[esahlin]

I removed my th400 to chase a persistent leaking problem and found these seemingly "burnt" frictions in the forward clutch drum and found the damaged intermediate band.

Wondering if the direct drum frictions are OK to reuse or should they be replaced? The trans has about 50 miles on it since a rebuild and I believe the possible burnt frictions are due to running the trans with a low oil level. Or maybe the burnt look is normal I dont know.. The Frictions are the Borg Warner Reds.

Looking at Cliff's book right now ......and it looks like I am supposed to probably have 5 frictions and steel plates in the forward drum. Uh oh......Is that true?

The thing leaks like a sieve after it sits for a few days after driving it. drips from the passengers side front of pan. Ive checked all the possible leaks I have researched. Tried different pans/gaskets, not the pump seal, not the dipstick, not the vac modulator, tried different cooling line connectors. Doesnt leak out of the vent tube either. Pulled it cause thought there was a case crack somewhere but I haven't found anything yet. Ive got a cast aluminum pan and used the "Right Stuff" as the pan gasket and the pan was very difficult to remove with no bolts.

I'm going to try different cooling line attachments and fittings and reseal the vacuum modulator o-ring. Those are the only possible things I can conclude. Even though I have tried a new o-ring in the vac mod hole and went from rubber cooling lines to hard lines. If this last attempt doesn't work at fixing the leak I'm going to bury it in the vacant lot next door. LOL

[esahlin]

Went out and measured the steel plates and the four frictions shown in the pic in my original post.

The steel plates are 3 of them at 0.07 and 1 at 0.08 inches.

The 4 frictions are all 0.08 inches.

[Cliff R]

The fwd drum should have one waved steel, then flat steels and 5 frictions in most set-ups. There are exceptions to that basic rule and some drums will have a waved steel directly on a friction, others against a flat steel first. The fwd drum isn't involved with a shift so using a waved apply doesn't effect shift timing or "feel". The steels should be .078" (nearly as I can remember this early in the AM), not .090", those go in the direct drum.

Forget the fancy red frictions, never had any more success with those than stock Borg Warner or Raybestos.

These days I use and prefer the "high energy" frictions, and most other builders use them as well.

You can leave the waved steel out of the fwd drum if using a "loose" converter and the engine idles down pretty low. If you have the idle speed much over 700-750 rpms and a tight converter I'd leave the waved steel in the fwd drum.

Don't rule out the manual shaft seal leaking. It's on the drivers side but the fluid will migrate around the pan gasket and drip elsewhere........Cliff

[esahlin]

Thanks Cliff. Your book is excellent! I love how it is organized and its very easy to follow.

[Cliff R]

You are welcome. TH400's aren't overly complicated and don't need a lot of help to survive behind a powerful engine. Just attention to detail and good parts. They are also relatively easy to build, not a lot of "special" tools or procedures needed......Cliff