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Strengthening Transmission AKA Fix it before it breaks

D

daryl

New member
I tried to search this...honest.

In the most direct way, what can be done to these transmission to make them stronger? My goals aren't crazy, I just want the SSEI to hold up to the spanking I give it if I go for some light mods. Light mods to me is: intake, exhaust headers, porting s/c and intake, wideband o2, tuning software and or reflash from "x" company.
 


Contact TripleEdgePerformance they will recommend you the parts you need.

I requested some info recently about a high horsepower build and got this reply.

Thanks for your inquiry!

400whp is a pretty stout buildup and is going to require several upgrades. The 7/8" single chain set is going to be the weak link at this power level. For all of our turbo builds we have been using 2.93 ratio chain sets and they have definately been the most reliable. The 3.29 sets show chain stretch at much lower mileage on anything over about 350-375whp. We dont use or sell many 3.69 sets so I dont have much feedback for you on chain life with those sets but there are a lot of guys out there using this set and working ok, just keep in mind the chains do stretch and should be considered a maintanance item that will need replaced.

An upgraded input shaft is a must at this power level. 3rd clutch can also be a weak link and we have a few options in the works and trying to finalize pricing.

For a torque converter- you will definately need a performance torque converter. We use Precision Industries to build our performance torque converters and they are all custom built per vehicle, power level, and power adder. There is not a one-fits-all torque converter from them, a turbo converter is built different than a supercharged converter. These converters are $799.95 and have a full 5 year warranty and one can send it in for a free stall change one time if needed.

We offer several valve body options and you would be best using one of our stage 2 performance valve bodies which has a few upgraded valves for higher line pressure and is what we use for all of our builds in cars making over 350whp. We sell these for $349.95 plus core charge unless you send yours in first.

For the rest of the build you would want to use a majority of the parts we include in our complete kits. We normally suggest these kits but at your power level and list of upgrades you need you are best to piece together a kit.

If you are interested in having us build the trans here is pricing-

-4T65E High Performance street/strip rebuild with valve body and 3rd clutch upgrades for higher powered builds $1849.95
-Upgrarded input shaft $449.99
-7/8" Single chain conversion set (2.93, 3.29, 3.69 ratios) $299.95
-Precision Industries custom built torque converter, 5 year warranty $799.95
-4T65E HD core fee, early $350-normal, $450-CompG with Tapshift
-Freight shipping one-way to a business address to most US areas $175

Thanks again for your interest, let us know if you have any other questions
 
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Well, that may be a little overkill for my application.lol 400hp would be great but not for the wifes car.

I'm kind of looking for more of a DIY parts list, I have access to any tranny parts I need that can be ordered through a shop. Looking for the swap stuff, part "x" from this vehicle can be used in the ssei trans. Just need it to not break easily. I'm gonna have it opened up this weekend anyways, so it'd be handy to do what I can while I'm there.
 
All depends on how the car is driven too. You can have an 500HP car that is babied and the trans will last a lot longer than a 240HP car driven by a 16 year old doing burn outs out of every light. If you are mechanically inclined there are some do it yourself mods you can do if by just dropping the sub frame and taking the trans side cover off.
 
Hey Bonnie Buddy... What year is the car?
With the mods you mention, a stocker should hold up well. Things I'd do to prolong it's life or during a rebuild based on a lot of time talking to trans guys and Dave at TEP would be

Hardened 4th clutch hub
Tightening up the clearances when redoing clutches
All the VB/Channel plate upgrades (typically I send these to TEP as they have all the specialiezed tools)
Current chainset is the V8 dual chains. The 7/8" chainset is not available as a drop in part. It requires the drive/driven gears to be made or machined to a degree to fit the 4T65. Easiest route here is to purchase them from TEP.

Having had a 97 Bonne upwards of 400hp I can tell you that TC's don't appear to have issues holding the power. Neither did the upgraded Intense turbine input shaft. But until you cam/rocker the input shaft/chains are likely not a concern. The failures I ran into were LSD diff issues (known), and input shaft reluctor wheel (also due to my right foot).

some things you can do to help the car further would be drag bags. They won't hurt your ride quality and they will stop a lot of the weight transfer. Air-Lift makes them and I think I found the best pricing on summit or jegs.
 
Howdy fellas... thanks for the replies. Thats kind of what I was looking for.

Buickman and Bill, my car is a 2000 Bonne SSEI. I hear ya on how it's driven... I am not quite as hard on them as I was at 16...I know when to baby them now and when it's safe to spank on em a little. Have to tear into that side cover to replace a solenoid in the valve body this weekend (hard shifts, the last 3 gm cars have had the same problem) So what can be done while we're in there?

If it'll hold up to those mods ok, I may not go any further than the replacement piece, depends I guess. I'm not looking for crazy, just more powerful yet still reliable.
 


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