Kodiak24V

Thanks you guys! I’ve got the ATSG book ordered up. GreatWork!’s explainations helped visualize what is happening. when I get some time I’ll mess with the band adjustment some.

Thanks for all the info! im thinking it could be also be to much space in the clutch. it has TCS front and accumulator servo. billet triple disc, billet input shaft, billet wedge and brace. Built valve body. 150psi line pressure. Before all that It would tach the engine out full power 2-3 shift. It was slipping the clutch and ended up killing the frictions I’m assuming. I was ignorant and trusted the local trans builder. I told them I wanted a 600hp trans. they put a VB kit in it. Left all the stock servos, band strut, ect… Once I started educating myself bought a pressure gauge and checked line pressure it was 90ish PSI max. the damage to the clutches was already done though. Now with 150psi it’ll hold tune 4 on the quadzilla with 63/68 turbo, 7x.010 injectors fine. Turn it up to level 6, 150psi line pressure and the clutches will slip when not locked. I put a different built VB, the band strut/wedge in and adjusted the bands at the same time and that’s when the flare started. The front band is Borg Warner without the holes. I have it adjusted with a 1/4” Allen between the pin and the strut. I may try loosening. I then put TCI front servo and accumulator to see if it was that as it still had the plastic loose garbage in there. just wasn’t sure on the thicker front servo spring because all the performance builds I’ve watched on YT still have the stock spring. I believe the band is adjusted properly so I’m thinking it may be loose clearance in the direct or forward clutch. I may play with the front band as it didn’t do it before adjusting the band. The pan had friction material before adjusting the band and it didn’t flare. I know it needs to come out and I plan to myself when I do the commonrail swap but it would be nice if it didn’t flare 2-3 as it drives/shifts fine up to quadzilla level 4.

in my head it seems like the stiffer spring in addition to the full oil dump would cause the band to release early? Causing the flare? when it happens the harder the throttle the more of a delay between when the band releases and when the clutch engages. I’m assuming or is that backwards? Does the 1/reverse band have to come off too while all this taking place? Could a poor band adjustment cause this?

thanks for the knowledge. In order for me to build/fix something I like to know how it works. So the servo releasing that oil causes it to go back up with spring pressure? the oil that 1st originally forced the servo down is the same oil being released while the piston is in the down position? Just trying to visualize where in the piston stroke the oil is released. would a spring with to much resistance cause a lack of servo out flow at the lower drains? I think the “white”heavier spring from a reprogram kit was installed in my trans. my belief is it’s causing issues with the way the oil flows through Even the high horsepower builds I see on YouTube have a stock appearing spring. I can’t find a stock spring for sale anywhere so I can try it.

hey thanks Does the oil go straight from the pump to the 2nd gear piston or is there other stuff that the oil sees before it makes it to the piston? I looked but couldn’t find a video with a cutaway of the transmission in operation as it’s being shifted and a short explanation of how it works.

trying to up my trans knowledge and figure out what effect different spring rates have on 2nd gear servo operation. There a 3 holes in the front servo bore. im assuming the oil comes in through the top hole and pushes down on the top of the piston pushing against spring tension causing the center pin to push down on the band strut and causing the band to tighten. question is where does the oil come from? where does it go? from there what causes the servo to release tension and what are the 2 bottom holes for? I’m assuming a stiffer spring would cause a reduction in pressure on the servo center pin… or does a spring that has to much tension make the servo release the band faster causing a potential flare 2-3 shift?

Ok that’s fair. I appreciate all the help! Ill probably pull it apart when I get to the commonrail swap. For now I’m going to see what happens with a couple more turns. it’s not my daily so it can sit if something happens.

It has Yukon 4.10 gears. it’s @2k rpm at 70mph in OD. I can’t figure out how to edit my sig from before the many mods since… I guess it all comes down to if you think the trans needs to come apart for the 12psi pressure loss? 3% at stock pressure but what is normal loss at 150psi? im not going to hold you to anything just want your opinion. I’ve been in a dealership collision center for 20years but I’ve lost my mechanic contacts from the service side. This content is way over most peoples head and I have no one else to ask!

The issue was the trans felt like it blew through the converter. Like it had the loosest converter ever. it would also blow through 2nd/not shift to 3rd/tach out the engine only WOT. Only unlocked though. Locked it pulled hard 3rd and 4th. It would not do a brake stand either. The original trans shop left the stock front servo and the plastic accumulator in there. I replaced those with the black TCI billet units. i put the springs back in that were in there previously. The front servo was a narrow white one(I reused). I’ve seen a wider one before just wasn’t sure if needed. The accumulator piston had 1 spring. what would be an acceptable amount of pressure loss at 150psi? and if that’s low what is it usually caused by? I 1st started out cranking the original VB (transgo)adjustment and did see a gain but had it cranked down pretty good. The gauge in accumulator port jumped around a lot. It also was having a hard time down shifting into 1st(before starting messing with the trans/VB). I was never really happy with the “built transmission” I got back from the shop so to eliminate doubt last December I ordered a performance valve body. Before installing I turned the PR 2 turns (I don’t remember the max pressure/didn’t take a picture driving. It had 90psi at idle up from 65psi stock with the last valve body) it still would not shift to 3rd WOT It would blow through 2nd and tach out the engine. the builder recommended I check .090 hole in boost plate orifice. It was in fact .090. I figured if I had to take the VB out again I would install the TCI stuff. I also turned the PR bolt another 2 turns(total now 4). it now is at 150psi locked/ doesn’t feel like it’s blowing through the converter. And it holds WOT 2-3 shift. Also will start spinning the tires in a brake stand around 1800rpm. I do think the TCI accumulator/servo made a difference. it’s noticeably better but my goal is to get it cranked up more. jist wasn’t sure if the 12psi difference is a take the trans out and rebuild or maybe give it a couple more turns and see where it’s at.

Appreciate the tech. the gauges don’t bounce around and hold pretty steady. (Not that means they’re an accurate piece) the pressure spring is orange and I’m definitely turning the correct bolt counter clockwise. I never touched the blue locktite TV adjustment. not sure I understand about the “leakage (ie flow…)at the servo would show as a pressure loss.” assuming the gauges are correct is a 12psi loss excessive? Just trying to figure out if the reason I have a lower pressure than bench tested (had to crank 4 turns to hit 150) is I’m loosing pressure somewhere and the trans needs to come apart. or? also while I’ve got you talking transmissions! what would adding a 2nd spring in the front servo do? right now I have a white spring in there but I’ve seen some with a larger/wider spring also. what is the benefit of 2 springs?

Ok thanks for the clarification. I just wasn’t sure if the 12psi difference between accumulator and front servo was a loss somewhere. Also confused me that 4 turns later it’s at 150psi max. I figured it would be at 180ish I have a S363 and 7x.010 injectors. It was slipping on my Quad tune 6 before I got into all this. I haven’t tried on tune 6 after the VB and billet servos and 150psi but I do know it doesn’t slip on tune 4. my worry is down the road. I have a 2005 5.9 Commonrail to eventually swap in and shoot for 700+ HP. won’t I need more pressure for those HP levels?

Currently it has a high performance valve body from one of the few cummins drag racing companies. does that change the advise? thanks! This makes me feel better. I was noticing that unlocked the pressure in 2nd and 3rd would spike to 165 but the max locked in 3rd-4th is 150psi. Wasn’t sure because everything I’ve read said the locked pressure should be more than unlocked but I was seeing those spikes unlocked. the 165psi unlocked in 2nd is a spike though and quickly goes back down to the 150 at the 2-3shift. I think my previous issue (not gaining pressure when turning up the pressure adjuster) was fixed by the new billet TCI accumulator and 2nd gear servo. The plastic stock accumulator was very sloppy in the bore.

2001 Ram 2500 24v 4x4 excab shortbed. Auto, S363, 7x.010, 4.10 gear. 36” tires. had a local shop build my transmission 3-4 years ago with billet torque converter, billet input. transgo kit. trying to learn more about the transmission so I can do it myself next go around. ran some diag checks and had a few questions about the results. 1 pressure gauge on the accumulator port and 1 pressure gauge on the front servo port/rear servo port. FRONT SERVO: 3rd-4th gear locked WOT- accumulator pressure 145-150psi Front servo pressure 135-138psi the spec in (47re trans line pressure port testing guide) is 3psi difference at stock pressure is 10-12 psi lower pressure difference in the front servo @ 150psi a problem? REAR SERVO: Low 1st gear- accumulator 135psi Rear servo 130psi I assume 5psi difference is ok on this one as the spec is also 3psi at stock pressure. reverse gear- Idle 240psi / full throttle brake boost to 1600rpm 315psi im assuming that’s good? I originally had an issue where turning the pressure adjuster on the transgo VB didn’t return more pressure. I didn’t do these tests before hand but I did change out the Valve Body with one built by one of the popular diesel drag racing companies. Owner said they test each one on the machine for 140-150psi before sending out. I have turned the line pressure adjuster 4 turns out and also changed out the old plastic accumulator piston and stock 2nd gear servo with TCI billet units and am seeing the pressures above. max high 140s to 150. just not sure because I was told it shipped out at 140-150 and it’s taken 4 turns to get to those numbers. Going by 10psi per turn it seems I should be at 170-180psi. before I go in and keep cranking the pressure adjuster I wanted to make sure these numbers looked ok (no internal leaks)?

2001 Dodge Ram 2500 ex cab shortbed auto, 24v, 4x4, Yukon 4.10 gears, 36” tires, 3in lift, DAP sac 7x.10 injectors, HX35 (turbo is next), quadzilla, 260k miles. Had my trans rebuilt by a local shop back in April that I’ve felt with for 10 plus years. They put a billet triple disc converter in that is lower stall. From the day I picked it up it stalls when put into either reverse or forward gear when 1st started. I brought it back this past week and re addressed the issue with them. They said they would take it out and send it back where they got it from to have them loosen it up and put to factory stall. Well it still stalls... I’ve read over the last few months that it’s the vp44 fuel idle circuit not being able to keep up with the quickly added load of the tight converter combined with the added volume of the 7x.10 injectors I put in. I bought the truck 1 year ago and it now has 260k miles so I have no idea of the vp44 history. It seems to run good other then the stalling and I had gotten used to it over the past few months but figured it would be fixed by raising the stall but no luck. now I’m not sure what the solution is. Is the vp44 just not able to support the bigger injectors and the tighter converter and it’s something I have to live with? I thought loosening the converter would solve the problem. It didn’t do it with the bigger injectors and stock converter.

Seems to be ok. The wait light goes off pretty quick and it fires off. Just that one morning I didn't wait and it would just burp quick and stall. Did it about 3-4 times then started. haven't had a problem before or since. Weird.