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HOW SHOULD I BUILD MY TH 400

SCOOBYDANNN

SCOOBYDANNN

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(Stupid caps lock)

anyway

need to rebuild my 400 for the dooubler setup. how should i rebuild it

stock
heavy duty clutches
manual valvebody
anything else

I dont have "too" much to spend but i want it done right and hold up to what i have to give it. i was thinking stock rebuild w/ a manual valvebody and thats it. should i do something else?

thanks /forums/images/graemlins/1zhelp.gif
 
When I did mine I went with the heavy duty clutches etc. but really don't think that I needed to, I do like my reverse manual valve body though. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
B&M master racing overhaul kit - $125... It comes with the red high performance clutches i think but not the racing blue clutches those are really expensive. The kit comes with all the seals and bushings you should need... The only thing you might need to get is the thrust washers in the tranny, you'll have to wait till you have it apart and inspect them before you know if you'll need to replace them.
The front and rear thrust washers are selective washers to adjust the input and output shaft endplay. Measure this and write it down before you start taking the tranny apart, endplay should be around .003-.024" i believe, and should not change much at all after you rebuild the transmission.
Also just make sure you measure everything out good, like the planetary pinions clearance (.024" max), and the clutchpack clearance...
If you wanted to, instead of ordering the kit with all the clutches/steels, You can write down all your measurements of clutchpack clearance and the individual thickness of each friction and steel... then you can call up some racing tranny shop places online and order some thinner frictions and steels so that you could put in 1 additional clutch and steel in each of the clutchpacks for more torque handling capability, while keeping the clearance within spec. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif /forums/images/graemlins/pimp1.gif
 
The sprags are a weak point, I upgraded mine to HD 32 point sprags with HD drums aswell.


I havent got around to reverse manual valve body yet...

Make sure you have a good torque converter on there, if they crap out they'll take your tranny with them.
 
{bookmarks post} so with a manual valve body, that basicly makes it like a manual tranny just with out the clutch right? the tranny does what you tell it no matter what? can you shift into third at 3mph at 900 rpm? sorry for the hijack.
 
Yes it does I have a th400 with a manual body and it takes off in third if I want to. That is the fact for every tranny with a manual valvebody.
 
i went w/ a reverse patern manuel valve body so 1st gear would be closer to reverse.

shift patern now is P-R-N-1-2-3
 
My only input is that some manual valve bodies don't have compression breaking (maybe that is just th350 /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif) because they are designed for drag racing. Make sure the one you get has compression breaking.
 
Reverse Manual Valve body and whatever H.D. sprags/clutches you want. I did my TH350 with the TCI rev. Man. and love it. TCI came out with the reverse manual with compression braking sometime over the summer or early fall. The man. valve body changes everything to full line presure all of the time so shift upgrade kits are not a huge item. I don't have anything special in my tranny and it shifts very firm, chirp tires on pavement on up shifts in the buggy or lock them up on a down shift. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Tranny illiterate but gotta learn somehow, with a manual valvebody, when (lets say a th400 for all my examples) is in D it is in 3rd gear only. If its in D at a stoplight you start off in D? Ive seen something before that was manual in 1st and 2nd, but in D it was a normal auto tranny, or was that a msread on my part? Seems like it was made by B&M.
 
you know what i have worked olt with tranmissons and, you knnow what i would not wast your money on that [darn] you can buy all sors of [darn] that you do not need. but i will tell you this th 400s are allready HD they have why biger componits the a th350 i would just get your seal kit because you are going to need that get a towing shift kit that helps. stronger springs like spings ever go out anyway. the sft kit will just help coret things with the tranns and maybe make it [darn] alittle harde and if any hard parts a bad replace then . i just wouuld not get caught up in all the fancy [darn] 400s are already HD
 
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