[ASE Doc]

That is a very good article. It causes me a little confusion as it seems to counter what I understand about the accumulator valve. I was under the impression that the accumulator valve, in the 700R4 anyway, controls exhaust from the separator plate side of the accumulator. I was given the impression, by someone who's knowledge I place great faith in, that installing a lighter spring allows more accumulator action and therefore produces a milder light throttle shift while producing a firmer full throttle shift. This seems to fit my interpretation of the hydraulic schematic.

The trans had been built with a corvette servo, a stiff accumulator valve spring, and a weird high coil count spring in the 1-2 accumulator that only allowed partial movement. The result was a 1-2 bang shift at light throttle. Above 1/4 throttle, the 1-2 shift was perfect. The 2-3 shift was great at light throttle and full throttle, but was a little soft at mid throttle, thus the stiffer line bias spring to hold line pressure a little better through 3/4 throttle. The trans already had many great upgrades, such as the Sonnax line boost kit with .500 TV boost valve, corvette governor that produced 6,000 rpm full throttle upshifts and allowed me to manual shift at 6,500. The changes I made to the 2nd gear package will, I hope produce a firm but reasonable light throttle 1-2 shift and a rock solid 1-2 shift at any more than 1/3 throttle. For the 2-3 and 3-2 shift I hope for the same thing. I also installed the Transgo high rev springs for the 3-4 clutch to help with high revs in 2nd gear. There are several other upgrades to this new trans that I will list once it's all done and tested. If it doesn't work the way I planned it, I will just have to drop the pan and make changes.

[TexasT]

The .125 size in the 2nd hole might be too large. Might want to scale that back to the .092 since you have that size bit.

I'm not sure on the 700r4 accumulator valve and it may be different than the 2004r. I do know the trick for the 2004r is to replace the linebias valve with a stiffer spring and put the line bias spring in the accumulator valve. At least that is what I am doing.

[Kawabuggy]

One thing I would like to make note of here about the line bias valve spring.. It has been my experience that blocking the line bias valve & raising line pressure on the EARLY 700's (82 through early '86 Non-aux) can have some seriously detrimental effects.

I can recall having blocked the line bias valve in an '85 trans and it made it hyper-sensitive to accelerator pedal movement. By that I mean if you bumped the gas pedal a bit, it would instantly down-shift to the next lower gear. The vehicle was almost undriveable as it had some really weird issues with shifting & holding gear. As soon as I un-blocked the line bias valve, the problems magically went away. I have never had that happen with 2nd gen. 700's, but have experienced it on numerous other occasions with the 1st gens. This is one of the reasons I stopped building the 1st gen 700's for performance applications. I found that my attempts at raising line pressure by way of boost valve, blocking line bias valve, & stiffer pump pressure regulator spring over-powered (over-pressured?) the valve body and basically rendered them non-operational or gave them super-funky shift characteristics. I never tried one of the re-programming kits that are available though and probably should have. Due to the other short-comings in the 1st. gens. I just stuck to 2nd. gens for performance apps.

Those of you with 1st gen. 700's be careful what you do with those VB's as they are a bit picky in my experience. The 2nd gens will work with blocked line-bias valves no problem. If you are modifying a 1st. gen. KEEP the original springs in case you have to go back in with them.

[ASE Doc]

Thanks Kawabuggy for posting on blocking the line bias valve. I don't know for sure what gen my 700R4 is. The car is an 87, the trans code is MXM, which isn't even an option for my car's year model. The valve body was obviously replaced in the overhaul 25K miles ago because it's brand new.

As it happens, everything worked out just about perfect. I finished the build and installed the unit this past Saturday and on two road tests I have been very pleased with it's behavior. The light throttle bang shift I used to have from 1-2 is gone. Now the light throttle shift is firm and solid but not harsh. The shift is progressively firmer with throttle pressure as it should be and above half throttle it is quick and confident. The 2-3 shift is the same, firm but pleasant at light throttle and firmer as the throttle is depressed further.

One thing I want to mention is the 3-2 and 2-1 shift with the Superior servo. I have not noticed any clunkiness in the shift. I just barely hear the servo clicking against the sealing piston(no cushion spring) but there is no unpleasant shift feel. Both shifts are quick and clean and I don't mind the click sound. It just adds character.

One thing though and a point of concern for anyone planning on overhauling their 700R4, I really wish now that I had replaced my rear planet. The gear teeth all looked good and the pinion gears and shafts were all solid. Still, as I assembled everything, I noticed what seemed like excessive gear lash between the rear sun and pinions. Now that the unit is back in, I hear the same noise Ive always heard since this unit was built 14 years ago as I wind up the motor in 1st and 2nd. I know now that it's the rear planet growling.

Even if it seems okay, replace this gear set when you're in there. Now I'm going to have to go back in. I'll wait til next winter and since I know everything else is solid, I can just go in quickly on a one day R&R at the shop and swap out the rear gear set. I'll save up and go with a 5 pinion AC Delco unit. I have heard that the aftermarket 5 pinions aren't worth bothering with.

[Kawabuggy]

ASE doc, typically when the low planet set is bad it will make a high pitched whine in 1st gear only, and the noise will immediately stop as soon as it shifts into 2nd gear. If you have a noise that spans both gears you may have something else going on.

[ASE Doc]

Thank you again Kawabuggy. The noise is a barely audible oscillating growl, like a bearing or gear set. It could be the front planet I guess, but the front planet is in excellent condition. The thrust bearings are all brand new as well, except of course for the captured bearings in both planets. I was wondering if the rear planet could cause a noise in second gear. I knew at one time what the combination of planets was for first, second, and overdrive, but I forget.

[ASE Doc]

An update on this thread for anyone who happens on it looking for information: The noise it turns out is there in 3rd gear as well which means it must be a bearing or some such thing. I won't worry about it for now since it is barely noticable and the trans is working beautifully.