Building a 48 re for higher hp

STROKETHISF350

STROKETHISF350

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Sep 1, 2012
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I'm currently gathering parts for my 48 re build and I'm looking for any suggestions or lessons learned while doing so. To start off the transmission was originally built by ats in 2006 but I'm not sure of the history on it as I've only had the truck a few months.
The trans started acting up a while ago and really got bad after I did all my engine/fueling mods, my probems consisted of shift flares and the converter would lock up randomly and not unlock and sometimes stall the truck. I'm not sure why that was happening but I didn't waste anytime getting the trans out to go through it. Upon disassembly I found a twisted output shaft, completely smoked direct clutches with no clutch material left and the od piston retainer and drum were also galled up along with the forward side of the intermediate shaft where the spacer goes.
So with all that said I found that only good about the trans is that it has an Opie input shaft and a dnj gov solenoid. I have been driving myself crazy for the past 2 weeks doing research and trying to decide on which parts to run what clutch counts ect. I have decided to go with a fire punk valve body after talking to Jeremy over there who is a very knowledgeable guy and was great at answering all the questions I had, also I will be running a tcs maraging intermediate and oversized output and sending my converter to Phil at dpc to get rebuilt to his specs. I will also be replacing all bushings, bearings, sprags, ect and running 7 direct clutches and 6 od brake.
My question is will this be sufficent for my truck which is right at 800 hp and will never go over 1000, current mods being stock/s475 twins, 188/220 cam, 100% over fleece injectors, Ppe dual fuelers, ported head, and efi live. The truck is mostly for street and doesn't get driven a lot, it will see the track every once in a while just for fun and tow a trailer here and there.
I'd like to run the billet drum but it's not in the funds right now so that will have to come later is there any thing else I should buy or do to have a stout trans that going to live for many years to come , I'm undecided about a few things including
-extra direct return springs
-heavier od spring
- should I run oem clutch/ band clearances
- do I really need a billet drum for what I'm doing ?
- is there any case mods that will help keep it alive?
I appreciate any help that anyone has to offer and I hop this can serve as a guide to anyone who wants to build there own trans for similar hp goals.


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STROKETHISF350 said:
I'm currently gathering parts for my 48 re build and I'm looking for any suggestions or lessons learned while doing so. To start off the transmission was originally built by ats in 2006 but I'm not sure of the history on it as I've only had the truck a few months.
The trans started acting up a while ago and really got bad after I did all my engine/fueling mods, my probems consisted of shift flares and the converter would lock up randomly and not unlock and sometimes stall the truck. I'm not sure why that was happening but I didn't waste anytime getting the trans out to go through it. Upon disassembly I found a twisted output shaft, completely smoked direct clutches with no clutch material left and the od piston retainer and drum were also galled up along with the forward side of the intermediate shaft where the spacer goes.
So with all that said I found that only good about the trans is that it has an Opie input shaft and a dnj gov solenoid. I have been driving myself crazy for the past 2 weeks doing research and trying to decide on which parts to run what clutch counts ect. I have decided to go with a fire punk valve body after talking to Jeremy over there who is a very knowledgeable guy and was great at answering all the questions I had, also I will be running a tcs maraging intermediate and oversized output and sending my converter to Phil at dpc to get rebuilt to his specs. I will also be replacing all bushings, bearings, sprags, ect and running 7 direct clutches and 6 od brake.
My question is will this be sufficent for my truck which is right at 800 hp and will never go over 1000, current mods being stock/s475 twins, 188/220 cam, 100% over fleece injectors, Ppe dual fuelers, ported head, and efi live. The truck is mostly for street and doesn't get driven a lot, it will see the track every once in a while just for fun and tow a trailer here and there.
I'd like to run the billet drum but it's not in the funds right now so that will have to come later is there any thing else I should buy or do to have a stout trans that going to live for many years to come , I'm undecided about a few things including
-extra direct return springs
-heavier od spring
- should I run oem clutch/ band clearances
- do I really need a billet drum for what I'm doing ?
- is there any case mods that will help keep it alive?
I appreciate any help that anyone has to offer and I hop this can serve as a guide to anyone who wants to build there own trans for similar hp goals.


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Click to expand...

The best investment in a trans is definitely the valvebody. Direct clutches often get smoked with binding 2-3 shifts. A great valvebody with 4 direct clutches will out last a mediocre one with 7 clutches. Firepunk is a good choice along with Goerend and TRE. I don't think you need the billet intermediate unless you're beating the piss out of it with frequent locked shifts. I don't know of the exact clutch and steel thicknesses to use and the backing plate and everything but I imagine Firepunk would help you with that. Clutch tolerances and 2nd gear servo/ratio go hand-in-hand with the valvebody. It'd definitely be worth another call to them.

As far as the other stuff, I know plenty of people that are running stock front drums and OD spring with good power behind them. However I'll admit I've never used a billet drum/HD OD spring or know anyone firsthand that's used one. I don't even think my TRE trans has one but it might have a billet piston. Hopefully someone will chime in.
 
Thanks for the reply . I agree that the vb is the most critical part of the build that's why I have no interest in doing it myself, for what it costs it's not worth taking the chance. As far as the intermediate goes mine needs to be replaced anyways and I figured it's cheap insurance and the maraging intermediate was reccomended by Jeremy along with all the tcs servo and accumulator.


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.025-.035 for a 4 clutch forward pack. .055-.065 for direct, front band 1 7/8 to 2 turns off after torquing to 72 inlbs( or set gap under lever to 1/4"). .090-.110 for OD brake. 025-.040 end play. I'd say your fine with no billet drum but that's your choice.

If you get all the parts from Firepunk they should be able to set you up for a smooth working Trans.


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It seems you are on the right track with everything you have listed. I personally went with Firepunks competition rebuild kit as it was priced well and took alot of guess work out of the equation. I had to clean up the servo bores in my transmission case since there was some galling in them. Also check your overdrive apply piston and housing as those can get chewed up with high miles. I also did the drill mod to get some more oil to the sprag since the area looked pretty dirty and seemed to generally have a lack of oil movement.

I did a lot of measuring and checking of all my clearances in order to insure everything was to spec. The intermediate shaft on mine was tricky. I went through a few spacer combos to get it right. Make sure to change out your belville spring. Mine was weakened from age and allowed the piston to over extend and blow the seal out and then fry my forward clutch.

Those are just a few things in my experience. Hope you get it all figured out and back on the road bud!
 
gman99 said:
It seems you are on the right track with everything you have listed. I personally went with Firepunks competition rebuild kit as it was priced well and took alot of guess work out of the equation. I had to clean up the servo bores in my transmission case since there was some galling in them. Also check your overdrive apply piston and housing as those can get chewed up with high miles. I also did the drill mod to get some more oil to the sprag since the area looked pretty dirty and seemed to generally have a lack of oil movement.

I did a lot of measuring and checking of all my clearances in order to insure everything was to spec. The intermediate shaft on mine was tricky. I went through a few spacer combos to get it right. Make sure to change out your belville spring. Mine was weakened from age and allowed the piston to over extend and blow the seal out and then fry my forward clutch.

Those are just a few things in my experience. Hope you get it all figured out and back on the road bud!
Click to expand...


I appreciate the reply, I planned on drilling the hole for the sprag. Was curious about running the 48 belville spring, I planned to get a new one but there's a lot of talk about people running the one from a 47 because it will hold more pressure. I also plan to run the billet direct piston to get even clutch apply. How many springs did you use in the direct drum I know that stock is 9 I believe, why do people use 15 and do you think there's any benefit go running the extra springs ?


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The true magic is in the line pressure and building the small bits to handle it. If your clearances are good and nothing deforms under application then the actual pressure applied to your frictions dictates your overall holding capacity. The frictions in the competition kit are the same ones in Lavons truck according to the boys
I talked to at firepunk. So really as long as the valve body is set up right and your shafts are up to the task all should be well.

Make sure your lever ratio is the one your valve body was set up for. That could cause some issues.
Big blue24s thread is a great reference to go by. I read that thread myself several times.
 
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