4t60e Performance Options?

[Schmieder]

1996 Grand Prix SE with T04E .50 Turbo

What can I do for my 4t60e trans with out removing the trans from the engine and engine bay?

I already have an external cooler and adj vac modulator. Will be placing washers in the 1>2 and 2>3 accumulators soon. Aside from those options, what else can I do? CHeaper DIY mods are preferred but I will spring for the cost if needed.

ATF temps are great, no need to cool the ATF further. Line Pressure is also set just right.

Removing the trans from the engine bay is not an option right now.

My goal is to make the trans stronger and perform better with the addition of the turbo installed a few months ago.

Thanks Guys, btw, the paint job is almost done. A few more polishing rounds and she will be finished. Videos and Pics soon.

[gpse3400]

You'll have to pull the side pan cover if you want to do more....if you have the adjustable modulator and you are shimming the accumulator springs (which I reccommend going all the way with), then you are pretty much set. You could also get the rear engine mount with engine/ transmission brace from a 3.4 tdc engine. It will replace your current rear brace but it will virtually quell wheel hop since you will have your main engine mount and that rear mount as well. While you are there, replace your main engine and transmission mount with a solid rubber one. Use this with your torque struts and you will have a stiffly mounted drivetrain. the mounts you can get online, napa is a good place, the brace will have to be salvaged.

[Schmieder]

You'll have to pull the side pan cover if you want to do more....if you have the adjustable modulator and you are shimming the accumulator springs (which I reccommend going all the way with), then you are pretty much set.

May I ask what you mean "going all the way with?"

I have 1.5"OD x 0.625"ID washers. The 1>2 Acc. Washers will be stacked 1/4" thick and the 2>3 Acc Washers will be stacked 3/8" thick.

I am still fine tuning the Adj Vac Modulator but I am in the ball park. What would be a good slip rate? I have HP tuner so I can record the Trans input RPM versus the output RPM. As of now I am using the butt dyno to tune the Adj Vac Mod.

Thanks

[gpse3400]

What I mean is you should shim the accumulators all the way. Till the pistons have little to no movement. Also the vacuum modulators should be tuned till you cant hear the transmission pump any more, and then till it stop banging into gear from park to reverse or park to drive.

[RedZMonte]

Without pulling the trans not a lot more you can do.. Most of the upgrades are internal.... harden reaction shell, 4th clutch Hub thingy, clutch packs, ect...

I would suggest doing a fresh fluid and filter change w/ synthetic Dex III or go all out to Dex VI. I had bad luck with the Adjustable modulator on my rebuild... kept sticking and burning up 3rd gear clutches, swaped back to stock OE modulator and havnt had a problem sense. Any pics you wanna share?

[gpse3400]

I do beleive the make a special modulator for boosted setups now that I think of it.....

[Schmieder]

What I mean is you should shim the accumulators all the way. Till the pistons have little to no movement. Also the vacuum modulators should be tuned till you cant hear the transmission pump any more, and then till it stop banging into gear from park to reverse or park to drive.

The vacuum modulator has been adjusted, tested, adjusted, tested, ect until I have a good shift feel. I did find a vac leak in the trans vac line (reason for the banging shift IMO). Now the shifts a firm but not harsh.

As far as the shims are concerned, I read the 1>2 should be 1/4" shim and 2>3 3/8" shim. I'm not doubting you, just wondering if shimming all the way would cause issues as that is what others have said in write ups. Your advise there is appreciated, thanks.

Without pulling the trans not a lot more you can do.. Most of the upgrades are internal.... harden reaction shell, 4th clutch Hub thingy, clutch packs, ect...

I would suggest doing a fresh fluid and filter change w/ synthetic Dex III or go all out to Dex VI. I had bad luck with the Adjustable modulator on my rebuild... kept sticking and burning up 3rd gear clutches, swaped back to stock OE modulator and havnt had a problem sense. Any pics you wanna share?

Fluid and Filter change done, using synthetic ATF. My vac mod set up is interesting.....I have the adjustable mod tuned where I like it. I also have an adj bleed valve after the check valve to help relieve vacuum when the check valve closes in boost. I had a feeling the vacuum was persistent with the check valve in place, as it wasn't letting the vac line go atmospheric when it closed under boost conditions. The way it is tuned now works great, needs no more adjusting.

I have no up to date pics yet and its is raining hard atm. I will get pics today for you guys as I have made great progress with the paint job. I used Acrylic Lacquer Gloss followed with rubbing compound then Acrylic Lacquer gloss clear, more rubbing compound followed with polishing compound. The reflection is sharp, I can see my face in the paint job I'm still applying polish compound until the shine is where I want it then I will apply a nice wax job to finish. Big difference since the last pics I posted months ago.

I do beleive the make a special modulator for boosted setups now that I think of it.....

Cool, I have to look that up.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________--

As of now everything is great, she boosts up quick, MBC working well (no noticable boost spikes) and I fixed the BOV issue. It was chattering like a turkey when it should release pressures at throttle closing. Even at full slack (adj thread) it still did it. So I took it apart, found 2 springs and removed the weaker of the 2. Set the adj mid-way and it works great now, no turkey calling. Just a straight forward Psshhhhh after boost, no leaks. I figured the BOV was built for higher boost levels as I am running max 8psi now.

I only have one issue I need to fix. I have an exhaust leak after the turbo compressor. It just had to be in the hard to reach spot by the firewall. Requiring me to take the plenum, coils, ect off to get to it. Due to the limited space I had, the exhaust will not come out until other items are removed.

I had a small misfire at 3500rpm+ but dropped the spark gap 0.035 from 0.045 and solved that issue. I also had moved the MAF 1 foot from the throttle body and it seemed to help stabilize the AFR during idle. It used to bounce between 14.8-14.2 as now it stays in between 14.7-14.5. Though I need to inspect my welds since the car has been driven daily for 3 months or so along with inspecting other stuff since I have an exhaust leak. I can smell it, hear it and see it with seafoam added to smoke the exhaust and show the leak area. Time to fire up the welder.

btw, I turn 32 today

[robertisaar]

as long as that leak is not before or close to the O2, i wouldn't even worry about it... or at least it would be a minor thing to me.

[Schmieder]

as long as that leak is not before or close to the O2, i wouldn't even worry about it... or at least it would be a minor thing to me.

I agree but,

I can smell it in the cab and I had lymphoma years back...I don't want to breath that crap in, especially since I had radiation to the chest. Summer time is ok but when winter comes it can possibly build up. I'm cured now and I like to keep it that way Besides, it's a pride thing. I like a well oiled, smooth running machine, no flaws.

My wideband seems to be off by 0.5-0.1 AFR (it fluctuates now) so I believe it is close to the wideband (but not the NB because she runs just fine and the PCM isn't adjusting as if there was a leak by the NB)

[Schmieder]

Without pulling the trans not a lot more you can do.. Most of the upgrades are internal.... harden reaction shell, 4th clutch Hub thingy, clutch packs, ect...

I would suggest doing a fresh fluid and filter change w/ synthetic Dex III or go all out to Dex VI. I had bad luck with the Adjustable modulator on my rebuild... kept sticking and burning up 3rd gear clutches, swaped back to stock OE modulator and havnt had a problem sense. Any pics you wanna share?

No pics yet. Camera Batteries are dead. Until then enjoy this video I made today. I had to put the microphone in the engine bay or else you wouldn't hear much at all. It is quiet in the cab and the microphone doesn't pick up as much as the human ear can.

http://60degreev6.com/forum/showthre...925#post423925

[gpse3400]

The vacuum modulator has been adjusted, tested, adjusted, tested, ect until I have a good shift feel. I did find a vac leak in the trans vac line (reason for the banging shift IMO). Now the shifts a firm but not harsh.

As far as the shims are concerned, I read the 1>2 should be 1/4" shim and 2>3 3/8" shim. I'm not doubting you, just wondering if shimming all the way would cause issues as that is what others have said in write ups. Your advise there is appreciated, thanks.

Fluid and Filter change done, using synthetic ATF. My vac mod set up is interesting.....I have the adjustable mod tuned where I like it. I also have an adj bleed valve after the check valve to help relieve vacuum when the check valve closes in boost. I had a feeling the vacuum was persistent with the check valve in place, as it wasn't letting the vac line go atmospheric when it closed under boost conditions. The way it is tuned now works great, needs no more adjusting.

I have no up to date pics yet and its is raining hard atm. I will get pics today for you guys as I have made great progress with the paint job. I used Acrylic Lacquer Gloss followed with rubbing compound then Acrylic Lacquer gloss clear, more rubbing compound followed with polishing compound. The reflection is sharp, I can see my face in the paint job I'm still applying polish compound until the shine is where I want it then I will apply a nice wax job to finish. Big difference since the last pics I posted months ago.


Cool, I have to look that up.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________--

As of now everything is great, she boosts up quick, MBC working well (no noticable boost spikes) and I fixed the BOV issue. It was chattering like a turkey when it should release pressures at throttle closing. Even at full slack (adj thread) it still did it. So I took it apart, found 2 springs and removed the weaker of the 2. Set the adj mid-way and it works great now, no turkey calling. Just a straight forward Psshhhhh after boost, no leaks. I figured the BOV was built for higher boost levels as I am running max 8psi now.

I only have one issue I need to fix. I have an exhaust leak after the turbo compressor. It just had to be in the hard to reach spot by the firewall. Requiring me to take the plenum, coils, ect off to get to it. Due to the limited space I had, the exhaust will not come out until other items are removed.

I had a small misfire at 3500rpm+ but dropped the spark gap 0.035 from 0.045 and solved that issue. I also had moved the MAF 1 foot from the throttle body and it seemed to help stabilize the AFR during idle. It used to bounce between 14.8-14.2 as now it stays in between 14.7-14.5. Though I need to inspect my welds since the car has been driven daily for 3 months or so along with inspecting other stuff since I have an exhaust leak. I can smell it, hear it and see it with seafoam added to smoke the exhaust and show the leak area. Time to fire up the welder.

btw, I turn 32 today

Turbo Grand Prixs had a special modulator If I am not mistaken, if you can find the adjustable one for that...

I never had any issues with shimming the accumulators to maximum. If anything I had to readjust the modulator.