Well, I finally got ahold of my trans guy and talked about the build. The trans is done, he's waiting on the converter. He's having it next day aired, so the truck should be back tomorrow. Lots of good news about this build actually. Everything I had worries about were put to ease. The TC he highly recommends, and if I don't like it he said we can do something different no questions asked.

The clutches he's using are High Performance Kolene "Reds" for both the forward and direct clutches. They both have upgraded pressure plates that are thicker, as well as the drums are modified to hold the plate in place rather than floating which is how these are stock? Will end up having 5 forward and 5 direct clutches. The clutches in the O/D are double sided. He said that's what came out, and what went back in.

The bands ARE kevlar. He swore by them as well. Much more durable and wear much better so he says. He said the KD servo is a "super servo" with is a solid molded billet piece. New reverse servo, and 1-2 accumulator is steel and the 4 ring type.

The valve body is setup so it flows in park, obvious pressure increases, a few modifications to help with shuttle shifting. Fortunately we caught the issues in time, the valve body looked great. No material in it, no scoring in the valve bores.

He did not recommend doing anything with the flexplate. With what I do with the truck, he said it was a waste of money. If I start sled pulling, drag racing, or doing boosted launches then he said I can always put them in.

Finally, he tops it off with a high flow filter and lifetime flushes on the transmission. I told him I'll be going to him for band adjustments are filter changes from now, no need for any more fiascos



Anything I missed guys?

Shawn

 

Sounds good Shawn. Very similar to the build I'm getting done. I tune out the brand name nay sayers.

 

thats what i meant, the stock one is weak so why risk the $$ new converter. It is already apart.

I did the flex plate & billet input the output can be changed easy

 

Well guys, I got it back. I love it! Shifts MUCH better, it's nice and firm but not too firm. First time I drove the truck I said to my girlfriend "man that shifted too soon looks like we're going back", and she kindly reminded me my truck never had 2nd gear so I was used to it going 1st to 3rd...

So far it puts the power down well. Smarty is only on 3, but I'm gonna drive to work on 7 tomorrow and we'll see how it goes! No billet yet, but down the road I'll be bringing it back to my builder for shafts and a flex plate because I'd really like to take a crack at the race track now.

You guys think I can try to make some passes without billet shafts?

A million thanks go out to Alan, couldn't have gotten this together without you man (and everyone else of course)! I really appreciate it...

Shawn

 

Sure, just don't do boosted launches at 20 psi. Input shaft is in more danger when running locked to locked shifts and TQ management removal. Spin the r's and shift it at the top of the power band and it will work for a while.

 

Where do you find a laminated flex plate from suncoast??? Looking on their website all I can find are Billit.

Thanks,
Ken

 

Just to update this for anyone that may be interested:

The truck has 1k miles on the transmission so far. I had some starting/shifting issues and the builder had to order a new neutral safety switch. I'd have a tough time getting the shifter into gear, and it wouldn't always register in park. That should be installed Tuesday or Wednesday. The truck has still been driving great. A few times I've punched it from a roll (rolling up to a red that goes green), and the truck has hiccuped once or twice. I think it's more a 48re thing, then a builder thing. It would accelerate, down shift and drive for a few seconds, and then upshift. The torque converter has been pretty good, but if I had to do it over again I probably would have pushed harder on my builder to Goerend. I've been really happy with it, but I feel it *could* be more efficient pre-lockup. It really puts the power down though, and when driven hard the thing pulls like a bat out of hell.

Overall I really love this truck more and more every day, and the transmission has still been above and beyond my expectations. Surprises me every time I drive with how well it holds power now...

Shawn