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Which servo should I choose?

FAQ: Do I need the standard corvette servo or the servo with the longer pin? And what about the 4th gear billet servo?

If you have a 700R4, 4L60E, 4L65E, or 4L70E automatic transmission, and want to upgrade your servo, you have several different options available to you:

  1. Corvette servo
  2. Corvette servo with longer pin
  3. Billet 4th gear servo

First, you can install just the standard corvette servo found here

With this servo, right away you’ll notice faster and firmer 1-2 shifts and even slightly better 2-3 shifts. Also, this servo will give your transmission 50% more apply pressure, just what you need to keep from burning your transmission up under heavy load situations.

The corvette servo is a great upgrade for not a lot of money, and you do not need to take the transmission out to install it. Our servo comes with two rigid seals and two rubber seals, as well as 3 pages of instructions for easy and detailed installation.

Second, you can install the standard corvette servo with the longer pin found here

With this package, you get the corvette servo outlined above and you get the longer pin all in one package. The included longer-than-stock servo pin does a great job of getting your band adjusted to the right clearance. It’s almost more important to get the right clearance than it is to change to the corvette servo.

Not sure if you need the longer pin? You can test your clearance by pushing in on your servo cover. If you notice that it moves in between 1/8″-1/4″, you know you need the longer pin. This is way too much travel, as the clearance should be closer to 1/16″.

Also, since the servo isn’t traveling as far before it applies the band, the 1-2 and even the 3-4 shift will be much quicker.

Finally, you can install the standard corvette servo, and purchase the 4th gear billet servo found here

With these two products, you’ll get all the benefit of the corvette servo, as well as better holding capacity in 4th gear. Plus, if you go this route, you won’t need to buy the servo with the longer pin.  The reason is because this 4th gear billet servo is manufactured with tighter tolerances, which tightens up the clearance issue that the longer pin typically tackles. 

If money allows, Oregon Performance Transmission recommends purchasing the standard corvette servo, as well as the 4th gear billet servo. 

If you have any questions about servos, or which combination might be right for your vehicle, please do not hesitate to contact us at sales@oregonperformancetransmission.com for more information.

 

 

Transmission Failure and Snowplowing

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Snowplow season is upon us for many across the country.  

Plowing and towing at low speeds with an automatic transmission can produce a huge amount of heat, and when it comes to transmission life and longevity, heat is the number one enemy.

If you find yourself needing to rebuild or upgrade your transmission this winter, and you will be plowing or towing, we really recommend our high performance rebuild kits. Our HP kits come with Red lined clutches and Black Kolene steel plates. These clutches are specifically designed to handle 300% more heat than the factory type clutches, and considerably more than the HD high energy clutches. We have HP rebuild kits from Oregon Performance Transmission for the Ford, Chevy, and Dodge transmissions, as well as top quality shift kits to compliment your rebuild.

Our high performance rebuild kits can be found by clicking on the popular transmission application links below.

Chevrolet HP Rebuild Kits
TH350
TH400
700R4
4L60E
4L80E

Dodge HP Rebuild Kits
A904
A727
A518, 46rh, 46re
A618, 47re, 47rh
48re

Ford HP Rebuild Kits
C4
C6
AOD
AODE, 4R70W, 4R75W, 4R70E, 4R75E
E4OD, 4R100

Even though it’s winter and cold outside, if you are snowplowing or towing, we strongly recommend installing a transmission cooler as well. Our best-selling transmission cooler is the 47391 40,000 GVW Low Pressure Drop cooler from Tru-Cool. This cooler is a work horse and will definitely help keep your transmission temperatures low. You can find it on our website, https://www.oregonperformancetransmission.com under part number LNG-47391.

As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to email us at sales@oregonperformancetransmission.com

The Corvette Servo

 

 

Corvette Servo (part number NTP-K51828C)

TRG-7-2p

Arguably one of the most inexpensive, yet most rewarding upgrades to your 700R4 or 4L60E (4L65E, 4L70E) transmission is the corvette servo. Right away you will notice faster and firmer 1-2 and 2-3 shifts. The corvette servo will give your transmission 50% more apply pressure, which is just what you need to keep from burning your transmission up under heavy load situations. The corvette servo is a must for any performance vehicle, for towing, RV, or off road use, and is a positive upgrade for any 700R4 or 4L60E transmission. Our servo is easy to install and can be done with the transmission in the vehicle. The servo comes with all of the necessary seals for installation; including the outer cover o-ring, as well as three pages of instructions with diagrams.If you have already decided to install a corvette servo, your next question might be whether or not you should use the corvette servo with the longer pin instead. Here’s how to decide.

Corvette Servo with Longer Pin (part number OPT-CV-Pin)NTP-CorvetteWP

After a short amount of time, by 30,000 miles or so, the band has been broken in and the servo travel has increased a lot.  Too much servo travel can cause a delay in shifting, a longer 1-2 and 3-4 shift, as well as a slide-and-bump-into-gear type shift.  By 100,000 or more miles, the band is wearing out and then you are at the point where the servo almost cannot travel far enough. Once it is beyond the travel of the servo, it will burn up the transmission.  The longer pin is designed to take up that slack and prevent the servo travel.    You can actually test your current travel now.  Just get underneath it and with a pry bar, push in on the cover of your servo.  If it goes in more than 1/8″, you definitely want the longer pin.  The clearance should be closer to around 1/16″.Please note:  If you are installing, or already have installed, a shift kit, you will likely not need a longer servo pin.  Most shift kits are designed to address the servo travel issue already.Another option to consider is the 4th gear Billet Super Servo.

Billet Super Servo 4th Gear Apply Piston & Cover (part number SUP-K034)SUP-K034

The 4th gear billet super servo is a tremendous product that addresses the 3-4 shift.  You will find better holding capacity in 4th gear, as well as an overall firmer 3-4 shift. The servo has an excellent design that includes a lip seal on piston that allows for much less leakage, as well as a  proper 4-3 (no drag) release. To top it off, this servo is constructed of billet aluminum and is built to last. The 4th gear super servo in conjunction with the corvette servo will solidify your transmission shifts from start to finish while giving overall life to the transmission and vehicle.In some cases, we have noticed during installation that the 4th gear servo does address some of the clearance problems as well as decreasing some of the servo travel;  basically eliminating the need for the longer servo pin.

As always, if you have any other questions or need any product recommendations, please feel free to contact us at salesdesk@optsales.com.

Highly recommended upgrades to the 4L60E transmission.

The 4L60E/4L65E/4L70E and 4L75E transmission is one of the most popular and most frequently asked about transmissions.  A common question regarding the 4L60E is, “what upgrades do you recommend while I have the transmission out, and what can I do if I don’t want to take the whole thing apart?”

If you are ready to take the transmission out and do the whole thing only once, the parts we typically recommend consist of the following:

  1. Rebuild manual
  2. Rebuild kit
  3. Shift kit
  4. Accumulator pistons
  5. Separator plate
  6. Torque converter
  7. Electronics

 

If you are only interested in tackling what can be done with the transmission still in the vehicle, you can still accomplish quite a bit with the following items:

  1. Shift kit
  2. Separator plate
  3. Accumulator pistons

 

Outlined below are each of the items we recommend, a description and the corresponding part number on our site.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at salesdesk@optsales.com.

REBUILD MANUAL 

ATSG-4L60E

ATSG-4l60e

ATSG is the leading manufacturer of technical rebuild manuals for automatic transmissions.  Their manuals are excellent resources for DIY-ers and professional shops alike.  If you are planning to rebuild your transmission on your own and do not already have a good resource manual, we highly recommend this product from ATSG.  This 4L60E manual will cover the GM THM 4L60-E Transmission found in 1993 and up trucks and vans, 1994 and up passenger cars. The manual covers assembly, dis-assembly, diagnosis, troubleshooting, and electronic controls & operation.

REBUILD KITS

OPT-4L60E-RB

ORE-4L60E-RB

OPT-4L60E-RBHP

ORE-4L60E-RBHP

We offer two versions of a 4L60E rebuild kit: a standard better-than-stock package, or the high performance rebuild kit.  The standard kit featured above is part number OPT-4L60E-RB and features everything you see in the first photograph.  Please note you will need to select your year from the drop down menu.  If your year is 1997 and newer, the kit will include the molded piston kit as well so it does cost a little more than the others.

If you are looking for a high performance rebuild kit, we carry that as well under part number OPT-4L60E-RBHP.  The HP kit comes with everything you see in the second photograph above, including Red Raybestos Stage 1 clutches, Kolene steel plates which includes the 8 clutch 3-4 pack, new filter, a Kevlar band and full bushing kit, as well as a Transtec full gasket set.  Either kit will give you terrific performance and noticeable strength.

SHIFT KITS

Depending on what kind of performance you are after, we typically recommend one of two shift kits:  either the TRG-SK4L60E, or the TRG-4L60E-HD2.

TRG-SK4L60E

TRG-sk-4l60e

The Transgo SK 4L60E corrects, prevents, and reduces problems associated with code 1870, trouble light & hard 1-2 shift performance.  It also fixes harmonic bounce that wears out pump and valves and causes
shuttle shifts. This kit has a new design isolator valve that works perfect in worn bore without requiring special tools or machining.  It is probably one of our most popular shift kits.

The other option is the more aggressive kit, the TRG-4L60E-HD2.

 TRG-4L60E-HD2

TRG-4l60e-hd2

The Transgo 4L60E-HD2 is meant for crisp muscle car or full race shift performance.  It puts the driver in command as it will holds 1st, 2nd, 3rd to any speed.  In addition, it allows backshifts to 3rd, 2nd & 1st by moving the lever.  This is a strong shift kit that will deliver impressive performance.

ACCUMULATOR PISTONS

With any 4L60E rebuild we always recommend replacing the stock accumulator pistons as they tend to break often and can ruin your transmission.  We suggest replacing the forward accumulator piston (part number SNX-77987-01K) and the 1-2 accumulator piston (part number SNX-77998-03K).

SNX-77987-01K

SNX-77987-01K

SNX-77998-03K

SNX-77998-03K

SEPARATOR PLATE

It is typically always a good idea to change your separator plate at the time of rebuild.  The checkballs produce a lot of wear and tear on the plate which can lead to poor shift quality and shorter transmission life.  Depending on your year, we have several different plates available.  One of the most common year ranges is 1996-2006 which is covered by part number TRG-46-PLT-96.

TRG-46-PLT-96

TRG-46-plt-96

 

TORQUE CONVERTER

We always recommend changing your converter at the time of rebuild since you will not want to use the old, contaminated fluid that is in your current converter and circulate that through your brand new ransmission.  Depending on your year however, you may need to provide the 4-letter code from your existing converter.  We may also need to know your engine in order to match you with the right replacement.  These points may be addressed quickly through email by contacting us at salesdesk@optsales.com.

ELECTRONICS

Finally, depending upon your year, you might consider replacing your vehicle electronics as well.  Over time the electronics wear out and eventually will burn up the transmission.  The part number you need for a full electronics kit is ORE-4L60E-EL. Be sure to select your year range from the drop-down menu.

OPT-4L60E-EL

ORE-4L60E-EL

If you only want to tackle what can be done with the transmission still in the vehicle, you can still accomplish quite a bit with replacing just the separator plate, a shift kitand the accumulator pistons.

HIGH HORSEPOWER UPGRADES 

We can also address higher horsepower applications with in-stock products such as the Beast Sun Gear shell / Sonnax Smart shell, unbreakable pump ring kit, low reverse sprag, forward sprag, corvette servo, 4th gear billet servos, and the billet 2nd gear servo .

For additional information or questions regarding this or any other transmission, please feel free to contact us at any time via email at salesdesk@optsales.com .

 

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