Let's talk about the 440-T4

[LeftVentricle]

I posted in the sticky but later realized that wasn't the place for this. I'd like to discuss what seems like the bastard child of GM's FWD transmission family, the 440-T4 (RPO ME9). My Celebrity has one, and while it's great for cruising—even with a 3.33 FDR I return 28 mpg highway—it doesn't seem to be long for this world. I haven't exactly been treating it like the previous owners, ie OLD PEOPLE. Not only that, there's a world of difference between Sin City and BFE, Iowa, both climactically and traffic-wise.

I'd like to know what kind of power they can handle in stock form. I'd also like to know how to go about building one to withstand the insane city traffic of Las Vegas with the occasional foray to the open drag races. I was leaning towards an EP LSD, but having heard some recent stories of waiting months for transmissions to come back from them...

So let's chew the fat: the good, bad and ugly about the 440-T4.

[LeftVentricle]

No one wants to bite?

[torq455]

wow. i replied a while ago. weird...they can handle a bit of power even stock, but a much needed bump in line pressure to firm up the shifts and so the clutches will have more holding power. the next thing should be a good tranny oil cooler. B&M's are great. the fluid is hottest right out of the converter which goes right out to the cooler. I believe that EP's LSD's are good, however, they take forever to build and then ship them. I was a very squeaky wheel and eventually requested a refund. I got mine after 4 months. Others ordered last year in April and still haven't gotten theirs. Frankster on v6z24.com is working on the LSD thing. Talk to him. You can change your shift points some by adjusting the TV cable. Doing so will affect line pressure some too. I'm sure there are shift correction or improvement kits out there for that dinosaur. The 440T4 was also behind the 3800's too, so they can handle what they put out. Say 190HP and 215TQ ish?

[3100 MPFI]

I have not built one, but I know stock, they are really reliable. My original tranny in my gold car (1988 Cutlass Supreme) was the 440-T4, and it lasted 313,368 miles until I pulled it out. It did have some problems at that time, but I still had all my forward gears, and reverse. All it was doing was when it was COLD (sat overnight), then when you took off in the morning, it didn't like to go from FIRST into SECOND. If you let it warm up, it was fine, and once it went into second, it didn't do it again until it had sat overnight again.

All in all, it never left me stranded, and I will be honest when I say that I did NOT take care of it.

[gpse3400]

They are the predessesor of the 4t60E. the old 440s were a bit more complicated in their hydraulic operation otherwise pretty much all the similar if not the same in most respects. as far as power flow, clutches and bands, all is the same except the band that holds the reaction sun, and the reaction sun itself. The 440 has the same strength as a 4t60E.

[Superdave]

the 440T-4 weighs 192lbs FYI...

[torq455]

yeah, tell me about it! that 90 lbs. i took of my Z last summer...well, after adding the 4T65E, i put it back on plus a little extra. at least it all over the front tires so that should help traction some.

[bszopi]

Your Z24? I don't think the Z24 ever came with a 440T4. They were probably the same as the Beretta, which had the 3T40E up until 94, when it was switched over to the 4T60E.

[IsaacHayes]

Actually the 4T60-E was the first "E" trans the berettas got. The older 3 speeds in 93 and older were kick down cable controlled 3T40. Z24 never had a 4 speed auto, only 3T40 or 282 5spd even in 94 since they still had 3.1mpfi.

[bszopi]

Oops... Accidentally added the E to the 3T40.

[torq455]

Brad--you miss read. i have the 4T65E, not the 440T4. i used to have the 125C which in those years it was that or the 5 spd stick.

[bszopi]

I was just going by order of posts... Dave posted the weight of a 440-T4, and then you posted that you removed weight from the Z, therefore I correlated the 2. I figured you'd know better, but I know I've made plenty of errors in postings over the years.

[torq455]

well everybody interperets things differently, though i should have specified the weight loss was from removing useless parts, not from changing transmission. my bad.

[LeftVentricle]

I've noticed a lack of an article about the 440T4 in the wiki. I'm not really surprised though, since Wikipedia doesn't say a hell of a lot about it either. It's not even listed in its own article; it's a subsection of the TH125 article.

[TurboGTU]

the 440-t4/4t60 isn't too bad. But your going to have to beef it up to at least the Turbo GP specs which had about the stoutest 4t60. Forget the F7 they don't say much about it. The GP had hardened Diff (95 or 96 z34 had the last of the hardened units), sunshell, more cluches in 2nd, high element sprag, two clutch 4th, and a turbo specific valvebody (linepressure i assume).

The weak 440-t4 that had only 4! cluches in 2nd is good for 160lbs tq all day. Think 3t40
The stronger units (caddy, TGP) were good for at least 200-250lbs tq all day.

The early units shifted into 4th at high speeds even if you didn't want it to. The late 4t60s corrected that problem and never shifted into 4th at WOT and lasted abusing owners longer.

taxi cab driving (stop-n-go) will weare out a trans faster than daily or performance driving.
To beef up the 4t60 to race spec you'll need a late 4t60 since early units didn't have the 2nd cluch drum like the late units and 4t60-e. What you can do to a 4t60-e you can do to a 4t60. Using 03+ 4t65 2nd drum,sun shell, planets, diode sprag. You'll need to retain your 4th cluch hub and cluches. You'll also need to reuse your differential and carrier, parking paw assem, and use either the 4t60 bands or check to see if the 4t60-e/4t65 bands fit the 65 drum. 4t60 went to alot of changes so you'll have to check for your unit. Have your tq converter rebuilt and brazed. Rebuilt your valve body completely and shim or intall high tension springs in the accumulators. You can used the Raybestos z-pack and high static tans on the clutches or blueplates or whatever to make it last.

I have an idea of cutting off the end of the trans where the differential is weld the 60-e piece so it can have a serviceable differential. Maybe use the 65HD differential and case.


heres the pic of the 2nd drum carier difference form early unit and the 4t65,

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/TurboGTU/4t65vs440t4/Picture051.jpg

Diffrences about the 44t4 4t65

http://www.tgpforums.com/index.php?topic=3300.0