4L80E Rebuild questions (that have not been covered)!

[clinebarger]

I can tell you're using the correct "late" roller clutch, I was just making sure it got locked on the Overrun Clutch Housing (The part with the Roller Ramps) before you laced the OD Carrier into the Overrun Clutches?

I realize this is a picture of the early style OD Roller Clutch, But the assembly steps are almost the same.....The Roller Clutch goes on the Overrun Housing first like shown.

 

[F4k]

I THINK I SEE What you are saying, in my PICTURE they roller clutch is up, out, unseated. Yes that was just because disassembly and I snapped a pic before changing it out just to show old/new parts. So Yes, I put the roller clutch DOWN, just wiggled it onto the ridges like in your pic. I Put the rollers Down the ramps. Then put the housing on and tested the sprag, it locked one direction so I thought it good.


I cant remember how this clip goes to hold the rear lube tube, it has some kind of lip but I had to face it upwards to get it to lock on the tube but idk if its right

Can you verify this plug in the side of the case is fully seated? Is it upside down? I'm not sure which part is the "top"
And also here is another picture of the clip I was just talking about. Does it look right?

Next, I am not sure if the EPC solenoid wire colors are correct. Blue, Purple? Can it be backwards?
And what is with this harness, it seems too short. It's an ASTRA harness. I dont know why some wires are too long and some are too short, did I run it poorly?

And this thing, What is this? It went on the tail shaft. Do I need to re-install it? I'd like to leave it off but the seal scares me

 

[clinebarger]

Your harness is not seated all the way, Did you lube the seal?

Your EPC Solenoid is not clocked correctly, If looking straight at the solenoid with the Valve Body facing up....The connector will be at @ 10 O'clock.

The Lube Tube retainer IS correct.....I don't know why that tab is on there?

That sleeve is for Vented Slip Yokes.....The Yoke will have a small hole on the End Plug. No Vent Hole....No need for that sleeve......If you do have a vent hole in your Yoke......Replace the seal in the sleeve (Included in the Paper & Rubber Kit) & press in back on the Output Shaft.

Picture of a 1999 unit with a Rostra Harness installed........

 

[clinebarger]

The Seal goes on the inside of the Sleeve if it's needed.

 

[F4k]

Are you saying my Driveshaft YOKE (the metal tube) has an end plug inside the end part of it? I am unfamiliar with this, so I am not sure where to look.

Next, there is an O-ring on the outside of the sleeve, but you are saying that there is ALSO a seal on the INSIDE of the sleeve? I will have to check that also.

 

[clinebarger]

Vented Slip Yokes will have a small hole in the end plug (picture, arrow), The Sleeve on the Output Shaft is to prevent ATF from leaking past the Splines & out the vent hole in the yoke.

I don't know why someone would install the seal on the outside of the Sleeve....It installs on the Inside to seal around the Outside Diameter of the Slip Yoke.

 

[F4k]

thanks for all the help. My yolk didnt have any hole in the end. It also doesn't have a place for any seal. I did however seat the seal inside the little "cover" and the yolk went into it, with some pressure. But in the end I just removed the seal and put the "shell" metal piece back on like I found it. I Put the trans back in the car but didnt finish hooking it up. My god that was a lot of work. I haven't been so dirty in a while. never doing that again, next time I will just pull the engine trans together as a unit.

 

[F4k]

Finally got a chance to bolt up the converter, put in driveshaft, and Drove it for the first time last night! What a rush. No leaks no strange noises, good.

Shifts feel realllyyy good. I went .095" 2nd, .105" 3rd, and .125" 4th. Has a really nice 'spring' to it now, shifts feeling positive, it really needed this.

Thanks for all the help I really would have been lost without all the information you provide. The main reason I was able to get the trans apart and back together quickly was because I read all of your posts throughout the years, taking notes, and finally it came down to this.


"It's alot of work" is an understatement. I have around 100 hours of labor into my one transmission, and no major hold ups (no runs to the auto store or missing parts, I had everything ready). It was very time consuming just to clean every square unit area, I spent alot of time just sanding, washing, polishing scrubbing "finishing" surfaces, especially removing casting flaws from inside the case and protecting parts from rust. Putting it together to check end plays and then taking it apart again- without scratching or banging any of the parts around. Being sure every lube orifice was filed smooth from burrs and lined up and every bearing face correctly and each bushing is perfectly round and pressed level...

It is very easy to miss something. My hands are torn to shreds, top and bottom. I've worked on cars for 20 years and this is one of the worst hand-abusers I've ever encountered. Shaft splines soaked in ATF seems like it was made to pull skin apart... and I wore gloves through most of it. DIY ftw

 

[F4k]

 

[clinebarger]

Good job......It's gets easier with repetition. The car you put this in IS??

 

[F4k]

Glad you asked

Its very quiet when it wants to be

 

[clinebarger]

Very cool.......Would've liked to got the chance to build a 4L65E for it, Just to show off

 

[F4k]

Very cool.......Would've liked to got the chance to build a 4L65E for it, Just to show off

A 4l60e or anything in that rotating weight range, is truly ideal for my car. The little Nissan is very light, and I don't use any Tbrake.
But I do not have the skills, space, or patience (even with GREAT help) to attempt a one-off 4l6xe rebuild, I wish. I will in the future if ever reach an opportunity, if you feel up to baby sit me while I fumble and struggle with surface finish on a grand scale.

For now I will have to accept the roughly 3 to 4hp loss of the 4l80e (and resulting 3-4 mpg loss for cruising) Because with very little modification, 4l80e can handle alot of abuse, and I am very demanding driver and impatient to put things into service which is not good when building something as delicate and intricate as a automatic transmission.

The 4l80e, to me is like a beginner transmission, perfect for first timers, its massive, parts inside seem difficult to damage, snap rings are easier to deal with because they are larger and easier to grab, valvebody seems simple and robust. I didn't have any trouble with the valves or roll pins. Nothing broke and slowed me down from ordering and waiting to replace broken parts. None of the snap rings gave me what I would call significant trouble. I was impressed with the 4l80e's ability to make me feel like I knew what I was doing. The sheer size of everything really helps and within a very short time I was able to remember which bearing and which direction, how think each thrust is, how parts 'felt' and whether it was normal or not.

I even put in the AFL upgrade from trans-go which uses a reamer tool... without managing to damage anything.
I was amazed at how resistant the 4l80e is to my harsh nature.

 

[vivaUkraine]

@F4k, very impressive: car and your endeavor to rebuild transmission for the first time in your life. When the time comes in the distant future, I want to do the same with my old M-B's 722.3 transmission. Will be my first attempt

What structural reinforcements your car required to handle the power? I assume the body-flex is pronounced in stock form

 

[F4k]

Luckily The OEM IRS 240sx suspension is intended for a much heavier car, it is the same differential VLSD used in an Infinty Q45 for example (V8 'luxury' style car). The chassis is actually called a Silvia in Japan and they are all slightly over-engineered with respect to suspension because both main factories (nissan and toyota) feature OEM parts which are already high performance in nature, tested for generations.

Right now I am using OEM shocks/subframe/bushings in the rear. There is a very pronounced sudden torque from the V8 engine, it can provide an instant 250-300ft*lbs minimum at any RPM in any gear and pull the front of the car nicely to get a solid weight transfer to the rear, to plant the tires, I have very little wheel spin problems (usually I have to WANT the tires to spin). Using all OEM geometry
So as far as the rear end goes, nothing is done except the camber arms to fix tire camber due to using 27-28" Tall tires so the tire wears evenly

As far as the front end suspension and mid body there are some key areas to weld up, "seam weld" but I have not done it yet. The 240 also needs a "nismo power brace" support between front control arms. It also needs some kind of front and rear "bash bar" so people can wreck into it when its parked somewhere. The use of a special 'tube frame' core support area is an option but does not seem necessary for just 600-800hp range, I've tuned alot of 240s in that range with all original suspension that do fine. The LS isn't that much heavier than the original Iron 4-cylinder. In fact I believe the L33 5.3L engine is lighter than the original 4-cylinder from the 240. The 4l80e transmission is easily an extra 150lbs but it sits down very low and center in the car which I believe helps to stabilize the vehicle at high speeds. It "feels" like a nice heavy car sitting down low to the road. that is why I refer to my car as a '4l80e' car , remember they put these 80's into Hummers and 4x4 trucks it really has its own presence.


So short answer is, I have almost nothing done, it drives straight and the tires are lasting a very long time... I am loathe to do much to it. I don't notice any terrible flex and the steering is like stock, meaning, it has a little deficiency when you push the car into a corner hard, better under steer than over I guess. The Nissan Original parts are meant for like a 4000lb vehicle so it handles this drivetrain easily. But definitely all street 240 should get a power brace and some kind of bash bar bumper at the least.

 

[F4k]

Thanks again,

To see everything I've done to this 5.3 4l80e Turbo car, build threads:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/other-cars/4109370-5-3-4l80e-240sx-3000lbs-college-budget.html
https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/d-1996-nissan-240sx-lsx-4l80e-turbo-daily-driver.2559833/

coming soon for the car I hope is A/C, frame mods, potential welding
the 'dark side' of hobbyist performance, the least important and yet most crucial aspect of having a 500+rwhp vehicle as a daily is cold and hot air coming from the vents on queue. "Powerful climate control" is the darkest utterance of a performance era.


bought a first trial compressor yesterday lets see if it can fit where I think it might
The only thing besides fitment I haven't figured out is how to integrate the high and low pressure switches from the hot and cold lines of the A/C system. I think the 411 ecu has a single input for high pressure but I dont recall a low pressure signal input...
If I just use a pressure sensor to cut the compressor circuit the ECU will still think the A/C is on so the idle speed will be high in theory.

not worried about it