Looking awesome Dave!! 
I'm almost inspired enough to go do something to my stuff now.
Rene
I'm almost inspired enough to go do something to my stuff now.
Rene
CK5
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77K5. The IronMaiden...9/2 headed for Blazer Bash 20!
- Thread starter 76zimmer
- Start date
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- 14bff bearing desintigrated 454 cookies custom diy4x aluminum fuel tank diy4x flatback dif covers diy4x frame boxing kit diy4x wraptor/truss ez-efi fords suck hemi orange and school bus yellow index l&l headers long/dana coolers making me her bitch. more tranny problems one tons phoenix trans convertor th400 full manual
jack of all trades build, overland, dunes, rocks, trails
finished getting the shop cleaned up and a little organization, then started in on the trans/transfer case mods...
Had to pull out the direct clutch piston to take out a center piston seal, to be compatible with the Manual Valve Body kit.
Then put in a temp sender in the pan. Now its on to the transfer case....need to replace the front output, and a few misc items in that.
Had to remove the seal in the direct drum.
Had to pull out the direct clutch piston to take out a center piston seal, to be compatible with the Manual Valve Body kit.
Then put in a temp sender in the pan. Now its on to the transfer case....need to replace the front output, and a few misc items in that.
Had to remove the seal in the direct drum.
Looks good Dave, you can also remove the 2nd seal from the front of the center support, but it's not necessary, one or the other will do. I am sure your valve body kit plugs the correct hole for the reverse bleedoff to correct that. Did you measure your direct drum sprag race OD as I stated in my build previously? It looks pretty new so it's probably fine.
Yes Heath I did, its at 3.158, (measured with some good dial calipers, but not a mic)
not quite as good as your replacement was, but the same drum is working good in the Vette T400.
I remember taking the 2nd seal off the center support and the plug was in the valve body kit too. Should be good to go on the trans....today the 205 comes apart again.
not quite as good as your replacement was, but the same drum is working good in the Vette T400.
I remember taking the 2nd seal off the center support and the plug was in the valve body kit too. Should be good to go on the trans....today the 205 comes apart again.
I would borrow a mic you can measure it with, and if it still measures 3.158, I wouldn't trust it. My faulty drum was fine behind the small block, but the big block busted it in pretty short order.
up in the air about the trans now....Dam I wish I had that T400 rebuild book Heath, the service manual don't say sh!t about the measurement of it, only that it turns clockwise and locks up counterclockwise.
Any how dove into the 205 today to change the front output and the shift rails for triple stick. Also need to add the spacer between the rows of bearings in the front output.
Got some templates from Kert for the rear gauntlet to try out, and a couple bling stickers for the diff covers
And painted a few parts too:
Any how dove into the 205 today to change the front output and the shift rails for triple stick. Also need to add the spacer between the rows of bearings in the front output.
Got some templates from Kert for the rear gauntlet to try out, and a couple bling stickers for the diff covers
And painted a few parts too:
Zim, good point, I'll check the book to see what it says. But to be honest, I don't think the book says that either. I bought one from the trans shop and put it in. I only found that out after I busted the first one I bought, and then talked to some pros who build race trans' for a living trying to find out why I busted a 34 element sprag with only 550 hp. The darn things are supposedly good for ~750 hp.
You can try and run it and see what happens. But knowing what I know now, my self proclaimed OCD would take over and drive me nuts until I swapped it for a better one.
The progress is looking good by the way, can't wait to see it in person soon!
looking for a GM drum right now, without much luck seems like everyone can only look back to 75, and I think this was a pre 70 drum....also talking with Coan to see what they have run into building the T400. They did say they use GM drums though, and are working on something to fill the void of this part.
I've been on the phone all morning trying to figure out what to do about this direct drum issue. I talked with the place I got the direct drums from
http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=2&Category_Code=3L80-400
and they haven't recieved any complaints about the drums they have sold. Of course I figured they would say that, so I also called Coan
http://www.coanracing.com/
to talk with a tech about what they have seen as far as a sprag/direct drum failure, and he said they haven't seen any except for a knowingly admitted high rpm 1-2 burnout situation....that is why they recommended I only do a 2nd gear burnout on the Vette T400, which has the same drum in it, with their manual valve body.
So I will go with what I have put together, and look for a T400 4x4 rebuild core, just to have a spare on hand, mostly because this case I have also had some internal casting that was broke away by the shifter linkage.
Heath once again thanks for your advice and help with this issue. I think I will still take that unit to work to use a good set of mics on it for a precision measurement.
http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=2&Category_Code=3L80-400
and they haven't recieved any complaints about the drums they have sold. Of course I figured they would say that, so I also called Coan
http://www.coanracing.com/
to talk with a tech about what they have seen as far as a sprag/direct drum failure, and he said they haven't seen any except for a knowingly admitted high rpm 1-2 burnout situation....that is why they recommended I only do a 2nd gear burnout on the Vette T400, which has the same drum in it, with their manual valve body.
So I will go with what I have put together, and look for a T400 4x4 rebuild core, just to have a spare on hand, mostly because this case I have also had some internal casting that was broke away by the shifter linkage.
Heath once again thanks for your advice and help with this issue. I think I will still take that unit to work to use a good set of mics on it for a precision measurement.
Not sure if anyone is interested or not, but I'll put this out there for the record...I talked with a builder/tech at Coan and he says the spec of the direct drum surface that the 34 element sprag rides on needs to be 3.159-3.160, smaller COULD pose a risk of rolling the sprag. So now I bring my drum into work to measure with a mic, and we get 3.157....thank you very much....I'll be getting a new drum now too. Talk about running this to the wire. I still want to have the body on by Monday, and I'm sitting with an empty frame right now, a trans half tore apart, a transfer case torn apart, and a bunch of miscellaneous items to complete before the body can go on.
Heath we need to start a build thread on building/modifying TH400's...I'm learning a lot, again.
Heath we need to start a build thread on building/modifying TH400's...I'm learning a lot, again.
It sure is better to be delayed a day or two than have the thing go out at blazer bash and have us rebuilding it on your trailer Dave!
I'm going to pay attention when I build my T350 in a few weeks
crawdaddy
1/2 ton status
This thing is coming together quick. Very nice work! Looking forward to a video of it tearing up the dunes! 
The risk is there, trust me....
Also, it's a lot easier to swap that drum out now while the trans is on the bench than after you get your truck back together.
It sure is better to be delayed a day or two than have the thing go out at blazer bash and have us rebuilding it on your trailer Dave!
Eric, look at the bright side, with his doubler, even without 2nd gear he will still have 2x2x2=8 gear combinations! Who needs the other 4?
Also, you can still drive to and from Bundy, wheel most of the day, and tow your boat around without 2nd gear too. It's just a little funny, but the big block will just think..."what, 2nd gear, who needs that?
"
It sure is better to be delayed a day or two than have the thing go out at blazer bash and have us rebuilding it on your trailer Dave!
Your right Eric, after checking it at work today, its just not worth the risk. I have to commend Heath for bringing this to light. It is something I wasn't aware of. The T400 direct drums from GM are non-existant, so finding one from a Trans parts supplier seemed like a good deal....well apparently not. It is .003 too small in diameter. What worries me some now is I have that same drum in the Vette trans.
What level do you plan to modify it Jess? I know there is a book out there on how to modify them. I looked for "the manual to have" but its like 75$ for a paperback manual and they're used.
Man, I felt like I was flying through the list of stuff, til this week...now spinning wheels again. I'm making some progress trying to get other stuff done while figureing out the trans problems.This thing is coming together quick. Very nice work! Looking forward to a video of it tearing up the dunes!
I think I may have to get one of those rollbar mount camera's to take videos with....they look pretty cool.
Your right Eric, after checking it at work today, its just not worth the risk. I have to commend Heath for bringing this to light. It is something I wasn't aware of. The T400 direct drums from GM are non-existant, so finding one from a Trans parts supplier seemed like a good deal....well apparently not. It is .003 too small in diameter. What worries me some now is I have that same drum in the Vette trans.
What level do you plan to modify it Jess? I know there is a book out there on how to modify them. I looked for "the manual to have" but its like 75$ for a paperback manual and they're used.
Man, I felt like I was flying through the list of stuff, til this week...now spinning wheels again. I'm making some progress trying to get other stuff done while figureing out the trans problems.
I think I may have to get one of those rollbar mount camera's to take videos with....they look pretty cool.
I got one at a borders closing sale for 5 bucks. Its just these little things that I will pay attention to rather than just look at.
If it helps to know, there is another box on its way to you.
You may have to do some digging on stuff if your replacing parts other than the common stuff Jess. Like this 34 element sprag and direct drum....its something that GM used from 65-70, so I figured replace the cheap 8 unit sprag with the 34 and the matching drum and go with it. Nope then I had to get an aluminum piston instead of the stamped steel one, and then change the plates to get the right clearance on the clutch pack, etc etc. Anyhow I think Heath said the dimensions of what that direct drum should be, isn't even in the detailed aftermarket book. So where he and Coan found it, I don't know, but I gotta get a different one to make it right. If you go back to post 328, the transmission saga starts. Good luck man. I think forums are your friend for sure.
Thats always a good thing Kert!
Thanks man!
