Th400

[Andreas]

I've been reading about 80's and 400's all day.
I have hard time to make a decision.
Money is a big thing.

Is it really that bad not having OD. (Ty is in winter storage so I can't try goind D for a week or so).
I kinda drive my ty hard, but I haven't got any big turbo or anything.
I have pulled the tranny 2 times in 2 years, so I'm alittle tired of that.

What RPM does do you hit going 60-70 mph?

 

[jwaller]

Re: Th400

without overdrive you will see a 1k rpm jump. just ride around in D with your 700 and you will see what it's like to have a 400.

 

[Andreas]

Re: Th400

Yes but as I mentioned I got my car in winter storage and dont have the possibillity to make that drive right now.

What I also had in mind with this thread was that the only two I know of that runs 400 trannys are Mr Matt Hoover and Mr Ed Hess but those are real, as I know it, "race trucks".
Is there anyone with mild daily drivers trucks that got 400's?

 

[NecroWolf]

Re: Th400

if i was to do a 400 series tranny upgrade i'd go for the 4l80e. the overdrive will reduce wear on the engine if you drive it regularly and will help fuel milage.

 

[SY#2910]

Re: Th400

I would like to know if anyone is running the th400 as a daily driver also. Gas mialage sucks anyway with these trucks. Who cares. What I care about is the HUGH price difference between the 400 and 400le. Like $4000 or so.

 

[jwaller]

Re: Th400

without overdrive you will see a 1k rpm jump. just ride around in D with your 700 and you will see what it's like to have a 400.

I'll say this again, expect a 1000rpm increase at highway speeds when you would have been in 4th gear. maybe more as you prob wont have a locking converter either.

60mph you would have 2000rpms with the 700
60mph you would have 3000rpms.with the 400 with a lower than 3k stall conv.

now if you use a conv that has more than 3000stall you would be approaching that stall speed to maintain a given speed depending on load factor

 

[blk00z28]

Re: Th400

Without a OD would down right suck.

If your trucks going to be a race only, sure go at it without a OD. But the day you drive longer then a hour to get somewhere and you want to keep up with traffic at 70 or so, you'll be wishing you had a OD. :yup:

If nothing else, do like I've done and raise the OD shift point to 50mph. That way you can still drive around town without it wanting to bog in OD if you get behind some slower traffic.

 

[tytom]

Re: Th400

Or You can install 3.08s front and rear and be done. Not as good as having 4 speeds, but its the next best thing.

 

[Andreas]

Re: Th400

Yes that has crossed my mind too, to put in 3.08's

But I see that the overall opinion is that dont having OD is not a good thing.
I really want my Ty be a race truck, but the money isn't quite there right now.

Maybe I just hope that me freshly rebuildt 700 holds up for a year or two.

The thing is that there is a potential buyer for my 700 tranny+conv.
So I could prob go for a 400 race tranny without putting in any extra money in it besides what I get for my 700. Thats why I have thoughts about the 400.
Going for the 4l80e means no vacation 2006....haha...

 

[ed hess]

Re: Th400

andreas

go with the 400 and 3.08 gears.

since you say you want ito be a race truck, the street thing isnt much issue with the gear change.

the extra cost and extra weight just dont make sense for racing.

only you can decide what your willing to settle for depending on your goals.

i have a 400 and did drive it on the street for over a year like that without the 3.08 gears. didnt bother me one bit.

since doing the 3.08 gears i just never had the desire to drive it on the street other than a few tuning sessions.

ed

 

[CKEITH]

Re: Th400

just let waller build u a real 700r4 and you won't have to pull the tranny again....jusk ask phil long.he's been running wallers tranny for a while and look at his times.

 

[ed hess]

Re: Th400

didnt he break that same 700 once?

 

[CKEITH]

Re: Th400

once. not bad given his times.i'd settle for once in a couple years.

 

[ed hess]

Re: Th400

yeah that isnt bad only 1 time in the same season he started using it.

any idea exaclty how many runs it lasted?

ed

 

[CKEITH]

Re: Th400

not sure. he might still have it in his truck.

would'nt be the first or last time that we have broken something on our trucks the first time we used it.as we all know these trucks are known for breaking stuff.

 

[jwaller]

Re: Th400

didnt he break that same 700 once?

no ed it wasnt the same 700. The first one had close to 80 or so runs on it and tons of street miles. the broken reaction shaft was replaced with a better one and he is still racing with it. the original lockup clutch from Les finally gave out and will be fixed when he gets the conv out.

 

[CKEITH]

Re: Th400

all i know is that everything that i have recieved from waller has been above and beyond my expectations.and by looking thru this site there are a hell of a lot of guys running whats called the " waller " tranny.somebody must be doing something right. :eh:

 

[Windedv6]

Re: Th400

Don't be afraid of a well built 700r4. But well built means something like Waller's top build. I have been driving and racing the same 700r4 since the spring of 2002 and only broke it once and that was the output shaft this spring. I put in a hardened one and have been running fine ever since. I am pulling 1.46 - 1.48 sixty foots in a 4,000# Ty and although I care extreme care of it, I don't baby it when it comes to racing on the street or at the track.

I use the OD like every one else and could go across country and have no worries. At 60 mph the rpms are 2,000 in overdrive. I use a 3.400 stall 9/11 TC and it drives great on the street.

There was a time when putting together a max built 700r4 was over the top in cost for most syty'ers resulting in lesser builds being put in. A lot of those had troubles and thus the 700r4 got tagged as "not dependable". Waller now does the max build for less than half of what would have cost of a few years ago. And also has been some better stuff and techniques available that wasn't used a few years ago.

The 400 is not street friendly and the 4L80e is heavy, takes additional power to run it, an extra computer, etc to handle it. Also it is costly. Jeff Scott is doing great things with it and some think it is the way to go.

For now I plan to run the 700r4 in my street/strip Ty. I will be putting a loaded 400 in my new 2WD tube chassis ty, but that truck will be on the street for Saturday nites only.

Waller won't let you down. He backs up his work.

John

 

[JSM]

Re: Th400

Gerber is right in that a 700 can be built to last depending on your right foot, etc.

I will differ with him on taking more power to run an 80e though, as for some reason we are going faster with 80e than the 700, with no changes to motor.
80e is 70lbs heavier though.

Back to the program.

 

[Windedv6]

Re: Th400

I think it's the gearing. The 700 is so short , 1st - 2ed, that we get no time in the best powerband. It still takes for power to run the bigger trans even though the pump in the 4l80e is is probably more efficent.

John