BUILDING A HIGH PERFORMANCE 700R4 OR 4L60E TRANSMISSION

PROCARE PERFORMANCE TRANSMISSIONS
BUILDING A 700R4 TRANSMISSION IS A FRIGHTENING TASK FORMOST PERFORMANCE ENTHUSIASTS. ANY MECHANICALLY INCLINED INDIVIDUAL WITH PATIENCE AND A FEW BASIC HAND TOOLS CAN DO THE JOB.BEFORE BUYING ANY PARTSDO SOMERESEARCH. A QUALITY SERVICE MANUAL AND REBUILD VIDEO IS A GOOD START. SURF THE INTERNET FOR INFORMATION ON PARTS AND UPGRADES FOR THE 700R4. DETERMINE WHAT SPECIALITY TOOLS YOU WILL NEED AND START SHOPPING. I HAVE FOUND GREAT PRICES ON TRANSMISSION TOOLSSHOPPING okay. THESE TOOLS ARE EXPENSIVE IF PURCHASED FROM A RETAILER.
DISASSEMBLE, CLEANAND INSPECT YOUR CORE. MAKE SURE THE CASE IS SERVICABLE. CHECK IT FOR CRACKS AND ANY OBIVIOUS EXTERNAL DAMAGE. CHECK ALL MACHINED GASKET SURFACES FOR SCRATCHES OR GOUGES THAT COULD CAUSE A LEAK. INSPECT THE LOW REVERSE CENTER SUPPORT LUGS INSIDE THE CASE FOR DAMAGE. ONCE YOU ARE SATISFIED BEGIN YOUR PARTS INSPECTION. RULE OF THUMB IS IF YOU CAN FEEL WEAR WITH YOUR FINGERNAIL REPLACE THE PART. THERE ARE REPAIR PARTS AND KITS AVAILABLE TO SALVAGE THE CASE, THE VALVE BODY AND PUMP.
I NORMALLY START WITH THE PUMP. I DO A VISUAL CHECK OF BOTH PUMP HALVES. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE ROTOR AREA. DO THE FINGERNAIL TEST. ANY WEAR HERE REQUIRES MACHINING( I HAVE FOUND I CAN SAVE MONEY AND TIMEPURCHASINGA REMANUFACTURED PUMP IF THIS AREA HAS WEAR ). INSPECT THE TCC APPLY VALVE FOR LEAKAGE. THIS CAN BE DONE USING A WET AIR TEST ( VISIT SONNAX WEB SITE FOR THIS PROCEDURE ). THE SONNAX TCC VALVE IS INEXPENSIVE SO I REPLACE IT IN EVERY OVERHAUL. THE SAME IS TRUE FOR THE BOOST VALVE AND THE REVERSE BOOST VALVE. I REgeMEND USINGA BOOST VALVE WITH A MINIMUM DIAMETER .471" FOR MILDLY MODIFIED VEHICLES AND THE .500" FOR HIGH HORSEPOWER APPLICATIONS. TCI IS NOW PRODUCING A .570" BOOST VALVE FOR APPLICATIONS OVER 450HP.REPLACE THE REVERSE BOOSTASSEMBLY WITH A LARGER DIAMETER VALVE THIS WILLBOOST PRESSURE INMANUAL LOW. SOME OF THE AVAILABLE SIZES ARE .283", .300" AND .400". IN THE 700R4 TRANSMISSION PUMPI PREFER THE 10 VANE SETUP. WHEN GENERAL MOTORS WENT TO THE 13 VANE PUMP THE PUMPCOVER WAS MODIFIED BY ENLARGING THE PORTING SLOTS. I HAVE NOTICED AN INCREASE IN PUMP FAILURE WITHMODIFIED 13 VANE PUMPS. I REgeMEND USING THE 10 VANE ROTOR AND SLIDE WITHA PERFORMANCE PUMP SLIDE SPRING ANDSTRONGERPUMP RINGS IN THE EARLIER 10 VANE PUMPS. TRANSGO MAKES TWO PUMP KITS ONE FOR STANDARD PUMPS AND THE OTHER FOR HIGH REV PUMPS. IF YOU HAVE A LATE MODEL 4L60E WITH A 13 VANE PUMP YOU ARE AHEAD FROM THE START.
THE VALVE BODY IS THE HEART OF THE TRANSMISSION. THE OIL PASSAGES ARE THE ARTERIES. IF YOU HAVE A LEAK YOUR TRANSMISSION WILL BLEED OUT. PRIMARY CAUSE OF CLUTCH FAILURE IS A HYDRAULIC LEAK. LOW PRESSURE CAUSES CLUTCH SLIPPAGE. VALVE BODY TESTING EQUIPMENT IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND VERY FEW PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO THIS EQUIPMENT. THERE ARE SIMPLIER, LESS EXPENSIVE METHODS TO TEST THE VALVES IN THE VALVE BODY. THERE IS A VACUUM TEST, WET AIR TEST AND THE WIGGLE TEST. THESE METHODS ARE COVERED IN A FREE DVD FROM SONNAX. IF YOU WANT TO SAVE ALOT OF TIME START WITH A QUALITY REMANUFACTURED VALVE BODY. IT IS HARD TO JUSTIFY THE TIME TO TEST A 700R4 VALVE BODY BECAUSE OF THE AVAILABILITY OF INEXPENSIVE REMANUFACTURED UNITS. MAKE SURE YOUR VALVE BODY HAS THE THROTTLE VALVE PLUNGER MARKED "94" IN THE 700R4 TRANSMISSIONS. I REgeMEND IN HIGH MILEAGE 4L60E TRANSMISSIONS TO REPLACE THE VALVE BODY. THESE VALVE BODIES ARE PRONE TO WEAR AND IT IS USUALLY LESS EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE IT WITH A REMANUFACTURED UNIT. IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO USE A SHIFT KIT READ THE INSTRUCTIONS IN YOUR SHIFT KIT CAREFULLY BEFORE PURCHASING ANYVALVE ASSEMBLIES.
THERE ARE NUMEROUS SHIFT KITS FOR THE 700R4 TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSGO REPROGRAMMING KIT, PART # 700 2