Rebuild a 400

[4x4 Forever]

There is a possibility of my M1008 needing a freshening up as the fluid is light brown and has a slight 'toasty' smell. I have a pretty good mechanical ability and am not afraid to dive into most anything, other than, transmissions...

I have been looking through the net and found master rebuild kits for about $300. Is this all I need or do I need to upgrade the innards from a factory set up? and what would these parts be? bands? Servos? etc..

Would it be worth taking the 400 out and doing it myself or paying about $1100 for an 'expert'?

Yalls input would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[tm america]

wow 300 for the kit we do them complete rebuild for 495 with convertor.1yr 12000mile warenty110o hundred for a 400 wow i would stay far away from that shop master kits for a 400 is about 110 convertor is about 60 i would advise you dont do it yourself i spend alot of time talking guys through the problems when they do them themselves.ussually they end up doing it more than once and costs them more in parts than it would of to have someone else do it .do the r&r yourself and save on that ussually about 350-400 for a 4x4

 

[tm america]

i do a couple thing to upgrade the 400 that dont cost any extra i can double the holding power on the dirrect clutch for free and make the shifts quicker and harder for free to there are alot of tricks to them even though they are just 400s how hard could they be

 

[eric_banks32]

Buy a book from ATSG. Surf the net a little and see what people are doing to "build" them and dive in. I did the same thing in my V8 S10 that had a 700r4 and it was a great experience. Now transmissions don't scare me. I would be sure to buy a quality kit. Some of the cheaper kits might not last. Go to your local tranny shop and ask about parts, most will help.

 

[jackson76550]

if your wanting to learn the 400 is a good one to start with. its pretty easy if you pay attention and keep it clean. throw out your red shop rags and have plenty of brake cleaner on hand. and rebuild kits should be around 100 bucks.

 

[4x4 Forever]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I was told $1100 as a worst case scenario, prolly would not go over $900.. The rebuild kits that I was looking at included replacement steels. Maybe I am barking up the wrong tree.

I think that I will drop it myself and tak it in and have him bench it for me. That way I can always take it to him for tweaks if necessary.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!!

 

[niferous]

I agree about AAMCO. I had a transmission rebuilt by them (I was 16 and didn't know any better) and it blew up literally two weeks later. When it came back to their shop they said they didn't want to warranty it! They pulled some old dried up mud from under my truck and said that I was off-roading it and that voided my warranty. Then when I sent a tow truck to get the truck they didn't want to release the truck. Keep in mind it was mine! Then they didn't want to include the transmission. We actually had to get the police involved to get all my stuff including the tranmission that I paid them for. When it got to the Chevy house they took the one that AAMCO put in and found a bunch of rusty parts that and some actually had "MADE IN CHINA" stamped on them.

Anyway we sued them and wound up getting my money back but we had to give them back the old transmission. Bottom line. I wouldn't let those guys work on the gears of my bicycle.

 

[tm america]

i agree about aamco. i would look around most mom and pop shops are run differently than big shops that have a service writer working on commision telling you what you need .places that get paid hourly ussually work different.,same for the guys actually doing the work if they are getting paid book time they are gonna hurry up and do it rather than taking the time to do it right and do it right

 

[4x4 Forever]

Thats one of the reasons I do not use the cookie cutter shops.

You also have to watch the mom and pop shops too. I had one rebuilt by a 'reputable' local shop and 8 months later it failed. I was fed up and went to my local GMC guy for a target master with a 3year warrantee. When he looked up the casting number of the existing tranny, it belonged to a Chevy Caprice!! Not the X-heavy casting the 4x4 case should have been. And to think, I paid them an extra 150 clams for the case as mine was shot.

The tranny shop this will go to has respect from everyone I have talked too.

I took a 1/2 ton truck to him last year and asked him what was wrong with it and he told me exactly what I needed to do, this was after already knowing what was wrong. He hit the problem spot on, and although a little higher compared to the other shops, he got the job.

Look ALL of them over, test them, and watch them. If they chase you outta the shop, take it somewhere else, they have something to hide!

 

[DanMartin]

Do it yourself and learn a few things.

Here's a great book (I have a copy):
Amazon.com: How to Work with and Modify the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 Transmission (Motorbooks Workshop) (9780879382674): Ron Sessions: Books

Get your kit, plus this book, and go to town on it. Save $$$, learn new stuff, feel great when it's done and works better than before (win-win-win!).

 

[TexAndy]

Awesome thread. I've got a 1009 on the way from Minot, ND that has the transmission loose in the cab. So I'm assuming it's bad.

I like learning how to do stuff myself. Thanks for the links to the technical books, guys! Time to learn transmissions...

 

[cessnatwin]

I would listen to TM america, I own a shop and I agree

 

[waayfast]

HHHMMM,since we are talking trannies on chevy p/u's here, anyone mind if I ask if the 400 is the same box that is in the kids 84 GMC Diesel 1/2 ton 4x4 (civie)?Now they tell us that reverse is getting weak or non-existant Rats! Something else to have to deal with!These two are like monkeys-what they can't tear up-they pee on!Thanks to anyone for advice.
Jim

 

[Recovry4x4]

The kids 84 halfer may have a 700R4, mine did!

 

[4x4 Forever]

HHHMMM,since we are talking trannies on chevy p/u's here, anyone mind if I ask if the 400 is the same box that is in the kids 84 GMC Diesel 1/2 ton 4x4 (civie)?Now they tell us that reverse is getting weak or non-existant Rats! Something else to have to deal with!These two are like monkeys-what they can't tear up-they pee on!Thanks to anyone for advice.
Jim

Crawl under it and check out the pan. Then go this site and you can see what you have: www.maliburacing.com/auto_tranny_id.htm Hope that helps!!