Who has rebuilt their own Th400?

Ive done Ford C6s and a Chrysler 707, ive never done a GM. Do I need any special tools apart from the compressor for the clutch packs? I started breaking it down and you can just smell burnt clutch material, so Im sure it will be a straight forward rebuild. Just want to be prepared before I really dig in

I took automatic transmissions in college, you should have no problem doing a th400, make sure you replace the standard 16 element sprag clutch with a heavy duty 34 element sprag clutch. if you're doing a 1965 buick th400, it's a switch pitch 400, if you can't find the original style filter, you can drill and tap the valve body where the later style flat type filter bolted to the valve body. check the intermediate band, it's a weak link in the th400, won't take too much forced downshift with a high performance engine, I know, I found out the hard way with my 1971 monte carlo SS454, lol. I had lots of fun building a 1967 buick switch pitch th400 for my 1962 Pontiac grand prix with a 1970 Pontiac 455 engine.

Charles L. Coker

1953 Pontiac tech advisor

tech advisor coordinator

poci

Chris,

You may also want to try posting your question over at V8Buick in the "Juice Box" forum. I know there are guys there that know them inside and out.

I always wanted to learn to build a tranny but had no one to take me by the hand and show me. I can figure out a lot on my own but preferred to have someone guide me on a project like this. I contemplated doing my own as well but chickened out on the premise that there are probably small details needing attention that only experienced builders would know. I ended up finding an older guy who worked in a tranny shop that moon lighted on the side and did mine for $500.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes. With your skill level I'm sure you can figure it out.