My 700r4 is behind a SBC in a jeep wrangler. It needed to be rebuilt after I took it swimming. I tow a 4000lb boat/trailer with it and the rig itself weights about 4000lbs with a winch, ford rear end, 33" tires, full size spare, back seat for kids, and the list goes on.

The shop i took it to suggested a "heavy duty" rebuild which involves a bunch of new/upgraded parts: heavy duty 3-4 clutch packs, 5 pin front planetary, front plnetary hub, 5 pinion rear planetary and some changes to the pressure the pump puts out to keep line pressure a little higher.

They also suggested upgrading to a corvette servo to firm up the 1-2 shift... about $50.

To all those trans guys out there... 2 questions (be honest please!!)

1. is this worth the extra $550 the shop wants for the "HD Rebuild parts" or should I stick with the standard rebuild for my application.
2. is the corvette servo worth the cost? Will I notice a difference in a jeep towing a boat or is this just going to give me whiplash when I get on the throttle?

Build it yourself:

Bullet Proofing 700R4 Thread:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=306609

I had it saved as one of my subscribed threads, but was still able to find it by SEARCHING, weird huh?

- Lee

Build it yourself:

Bullet Proofing 700R4 Thread:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=306609

I had it saved as one of my subscribed threads, but was still able to find it by SEARCHING, weird huh?

- Lee

Lee,
Thanks for the push into the great abyss of trans rebuilding... but I'm going to bow out gracefully... I build and tackle most all other issues in my jeep, including electrical gremilins and fabing many of my own unique parts. However, this is going to be professionally done at a shop near me that works on large modified trucks almost exclusively.

I'm really looking to see if the extra $500-600 for the heavy duty rebuild parts is worth the extra gas/beer money.

Got any thoughts?

did they say anything about a beast sun shell? what kind of hp you putting out? if not much i would say the 5 pin planets are maybe a little overkill depending on your situation, usually they are more for high hp or major abuse applications. at the same time they are a very good improvement to the 700, they do a good job of distributing the torque better. i am running them in mine, but i also have my foot on the floor a lot and have a 6000lb truck w/ 42's so it all depends on how hard you're planning on beating it and how much hp you are running.

depending on what they do to the pump the corvette servo will or wont give you too hard of shifts. usually they turn out really good though with the amount of pressure most shift kits bump it to.

the 3-4 clutches i would definatly go for because they are a very common thing to go out, did they say what kind of clutches they were putting in? i have personally had really good luck with the raybestos z-pack, not so much with the alto set they have really thin steels and dont handle heat very well

did they say anything about a beast sun shell? what kind of hp you putting out? if not much i would say the 5 pin planets are maybe a little overkill depending on your situation, usually they are more for high hp or major abuse applications. at the same time they are a very good improvement to the 700, they do a good job of distributing the torque better. i am running them in mine, but i also have my foot on the floor a lot and have a 6000lb truck w/ 42's so it all depends on how hard you're planning on beating it and how much hp you are running.

depending on what they do to the pump the corvette servo will or wont give you too hard of shifts. usually they turn out really good though with the amount of pressure most shift kits bump it to.

the 3-4 clutches i would definatly go for because they are a very common thing to go out, did they say what kind of clutches they were putting in? i have personally had really good luck with the raybestos z-pack, not so much with the alto set they have really thin steels and dont handle heat very well

Thanks a bunch for your thoughts. I will see what brand of parts they are using and see about a "beast sun shell" is that one of the hubs?? they are replacing those to accomodate the 5 pinion planetaries as I understand...

As far as use, I am into the throttle a lot, not a ton of HP but we pull a 4000 lb boat and want something that can take years of fun off road without worrying about it crapping out. I just wanted to make sure the price was fair too...

did they say anything about a beast sun shell?


i have personally had really good luck with the raybestos z-pack, not so much with the alto set they have really thin steels and dont handle heat very well

YES the BEAST is going in...
YES the Z-pack is going in also...
Servo change is cheap so it's going it too... why not do it all??!
:D

On the 5 pinion planetaries. See if they are factory or after market. The after market 5 pin planetaries are actually weaker then the factory 4 pinion ones. I've busted one in half in my suburban. Corvette servos are good if the pressures aren't boosted too high otherwise your 1-2 shift will break your neck and chirp the tires every damn time it shifts. That got old fast so I swapped mine back out, but I had a badass pump and higher pressures too.

I had an 86sh? 700R4 rebuilt couple years ago, had the upgraded clutch pack, corvette servo and they also modified the shift plate (sorry, I don't know much about the details) but what I do know is it only lasted 2000 miles before it was fawked... (no warranty form the shop) I later talked with another specialist who informed me the earlier 700R4's were not as good as the later ones (1991-1992 EDIT: correction its 87-92) He said I should not have spend my money to rebuild the older model and secondly if done right the upgrades were not necessary unless running 400+ hp or consistently hauling very large loads.

In addition the most important part was to ensure the kickdown cable was correctly installed and adequate cooling... I thought it was but turns out the only "proper" way to ensure it is correct, is to perform a pressure test. The old "push the pedal all the way to the floor" is not accurate enough.

Like I said above, I'm no tranny mechanic but I've wasted a lot of money in my past. I scrapped the original rebuilt model and purchased a 1992 model from the wreckers with 200,000kms on it... Still running strong to this day behind 350hp:smokin:

check the 700r4's out @ eatmyshift.com..They have built 700r4's with the "monster in a box" kit...If you decide to rebuild it yourself , You may have seen Extreme4x4's episode where they rebuilt a 700r4 with the Monster kit and did the servo, Maybe it will give you some pointers/idesas...

On the 5 pinion planetaries. See if they are factory or after market. The after market 5 pin planetaries are actually weaker then the factory 4 pinion ones. I've busted one in half in my suburban.

yeah forgot to say something bout that, make sure they are using gm planets, i have had problems with the overseas ones. i think that me personally, i would do the planets. with the towing and heavy foot deal, it will be a way stronger trans with that upgrade, plus for me its just peace of mind. if they do stuff right you'll have a good trans for a while.

as far as the sun shell, no its not one of the hubs. the order is input planet, input hub & ring gear, sun shell, reaction sun gear, low/rev pressure plate w/ sprag & race, rear planet, rear hub & ring gear. so its a totally different piece than the hubs

Leyland, its actually the 87-92 700's that are better, just to clear that up. 87 is when they went to the accumulator valve body and the 10 vein pump, other little stuff too but those are the main things that make it a better trans.

Thanks... I'll correct my previous post

leyland, just so you know i wasnt trying to be a jerk or anything i was just trying to clear it up so people would know

:mad3::mad3::mad3:
































Just kidding... I don't give a shit. :flipoff2: Glad you could correct... its better the right information gets out there!