200m on the build and mine was similar, bright red but light dusting in the pan.

 

Do you know of any way to achieve the correct pin length without that kent moore tool? I am curious now that it has been brought up.

 

Well... this was almost like the fluid was a cherry red paint with a gold flake... pan had a light dusting on the bottom after the fluid was drained.. no other material though.

I'm gonna change the fluid obviously and I'll change it again in the next few hundred miles.

I talked to Jake and this is how he told me to do it...
400/4L80 Band Adjustment

I'm curious how close it is to the tool..

-Chris

 

Ok... welded up the pin. Got it put back together today and refilled with fluid. Shifted from park to reverse and reverse applied instantly... sharp and very firm. I cycled it several times between gears and then drove it around the block... everything seemed good... still no engine braking in manual 1st or manual 2nd.

Came home and parked the truck... it sat for maybe 5 minutes... went to leave and the delay was back. The trans temperature was up to around 100 or so at this point...

When reverse engaged, I backed up a few feet and felt a pop as if I backed into something. Its done that several times.

During my reading online, I found a kit from transgo that was to repair several conditions... 2 of which are a reverse delay and/or bind up in reverse when hot.

The kit includes an internal sealing ring kit, end play shims, and a front stator bushing.

My question is... could I have damaged a sealing ring that could be causing only issues in reverse and problems with engine braking in manual first and manual 2nd?

Oddly enough, I do have engine braking in manual 3rd or the "D" position.. which again doesn't make any sense to me...

I really don't understand why after I put it back together, it hit reverse instantly, didn't bind or make any odd noises and pulled just fine... but 15 minutes later its back to the same crap... the delay was identical in timing to what it was in the first place.

I'm not driving it anymore unless its to diagnose something... not until I get it worked out... I cant afford to throw away the money I've sunk into this trans...

Any ideas?

 

You did not say if you put any kind of shift kit in this 4L80 with the transgo shift kit they would have given you a reverse boost valve to put in the pump. We would like to know if you have a new reverse boost valve in the pump because they are very prone to wearing quite badly.

 

The only thing that I am aware of would be experience and possibly the transgo harsh reverse shift kit has a method to set the proper length on the pin.

 

I'm using a new sonnax boost valve... it had a transgo shift kit previously installed but I deleted everything but the springs...

What symptoms would a cracked servo piston give?

I'm strongly considering replacing the seperator plate and the low/rev. servo as a starting point.

I also discovered I have no engine braking in any gear unless my foot is very lightly on the throttle.... then it engine brakes like normal

 

You mentioned having the the TG kit in the trans previously. Did this kit have the three layered separator plate? Also when you built the unit there are thre places to make sure to flat sand. Case, valve body and the rear band cover. Between the three I listed and if the TG plate was used it sounds like you could have a cross leak of some sort.

 

I'm using a standard plate and everything appeared to be flat... but I didn't do any sanding.

I'm gonna pull it apart again in the next few days and probably replace the sep. plate and I may replace the low/rev. servo assembly as a starting point. The plate I used was from a different trans of the same year... perhaps something was off with it.

I did check yesterday morning to see if it was working properly and no... still the same delay... so temp. doesn't seem to be part of it. Also, I don't seem to have engine braking in any gear.

As far as a replacement plate goes, would the tg replacement galvanized plate work as a stock replacement?

-Chris

 

Planning on ordering a few things tonight...

Is the billet servo worth the money or will a stock replacement work just fine?

Also, will the transgo heavy duty sep. plate work as a stock replacement?

-Chris