TH350 To a 700r4 transmission

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Bextreme04

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We sure don't live in a perfect world, that's for sure. Nick also has some good YouTube vids on his builds.
That's good, I wasn't trying to dissuade you from using him... just saying that I can't say anything good or bad about him because I have no experience either way.
No one is perfect however I do stand by my work 100%...Please don't correlate my tenure here (or any other forum or the age of my YT channel) with my time on transmissions, esp the 700R4/4L60E. I taught myself how to build them over 10 years ago because I got ripped off by a transmission shop when I was a teenager (20 years ago) and was forced to sell a car (86 Caddy Fleetwood Brougham) that I loved because I was a broke college kid 1,850 miles from home who couldn't afford to pay twice for the a job that should have been done right the first time. Told myself that would never happen again...

So fast forward about 9 years after the fact and the 700R4 in my R10 Long Bed started to slip. By that time, I had already rebuilt several SBCs, BBCs, Ford 460s along with few Mopar 440s as well as done everything from brakes to rear ends on cars/trucks. So the next logical step was the transmission. Went to the junkyard, purchased a 700R4 core after researching what years would work best, etc. and spent the next two weeks tearing it down bit by bit, taking copious notes and pictures then reassembling it exactly how it was, with new clutches, seals, gaskets, filter, etc. I also watched every video available and purchased two different rebuild manuals so had my bases covered. Swapped it in, set up and adjusted the TV cable and drove it, and sure enough it worked!

Discovered I really liked it so I rebuilt the original 700 within a couple more weeks and then a couple colleagues' 4L60Es and the rest is history.

I know that platform very well and yes, it's true you can mess things up bad if you don't know what you're doing w/the transmission but that applies to most any of them (except for the 200-4R as those can be very, very tricky regardless of diligence level and take sometimes 2x longer to physically rebuild). The TV cable is really the biggest risk point in the whole process for shops or DYI installers, as you mention...If it's not set up correctly (geometry) and not adjusted correctly (tension) then the transmission won't last more than a few miles. I provide a full set of instructions and guidance to customers for all TV-based transmissions I build so I know they have the information they need to get started (and am available for questions whenever need be).

The set up process, in brief, is this: start by hooking up the cable w/full tension while gas pedal is pressed to the floor such that the cable is tight. Then hook up a trans pressure gauge and validate your initial adjustment via pressure testing. Make micro adjustments as needed. Pair that process with Sonnax TV sleeve / plunger and TV valve in the valve body (which @Royal Sierra 454 will be getting, among other upgrades) and you'll set up that transmission for success.

Pressures at idle should be 65-80 PSI or so in P, N, D,D3 | 95-120 in Reverse | 160-180 in manual 2nd and Low
Pressures at stall should be 140-175 or so in D,D3 and roughly the same in Manual 2 or Low as they are at Idle (you get full TV pressure at idle in Man2 and Man Low)

If the 5/16" TV exhaust check ball is reinstalled and stall pressures are present at idle, that indicates the TV cable has not been adjusted with the correct tension and the TV exhaust check ball has seated, maxing TV line pressure. GM introduced that 5/16" check ball in the mid-80s to address failures due to TV cable snapping or becoming unhooked, etc.

X2 (or X100) on Monster.
I wasn't trying to bash you or dissuade him from using you. In fact, I think we are saying the same thing here. No one is perfect, mistakes happen, and the longevity of a business or age of a business/forum presence/youtube channel doesn't mean that you don't know what you are doing.

My point to the OP was that it would be the greatest and most frustrating mistake he could ever make to use Monster. He needed to call someone like you or find someone locally to talk to that he can have a solid discussion with and have confidence that it will get done right for what he needs and that the builder will be able to assist and stand behind their work moving forward.

Building your reputation here WILL help in the future though, because if we see multiple builds happening and satisfied customers, then it's easy to make a recommendation. The problem is that its easy to talk a good game, but the proof is in the pudding.. so it will be good for him to report back after it's all said and done to let everyone know.

I think we all know what his report back would have been if he spend that $5k with Monster:Stupid Me:
 

NickTransmissions

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He needed to call someone like you or find someone locally to talk to that he can have a solid discussion with and have confidence that it will get done right for what he needs and that the builder will be able to assist and stand behind their work moving forward.
Fair enough - it seemed as though you may have been questioning my commitment to customers & standing behind my work so wanted to address it in case anyone else had the same interpretation.

I'm not trying to talk any sort of game or use this or any other website to grow my business so hope folks aren't thinking that (if so, let this be clarification). I also don't ship transmissions and the majority of GMSquarebody's membership is not in Las Vegas or within a reasonable driving distance so I expect business from forum members to be relatively rare and limited to folks in the Vegas or surrounding region. I'm also typically backed up by over a month as it is (I'm a one-man shop) and the overwhelming majority of my throughput is via word-of-mouth and repeat customers. So please don't feel obligated to make recommendations on my account though I do appreciate the gesture.

My motive for joining the forum (and Youtube) was to share my knowledge so that I help others avoid the bad transmission-related experiences I have had in the past and teach those that want to step into transmission rebuilding so they can remove dependencies on others from their plate. I went back and forth about doing both for a long time before I decided the benefits outweighed the risks.

Monster
I've torn down numerous monster transmissions and they do leave a lot to be desired.
And as you said, the results with them would have been predictably bad; 5K for a 700R4 is ridiculous unless it enables the person's vehicle to fly under its own power.

Cheers
 
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Royal Sierra 454

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I've been doing this Hobby/business for way too many years. Does Jimmy Carter ring a bell? I was just making some calls to see what some of these TV show/ businesses are getting for their products. There is way too many people in this world that have something negative to say behind these forums. Life is too short to say any negative to someone you don't even know. Back on to the topic.
Scott in Goodyear.
 

brooksman9

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Nick, you have a lot of videos. I don't see anything on pressure testing though. Anything there I am missing?
 

NickTransmissions

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Nick, you have a lot of videos. I don't see anything on pressure testing though. Anything there I am missing?
Nope, you're correct. ETA: I'll film and publish a vid on pressure testing at the earliest opportunity as it's really applicable to all transmissions though mandatory for the TV-based units like the 700R4 and 200-4R to confirm TV cable set up and adj.
 
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Wumbo

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Fair enough - it seemed as though you may have been questioning my commitment to customers & standing behind my work so wanted to address it in case anyone else had the same interpretation.

I'm not trying to talk any sort of game or use this or any other website to grow my business so hope folks aren't thinking that (if so, let this be clarification). I also don't ship transmissions and the majority of GMSquarebody's membership is not in Las Vegas or within a reasonable driving distance so I expect business from forum members to be relatively rare and limited to folks in the Vegas or surrounding region. I'm also typically backed up by over a month as it is (I'm a one-man shop) and the overwhelming majority of my throughput is via word-of-mouth and repeat customers. So please don't feel obligated to make recommendations on my account though I do appreciate the gesture.

My motive for joining the forum (and Youtube) was to share my knowledge so that I help others avoid the bad transmission-related experiences I have had in the past and teach those that want to step into transmission rebuilding so they can remove dependencies on others from their plate. I went back and forth about doing both for a long time before I decided the benefits outweighed the risks.

Monster

I've torn down numerous monster transmissions and they do leave a lot to be desired.
And as you said, the results with them would have been predictably bad; 5K for a 700R4 is ridiculous unless it enables the person's vehicle to fly under its own power.

Cheers

I've watched a couple of your youtube videos. They are top notch.

Have you been through a Hughes transmission? I have a 74-1 that I'm going to rebuild. I think I'm going to be sad when I open it up and find a stock input drum and 4 pinion planetaries.
 

NickTransmissions

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I've watched a couple of your youtube videos. They are top notch.

Have you been through a Hughes transmission? I have a 74-1 that I'm going to rebuild. I think I'm going to be sad when I open it up and find a stock input drum and 4 pinion planetaries.
Thank you, Rob.

I actually haven't torn down one of their units and don't know too much about them other than they are among the many larger-scale performance transmission builders. You should take pics at each stage of the tear down and start a thread showing the tear down and reassembly - that would be really neat, especially if you find anything unexpected (or expected but disappointing, haha).
 

Wumbo

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Thank you, Rob.

I actually haven't torn down one of their units and don't know too much about them other than they are among the many larger-scale performance transmission builders. You should take pics at each stage of the tear down and start a thread showing the tear down and reassembly - that would be really neat, especially if you find anything unexpected (or expected but disappointing, haha).

I intend to.
 

mibars

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Upgraded 700 R4 transmission kit and a 3-year unlimited mile warranty.

Unlimited mile warranty on a transmission that can be easily damaged by misaligning one cable, I wonder if this warranty is worth anything...
 

75gmck25

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TH-350 is usually very reliable, and even more so if a rebuilder uses the right parts. However, with the low 4.10 gears in my truck I really miss having an overdrive. Stock height (about 31”) tires help a little, but it still turns a lot of rpm on the highway.
 

Royal Sierra 454

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My TH350 works great! I went with a Hughs Performance RV/Towing Torque Converter. I like the idea of an OD transmission. Would like to take my K5 on longer road trip with running high RPMs.
 

Wannabe

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I bought a Monster 700r4 that was supposed to handle 500 hp. The filter fell into the pan on that one and fried it, very well done. They did send me a new trans and converter but I had to pay shipping. Two weeks later it went belly up. They were in my Corvette and I never raced it, I never did a burnout either. I did not contact them, I bought a good core and built it myself, The Monster got taken apart and was sent to a recycler. Any horror stories you hear are most likely facts.
 

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