Ok, I can't put this off any longer. I'm going to rebuild my th-400 out of my Camaro. I'm not a pro, so if I screw something up that you see, LET ME KNOW !!
The trans in the car now is out of a `89 3/4ton Suburban that had a big block. In the fall of `08 the trans was slipping in third gear, hence the tear down. Now the sad part, I bought another th-400 that is equiped with a TCI reverse pattern/manual valve body and a trans-brake, that I was going to swap in. until I found this while I was going to change the trans filter:
If you can't see it, it is aluminum "pebbles". I can't tell if it's from the TCI pan or from in the trans.
So here's the deal, I'm going to rebuild both; swapping the H/D parts ( the goodies ) into the silver one that is going back into the Camaro, and the other one will be sold when I'm done to off-set the costs.
I know I went about this a little backwards, but while I was waiting for the kit to arrive, I built the trans-brake switch bracket. so I'll start with that.
I know that I didn't want the button on the steering wheel like most are mounted. It's a street car so I figured that down next to the shifter was a better choice. Using .040" thick aluminum that was left over from another project, I bent it into a "U" shape and TIGed a top and a bottom plate on.

After the welding, I ground down the welds and sanded them smooth;


After installing the button, I slid the plate under the shifter and marked the mounting holes. Once the holes lined up, I checked how the cover would fit. Once satisfied, I bolted it in and attatched the cover.


I could've run the wire under the carpet, but I was lazy!

I just kept adjusting the fit until I was satisfied.


Next is pulling the "light" trans out of the car,....stay tuned. (..if I don't drop it on my head!...)
Sorry about the big pics, I'll fix `em for the next posts.

I like that trans brake switch mount you made HELL YA good job!!!!!! I also wont run one on my steering wheel, I want mine down by my shifter, but my mount wont be nice like yours, good job and good luck with rebuilds

Well done and it looks like your off to a great start!!!!

I think I could build something like that now, maybe not as nice but I could do it.
Not for a trans brake but line-loc for sure.

Looks good Dave. When you going to the track?

qtrmile2 wrote:Looks good Dave. When you going to the track?

Thanks for the compliments, guys! ( ...like my ego needs feeding.. )
I'd like to get back to the track at least by June. That gives me a little time to get the trans done and get to a test-n-tune to learn how to drive with a transbrake
Just got the trans out of the car tonight, so the rebuild will be starting very soon. Between the two jobs therre isn't a lot of time left, so I'm gonna have to get busy!

Ok, now that I've finally got both transmissions on the work-bench, it's time to get started. The black one is the trans-brake unit, the aluminum one came out of the Camaro.
Started out tuning both upsidedown to facilitate easier working. Unbolted pan and front pump:


Next it was as simple as pulling out the forward clutch,followed by the direct clutch:


At this point, you can pull out the front band also. Then comes the first retaining ring,I didn't have a fancy pliers to remove it, so the gentle use of screw-drivers was applied.

Followed by the intermediate clutches.

Take care as to note their order and location. I should have mentioned that I purchased a tech manual from Jeg's to get all the technical notes and torque specs. It's an invaluable tool to have!
After the int. clutches, then another retaining ring, this one is tapered. (please note it's orientation, the tapered side faces the front of the trans.)

Next to come out will be the center support/gear assembly and tail shaft. After I removed the valve body and governor tubes(taking care not to lose the filter in the tube at the case end). Under the valve body assy, the is a 3/8" bolt that needs to be removed. Use a thin walled 12-point socket:

I pushed the tailshaft in at the same time as I pulled the center support out, it helps to take the assembly out as a unit.


Please note in the last pic,the rear band's location. As well as the last ring in the case. In the very back you can see the rear thrust washer.(note the small imperfections in the facing) those are small flat aluminum "b b's".
Going back to the valve body, Note where all the check-balls are, they need to go back in the same spots!(most of `em anyways)

After you remove the rear servo( at upper-left of pic) and the front servo(at upper center of pic)and the check balls, it's time for cleaning out the case! believe me, the black one was full of small aluminum bb's! After your done cleaning, blow it out with clean compressed air, it really does a great job.
That's as far as I'm at right now. More to come.

This is excellent Dave!!!!!!
The pics and in depth explanation will prove to be invaluable.
If I ever need to have a trans rebuilt, I think I will be able to tackle it on my own without to much panic.

Keep the good stuff coming and thank you for the informative thread!!!!

Nice job Dave. BUT 4 and 5 Speed Jerico's and Doug Nash are sooooooo much easier
Good Luck on the rebuild.

qtrmile2 wrote:Nice job Dave. BUT 4 and 5 Speed Jerico's and Doug Nash are sooooooo much easier
Good Luck on the rebuild.

...yeah, maybe,.....but they break stuff. (Just yankin your chain, Vince. No hard feelings. )

You got that right Dave So when will you have the tranny done and back in the car? Can't wait for you to get back to the track.

Sorry for the delay,...I've been a working fool lately. Ran into two problems as of late....1.) cannot find the camera, so pics will have to wait. 2.) while rebuilding the direct clutch assembly, I found out that the replacement clutches and steels are .030" thinner,...EACH! so I'm gonna machine down an old one and add a extra steel and clutch. Photos are to come. Thanks for your patience!

No problems Dave...I am very interested because if and when I buy a new hotrod, the only way I will be able to afford enough tranny to go behind the engine I have planned is to do it myself.

So, I will wait patiently for the rest of the story.

OK! Found the camera.lol. These are pics of the direct clutch assembly:
Remove the retaining ring by gentle use of a flat-bladed screwdriver:

Removal of the clutches and steels. Five of each:

Like I said in previous post, the new steels are .030" thinner than the old ones, so that would give me too much clearance in the drum. I'm also thinking that it would give less holding power because of the increased gap. So I've decided to take the old steels to work on Monday and grind .010"- .012" off of each side to get enough clearance to put an extra clutch and steel in the direct pack. I'll post back on how it goes. (...or if it doesn't...)