Rebuilding my TH400

Here's a short video of my new JW "the wheel" flex plate and 9.5" torque converter from Jim Weise at TSP. No more wobbling!!!

 

Under normally driving, like driven through a downtown district, normally the 1-2 shift should happen near 15mph, and the 2-3 about 25-30.

If you didnt change anything with the governor, it should only be a vacuum modulator adjustment to get shift timing to ve back to where it was

 

I never changed the governer at al. I paid a bit more attention to the shifts at slow intown driving and it seems to be 1-2 shift around the 15mph (1500rpm) mark and the 2-3 shift between 25-30mph (1500-2000rpm). So I don't think I have to really adjust anything then. The "thud" I feel in the 1-2 shift is that the crisp firm shift everyone talks about? I don't feel it on the 2-3 shift? I drilled both holes A&B on the separator plate at 0.125" (1/8") so maybe it's a firm 1-2 and a softer 2-3. If I went up to say 0.140 (9/64") on the Hole B I would probably have that firm thud right?

 

May or may not, your have now twice the piston area your filling for 3rd, and there is no way to tell how the converter absorbs some, how is it when you run it up to 5000ish in both gears, in lighter driving condition line pressure is lower too. ........so b4 planning on adjusting anything get the full picture.

If the 2-3 shift at rpms is quick and not a slide shift, but doesnt shift so hard to bark the tires I guess you need to figure out if or how much more you want from it.


The thud????? It could be just a nice firm shift, could be play in rear, hard to give an answer by an adjective like that, when we cant be there to feel the same thing your feeling.

Did you remove the large cushion spring in the low/reverse servo cover.

Did you remove the spring in the valve body in the 2-3 accumulator

 

I haven't taken it it up to 5000 yet I had the wife and kids in the car and there were tons of cops out today. I live in a beach town so the weekends we get alot of party animal drunks so hence the influctuation of police presence lol. I will take it out on the hwy just outside of town one night this week and get some results. Now when you say take it up to 5000 in both gears I assume you mean manual shifting correct? Probably a dumb question but I'll ask anyways to make sure.

 

The feel really should change either way, where did it shift at b4 when left in drive. I just picked 5000 to be high enough in the rpms to get a good load test.......some ppl dont twist motors ss high as others

 

I honestly don't remember exactly but the 1-2 shift was probably in the same range just softer so maybe I never noticed it as much as I do know. I'm pretty sure the 2-3 shift was later but harder. The old B&M kit that was in there had 3 check balls a green inboard spring and pink outboard spring in the 2nd accumulator valve. I installed an orange inboard and red outboard.

 

See I cant help you with that setup, when I do mine I eliminate the spring completely in the valve body, 2-3, accumulator and the very large spring inside the low reverse servo.....which is the 1-2 accumulator

 

Your engine is also a sweet JW build Larry . You're comparing your apple to my dried up rotten grape lol

 

When I still a full auto shifting Tran in my car running low 11s, the way I has in my write. My trans would shift firm enough the car would drift a little on the track with slicks on. But when driving in the pits, it felt almost like nothing at all.........I miss being able to leave it in d coming back.

That trans went to Ny to a board member

 

The spring in the 2-3 accumulator piston is out and gone it was removed by whoever put the B&M kit in. I didn't remove the big spring inside the rear servo assembly.

 

That trans was probably pretty stout Ben! I think I need to play with mine a bit and do some high rpm WOT manual shifts to check where I'm shifting at like you guys said. I will see if I can get my wife to video my test runs to show how the car reacts and document my speed and rpm's while I'm shifting and post them here for you guys to get a better idea of what I got. I'm new to all this "tuning" stuff but man its fun

 

So you've crossed the line of "too much power" for the streets Larry that's why I want to have a fun powerful car but mostly streetable. I will see the track MAYBE once a season as its 3 hrs away. Most of my fun is on back roads and dark highways

 

It's nice to see someone willing to tackle their unknowns, get their hands dirty and try something new and accept they may or may not get it right the first time. I commend you on taking a chance at it.

Now you know more what it takes to do one, and will know a little more of the when's and why's to adjust or if something goes wrong later on

 

True enough! Taking caution with a very powerful toy is smart especially on the streets. I hope to have a similar build to your engine but maybe a bit bigger cam, I like me a nice lumpy cam

 

Thank you for the kind words Ben very much appreciated! I love diving head first into things and learning what makes things tic. I appreciate your help and all the other members on here that spend countless hrs sharing tips, tricks and knowledge. This site is truly amazing and it helps so many enjoy their cars and the fruits of their labour!