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Hey, I have a question that’s probably been asked a lot but can’t find any straight answers. What should a stock 700r4 rebuilt be able to handle? I have a tpi set up and will be swapping the intake out to go with my otherwise complete top end rebuild kit (not installed yet). Right now it’s completely stock. I lost all gears which was to be expected after slipping bad for some time. I don’t have a huge budget, and I don’t expect to be making an insane amount of power with the top end upgrade, but still a good amount over stock. I’d hate to have my transmission rebuilt and have it blow, again. Thanks for any help.
Re: How much power can a stock rebuilt 700 handle?
There's a lots of depends there. Admittedly 700s are a crap shoot. Some people do fine with one making decent power near stock and others have trouble keeping a built one together on a moderate HP engine. "top end kit" leaves a lot of ambiguity around how much HP you're going for or expect to make.
At the very least if you're paying for it get the following in my opinion:
-Sun shell upgrade
-shift kit (Superior or Transgo)
-hardened pump rings
-.5 boost valve
-vette servo
Yeah that's probably 200-250 in parts but it's money well spent. The most important piece there is probably the sun shell followed by pump rings as they can't be done without taking the trans out. The shift kit and the vette servo are both in car doable later. Also if you haven't bought a converter yet I'd consider one from a 1991 S10. That should give you another few hundred RPM stall speed. It's a zero cost upgrade if you're buying a replacement converter already.
Re: How much power can a stock rebuilt 700 handle?
Im not expecting or looking for a lot of power with what I have, but it’ll be a noticeable upgrade at least. I have the transmission pulled, I’ll make sure to ask whoever builds it to see if they can make the upgrades you mentioned. Thanks
Re: How much power can a stock rebuilt 700 handle?
Originally Posted by IROCZ1989
How tough it is depends alot on the builder. Best parts with subpar assembly wont last.
that’s why I decided it would be best to have a professional do it instead of myself, which I was originally planing on doing. The rebuild includes things like hardened sun shell, and a solid 3-4 pack that claims to be better than stock. This guy has good reviews so I think I’ll go with him.
Re: How much power can a stock rebuilt 700 handle?
Originally Posted by IROCZ1989
Dana or cahall. Both are good.
Dana is great. I've purchased parts from him a few times and he has helped me tech info and taught me alot about building the 700r4.
The number one key to making the 700r4 survive in a performance application is line pressure. The Sonnax Line Boost kit is a must in any 700 that will be used in a performance application.
The second key is shift timing and solving the weakness of the 3-4 clutch. That takes more work. Ive invested many hours to achieve this and finally have a very strong 700. Dana can help you there.
Re: How much power can a stock rebuilt 700 handle?
I'm onside with the suggestions above. I've gone through a couple of 700's at levels up to about 450 lb/ft.
Some were mildly modified:
TransGo Reprogramming Kit. 700-2&3 .
Second gear Corvette servo kit.
The 1st build was behind a 12 second/3700 lb Camaro with a 10" TCI converter and went for tens of thousands of miles. Drag racing. Highway. City. Daily driven. Even pulling a U-Haul cross country. It wasn't until the converter let go that that transmission went out of service.
The 2nd build was an all out effort. Probably good to 650 lb/ft or like a GearStar Level 4.
As was pointed out, knowledgeable assembly is key. The first transmission was OK as I did some of the upgrading myself but the shift timing was never quite right in that the 2-3 shift was a little soft. I spec'd the upgrades and lived with the results. The second transmission was assembled by a one man shop and was afforded the luxury of detailed assembly and all the "tricks" that one would learn on a day in, day out basis. Not unlike Dana here at 3rd gen. This current version is the best shifting and most well behaved unit I've experienced. And certainly built to take a lot of punishment.
Re: How much power can a stock rebuilt 700 handle?
Stock, these units do not take much to run into trouble.
But to be fair, they were designed for engines in the 200 HP range, and not for actual HP.
I regularly build these for 600 - 750 HP combinations.
I do offer them for over 1,000 HP... but the 4L80E becomes a less expensive and stronger option for 800 HP and above.
I feel like building these in the 800 - 1,200 HP range is a bad investment compared to a 4L80E.
Re: How much power can a stock rebuilt 700 handle?
I also honestly prefer to build the THM200-4R over the THM700-R4 for combinations in the 800 - 1,200 HP range; when someone does not want a 4L80E or can not use a 4L80E.
Re: How much power can a stock rebuilt 700 handle?
Also consider than these transmissions if original are 28 years old minimum. And if they aren't original, are probably reman units from Aamco, which shares a lot more with Maaco in terms of quality.
05-08-2020, 08:50 PM
