95' Junker Drag Truck

[Blueboy]

Phil and I have been talking, a triple disk torque converter will find it's way into my transmission very soon!




Good to know, I may have to re-investigate a shortbed conversion.

I made my cr into a short bed.
The only cost was 25 gal fuel tank from salvage yard, $60.00
Had drive shaft cut down, with new steel shaft, $112.00
Sold my long bed and bought short bed, same money.
I made fish plates, and did all the work myself. Doing
it yourself wont cost you that much. Took me 2 weekends
start to finish.

 

[Big Blue24]

Time for a brief update:

I haven't worked on the Junker for a few weeks.

A new triple disk torque converter came in the mail today! Phil Taylor of Diesel Performance Converters built this new torque converter with a slightly less than stock stall.

My plan is to tear down the transmission, inspect and/or replace any clutches or hard parts showing extreme wear, and then reinstall everything with this new torque converter.

I also received some new governor springs and plan to install those as well. I plan to run the truck with no changes other than a new torque converter and refreshed transmission with a little more line pressure. Then I plan to add the 5K governor springs and proceed from there with upgrades such as full cut delivery valves.

Looks like UPS beat up the box a little in transit and scratched the fresh paint... still looks a little too nice to go in the Junker, I'm sure it'll have plenty of scratches by the time it rolls under the truck a few times during installation.

 

[RJM06590]

Don't want to throw some upgraded clutches in there while you have it apart? I love this, I want to put a 12 valve in a first gen lightening, but it will be a junker build.

 

[Big Blue24]

Don't want to throw some upgraded clutches in there while you have it apart? I love this, I want to put a 12 valve in a first gen lightening, but it will be a junker build.

I don't want to sound too confident, but I don't anticipate finding burned up clutches. I increased the clutch count on all of the clutch packs when I built this tranny so I anticipate just normal wear and tear. I do know that the low/reverse band is toast but that happened when I first rebuilt the tranny and the valve body worked it's way loose.

When the current single disk converter lost lock-up, it also caused a 25-30 psi dip in line pressure when I command lock-up so I think there will be some additional wear from me making passes with lock-up engaged but no lock-up.

 

[BlackSkyRacing]

Nice, about time you put a decent converter in there... Next weak point will definitely be the Input. Might not be a bad idea to drop the VB and swap out the Lock-up vent plate with one that has a smaller hole :Cheer:

BTW, did I miss how you are keeping your poor head gasket in one piece?? My stocker didn't much care for 60+ psi (my gauge only goes to 50 and it was way pegged out).

 

[loganp]

Did you have a boost leak last time you were at the track? I heard rumors of massive quantities of black smoke and 15 second ET's

 

[Trimmy1]

I love this build... has me looking for a cheap 2wd 12v to build myself...

 

[Big Blue24]

Nice, about time you put a decent converter in there... Next weak point will definitely be the Input. Might not be a bad idea to drop the VB and swap out the Lock-up vent plate with one that has a smaller hole :Cheer:

BTW, did I miss how you are keeping your poor head gasket in one piece?? My stocker didn't much care for 60+ psi (my gauge only goes to 50 and it was way pegged out).

The head and gasket is stock with 245K miles. I overtorqued the head bolts to 150 ft lbs. I did not loosen or lube, just tightened them in 5 lb increments.

Did you have a boost leak last time you were at the track? I heard rumors of massive quantities of black smoke and 15 second ET's

Last time out, I didn't have lock-up. First pass was 13.75 and it wasn't loading the motor enough to get full boost so it was pretty smokey.

I then hot-lapped the truck about 15 minutes later and the tranny fluid was really warm. That resulted in a poor 15 second pass and only about 26 psi boost.

Third pass was a hot-lap as well about 25 minutes later and the tranny pan was still too hot to hold my hand on (I don't have a tranny temp gauge). That resulted in an even slower 15.8 second smokey pass and about 20 psi boost.

The single disk torque converter was built looser than stock and customized to help spool up a large single turbo with an oversized exhaust housing. When the fluid is warm and the lock-up clutch is toast, it just didn't provide enough load to make boost.

I have already checked the turbine wheel and wastegate on the He351 and it's just fine so I don't think I damaged a turbine wheel. It was just a lack load causing the low boost and therefore smokey passes.

I have not yet pressure tested the intake system so it is possible there is a boost leak, but upon visual inspection, all boots and connections are perfectly intact.

 

[npe3484]

Who's 5k GSK are you going with? I'm interested to see if that makes any difference in your times considering you shift (I assume) well below 4k.

 

[Big Blue24]

As far as lock-up plate on the valvebody, I still have the stock one in my parts bin. I installed an aftermarket one with a .090" hole when I first built the tranny (because it came with an integral retainer for the lock-up vent spring). Transgo's instructions tell you to enlarge it to the range of .085" to .110" or something like that.

I purposely didn't go as large as possible to to help reduce shock-load during lock-up and hopefully keep the stock input shaft intact as long as possible.

I did acquire a second flexplate that I'm going to get machined so i can run a dual flexplate setup. The input should be the weak link this time around but for now, it's going to stay until it breaks (unless of course it has a huge twist, in which it will be replaced with a back-up stock input shaft because I can't afford billet at this time).

 

[Big Blue24]

Who's 5k GSK are you going with? I'm interested to see if that makes any difference in your times considering you shift (I assume) well below 4k.

The springs came new from Darren Morrison (Pro Street Diesel).

I do shift well below 4K, but the current pacbrake GSK seems to start to cut back fueling around 3250 to 3300 rpm(free rev to about 4200).

Once I'm in overdrive with my small 27" slicks, I can feel the truck nose over around 106-108 MPH.

The only thing I hope to gain with new governor springs is a few tenths and a lot of MPH so I can get a better feel for how much horsepower this setup is making.

In talking with Darren and Phil, this 160 pump is never going to make gobs of horsepower above 3800-3900 RPM, these 5.5k springs will simply let the pump fuel to it's mechanical limits based on cam profile and plunger fill time, not based on the governor.

The only real downside is if I break a tranny part under full load, these springs will let the engine rev to the moon and could cause catastrophic failure immediately. (Good think this heap is only worth a few thousand dollars!)

 

[rockjeep73]

Might not be a bad idea to drop the VB and swap out the Lock-up vent plate with one that has a smaller hole :Cheer:

Can I ask why you recommend a smaller hole? Reason I am curious is because I have heard the same thing from other people.

 

[kscummins]

The smaller hole = less abrupt lockup. By keeping the lockup event fairly mild you can help the stock input last a little longer. This hole doesn't affect the clutch holding pressure, so you can have lots of holding pressure with a mild lockup. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[12vriviera]

I am about to drop my pan to do a governor solenoid and transducer, is the lockup plate steel? Can I weld the hole and drill it out smaller? Mine his like a hammer...

 

[straight 6 roar]

I would like to know about this plate as well.... easy access without removing valvebody? Any advantage to drilling big?

 

[Big Blue24]

I am about to drop my pan to do a governor solenoid and transducer, is the lockup plate steel? Can I weld the hole and drill it out smaller? Mine his like a hammer...

It's steel, you can easily weld it and drill out a smaller hole. Or you can order a new plate with integral spring retainer for $9 from Patc.

I'm holding the stock plate in my hand, and the stock and transgo upgraded spring retainer "H" clips are pictured. The 9$ upgraded plate has an integral spring retainer. Also notice the difference in size between stock and what I drilled this one to around 0.90" I think.

 

[12vriviera]

i think i am gonna pull it and knock it with a ball peen hammer... smash the hole smaller... what springs do the patc plate hold?

 

[Big Blue24]

i think i am gonna pull it and knock it with a ball peen hammer... smash the hole smaller... what springs do the patc plate hold?

The shiny plate in the picture with three torx screws, that's the $9 plate. The plate in my hand is the stock plate that normally goes in that location.

The "H" shaped clips normally fit in a slot in the aluminum and retain the end of the spring pictured. Sometimes, the smaller stock "H" clip comes loose and you loose lock up.

Transgo supplies a bigger "H" clip to help make sure it doesn't fall out.

Another fix is the $9 plate with integral retaining tab as installed in the picture.

 

[12vriviera]

ahh.. very nice.. almost worth the 9 bucks... too bad their electronic parts are so expensive... i found them in town for about 75% of the cost... appreciate the help!

 

[b4ctrooper]

The input should be the weak link this time around but for now, it's going to stay until it breaks (unless of course it has a huge twist, in which it will be replaced with a back-up stock input shaft because I can't afford billet at this time).

Ever considered getting your spare cryoed before putting it in? A friend did that to some rearend parts that he kept overloading and breaking. Never had a prob after that.