Does this ring on a TH400/4L80 trans output planet carrier press-off?

[BillyGman]

I'm not sure what type of Trans this carrier came from or was for? It has a 5 pinion gear design. And it was sold to me by ATI Racing as being for a TH400 and having a OE 2.48, 1.48, 1.00 ratio. AFAIK there weren't any TH400 from GM that came with anything other than 4 pinion designs. Can this one be from or originally for a 4L80 trans?? I'm told that this ring circled and pointed to in these two photos is some type of "reluctor" ring? As you can see, the extra parking lugs have been machined off of this carrier for making it a little lighter. So why not lighten it a little more by removing this ring that I don't need?

Can this ring be pressed off? I'm guessing that it can. But how to do that? Is there any specific tool for this? If not, the only thing I can think of might be to use several studs underneath a steel ring of some sort. Or would I be better off with a hammer and brass punch? The tech guys@ATI aren't always too easy to reach. Sometimes you get placed on hold, and they never even get to you. And forget about sending them an email question because they just don't reply, period unless they wrote to you first concerning a problem with an order you've placed. And when you do get ahold them on the phone, they aren't usually very knowledgeable about many of their products, (been there/done that). So that's why I posted the questions above. If need be, I'll take this carrier to a local trans shop for some answers.

 

[Shovelrick]

I was going to write take it by a local shop but you already have a plan to do that

 

[BillyGman]

Jake from Jake's Transmissions answered the primary question I posed in this thread, but on another board. As it turns out, he confirmed that the reluctor ring will come off pretty easy with a hammer and brass punch. So when I get a chance I'll go at it. I guess these rings are either hard to get by themselves of maybe they're pretty pricey, because Jake suggested that after I remove it, that I donate it to a local trans shop which builds 4L80 transmissions. So that's what I'll do.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

Jake from Jake's Transmissions answered the primary question I posed in this thread, but on another board. As it turns out, he confirmed that the reluctor ring will come off pretty easy with a hammer and brass punch. So when I get a chance I'll go at it. I guess these rings are either hard to get by themselves of maybe they're pretty pricey, because Jake suggested that after I remove it, that I donate it to a local trans shop which builds 4L80 transmissions. So that's what I'll do.

Automatics are a different animal than most of us want to touch. I watched dealership transmission guys miss one check ball or rolled a seal and have to pull units out again and teardown. When a transmission is apart it looks like a cross between a murder scene and explosion.

 

[BillyGman]

Automatics are a different animal than most of us want to touch. I watched dealership transmission guys miss one check ball or rolled a seal and have to pull units out again and teardown. When a transmission is apart it looks like a cross between a murder scene and explosion.

Yes that's why I was hesitant to tackle this for the first time. But I've done a whole lot of homework, and I think I'm gonna give it a shot. It's definitely not something that I would take lightly and just wing-it. But that wasn't the case when I did my first two ring & pinion gear swaps either. I did my homework before tackling that job too, and it came out perfect both times. The fact that I'll be including a trans brake full manual valve body makes things easier on one hand, ( since there are a few parts that are left out) but more complicated on the other hand, ( since certain things need to be just right, such as the adjustment of the rear servo pin length to avoid the rear band from being too loose or too tight). Hopefully it turns out ok.

There are over 700 parts in a TH400 trans but having two DVD's really helps, and the ATSG manual with it's exploded views that also number and name every single part helps a lot too. I'm not saying that makes me a pro by any means.

 

[BillyGman]

I forgot to update this thread. I took a hammer and a 1/2" brass punch to this carrier and knocked the ring off. It came off fairly easy. Took me 2 or 3 minutes.

 

[Shovelrick]

Automatics are a different animal than most of us want to touch. I watched dealership transmission guys miss one check ball or rolled a seal and have to pull units out again and teardown. When a transmission is apart it looks like a cross between a murder scene and explosion.

When I was 17 I took a C4 apart to try and fix it, couldn't tell a bad part from good since nothing looked bad so started to put it back together and forgot how it came apart so into the trash it went and I bought a supposedly good used trans......that didn't have 2nd gear Billy did anyone say Why it was even there in the first place if it's not needed?

 

[BillyGman]

When I was 17 I took a C4 apart to try and fix it, couldn't tell a bad part from good since nothing looked bad so started to put it back together and forgot how it came apart so into the trash it went and I bought a supposedly good used trans......that didn't have 2nd gear Billy did anyone say Why it was even there in the first place if it's not needed?

Yes, this reluctor ring that I removed is for computer controlled 4L80e transmissions for some type of modern electronic function which I think controls how the trans shifts or something of that nature. I'm building a TH400 but some parts between the two transmissions are interchangeable. This planetary gear carrier was sold to me by ATI Racing, as being for a TH400 and I believe it was taken from an OE 4L80e trans which happened to have 5 pinion gears as opposed to the OE TH400 4 gear planet carriers. The extra pinion gear is supposed to handle more power, although AFAIK the TH400 OE 4 pinion gear planets can handle well over 1,000 HP. My main reason for purchasing this carrier is that it's rebuilt, it's steel like the OE TH400 carriers are, and it has the factory TH400 2.48, 1.48, 1.00 gear ratios. I don't believe any new OE TH400 planetary gear carriers are made anymore, and the only new aftermarket carriers for the TH400 are all aluminum, and all have different gear ratios than the factory had, ( which I didn't want). So this appeared to be my best choice.

At least things are easier to learn now than they were when you were 16 years old. Not only are there many DIY transmission building videos on youtube, ( some of them are over an hour long) but the ASTG manual is really good, and has numbered exploded views of every single part in the transmission model you're building, which shows you exactly where everything goes. I also bought two TH400 rebuilding DVD's too. When you're a beginner at this , (like I am) you have to watch these vids and go over the manual several times over the course of a few weeks before all of it begins to sink in. There are so many parts to an automatic transmission that I was only able to mentally digest all the info a little at time. But after a few weeks of study, it begins to start sinking in. And since I'm not starting out with a used TH400 that I'll be taking apart, I had to study up a lot more to begin to understand everything since I'll be starting from scratch without having the luxury of seeing how everything came apart.