I just finished installing my first 4l80e rebuild & I think I have a problem. Truck is still on jackstands, and hasn't been driven yet. Topped off fluid yesterday with truck idling, fluid level marked at just above top of pan rail. Started shifting through the gears and there was some binding in 1st & Rev. Wheels turn, but intermittently stop. With foot off the brake, fluid pressure in 1st & R varied from about 45-65psi, but is steady in all other gears. It's also steady in all gears (1st & Rev included) with foot on the brake (60 psi in R, 45-50 in all others).

I started it again this morning to get a better idea of the pressure range & now all forward gears act like this. Pressure is steady now: 70 psi in reverse, 45 in 1,2,3 & OD, 60 in P & N. It increases with throttle in all gears except 1st where it doesnt really move. Also, Rev will turn w/ a little throttle, but when I let off the wheel almost 'springs' back & turns the wrong direction for a couple revolutions. This reminds me of what it did before the rebuild when I had warped Forward steels.

Rebuild used a Jake's Stage 2 kit with Dual fed direct, & partial Transgo HD2 with 1 piece separator plate per this thread (I already had the kit )
https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...ansgo-hd2.html
Running a new CircleD 2800 stall behind a small cam 6.0. Computer was tuned for everything but the converter. Any help is appreciated

 

What truck is this in? Was it originally a 80e? If not did you wire everything for the 80e?

 

Truck is a '95 K1500. Engine, trans, t-case, PCM & harness came from a 2001 K2500HD. Because the harness had been cut I swapped in a '98 dash & spliced the 01 engine/trans harness to the 98 fuse block & dash, eliminating the 95 computer. Splices were all solder, silicone, heat shrink. Engine fired up on the first try & truck drove, shifted, etc so I thought my elect was solid. But the swap trans also had problems almost immediately (intermittent no Rev) & warped forwards in less than 70 miles, so maybe not

 

Did you have the late design blue and black OD roller? It has been my experience if it is not properly indexed a binding condition will happen very much like yours. Might be something to check.

 

Yes, it is the late design black/blue. I remember 1 of the roller clutches giving me a little trouble during assembly. I think it was that one. Is there something special I need to do to index it, beyond making sure it spins/locks in the correct direction. Would I have damaged anything else (clutch packs, etc) if it's assembled wrong?

 

Tore down the trans today. Pan wasn't encouraging:








I haven't pulled pistons or gone through the valvebody yet, but so far I don't see any obvious source for the 'debris'. OD roller didn't want to spin either direction. The shaft needed a little help from a mallet to slide out. Reassembled the OD subassembly & it spins/locks fine. What am I missing on that?

 

Are the metal flakes in the fluid clutch material? Wouldn't I see some damage to the frictions or steels? Could the flakes be from anything else?

 

Metal flakes might be bearing or bushing material?

 

The bearings I can see look fine (a couple of them have fixed races). Bushings & surfaces show some wear. All were assembled with assembly lube. Is this a fluid pressure or flow issue?

 

Some of those don't look healthy. I'm not a pro though.

Here is a pic of mine.


Also this was an old bearing I replaced because of high miles. It doesn't look nearly as bad as yours.