REBUILDER

Volume 3, Issue 4 / Fourth Quarter, 1995

NEWS
from
rebuild kits for current-model domestic transmissions, as well as popular import applications. In addition to more technical information, rebuilders will now find more sub-packages in TransTec kits. When you opened a typical Honda kit before, you'd see all those look-alike Orings and parts that would take hours to sort through. You'll quickly find our added sub-packs make parts identification much easier and far faster. For example, the Honda 4-speed kit shown here now contains eight separate sub-packs; before, it had three. In this Honda kit, the O-rings for a particular accumulator piston are now packed in their own separate bag that is clearly marked giving the application information. Other kit packagers are also concerned about making parts identifica-

TransTec Kits More "User Friendly"

New Tech Sheets and More Sub-Packs Make TransTec Kits Easier to Install
The addition of technical information and more sub-packs to TransTec Gasket Sets and Overhaul Kits make them easier to use than ever before. The new tech sheets show check ball locations, clutch clearances, oil pressure specs, power flow charts and other needed information. This technical information is being added to

In this issue...
Our Troubleshooter feature article provides insight into rebuilding Nissan's RL4F03A. See page 3. Rebuild kits are becoming more "User Friendly" to simplify installation. See cover article. TransTec now includes the 4th clutch housing bolt in the 4L80-E gasket sets and overhaul kits. See page 2. Brass pump bolt washers address distortion problems common to original pump bolt washers in Chrysler transaxles. See cover article. TransTec offers harness connector seal for Ford E40D solenoid to prevent corrosion of the connector terminals. See page 2. The gasket and O-ring for vehicle speed sensors on GM 3T40 & 4T60 transaxles are now included in TransTec kits to make overhauls easier. See page 2. See the differences between valve body gaskets on 3L30 transmissions. See page 7.

tion easier, but beware. If an O-ring is color coded and looks different from the original O-ring... it is. TransTec will not color code parts. Order TransTec kits and get authentic, OEMquality O-rings... now sub-packed for easier-than-ever installation. Look for TransTec kits with new Tech Sheets and added Sub-Packs at authorized TransTec distributors in early 1996.

Chrysler Transaxle Pump Bolt Washers Now Available

Brass pump bolt washers that address distortion problems common to the original pump bolt washers on Chrysler transaxles are now available in TransTec gasket sets and overhaul kits. The original pump bolt washers on the A404/413 transaxles were aluminum with rubber bonded to both sides. These washers become completely distorted when the bolts are tightened and may cause fluid leaks or loss of torque on the pump bolts. Washers supplied in most aftermarket kits are soft metal with paper or rubber bonded to both sides, and have the same distortion problems. Chrysler has replaced their aluminum washers with harder, brass washers on all their front wheel drive transaxles. These brass washers are not available separately through Chrysler, but come already installed on new pump bolts. TransTec has these washers available (part #31496), and now includes them in gasket sets and overhaul kits for Chrysler's A404, 413, 470, 670, 604 and 606 transaxles.

Ford E4OD Harness Connector Seal

The seal for Ford's E4OD solenoid harness connector is now available from TransTec and will be added to all E4OD gasket sets and overhaul kits with a date code of J95 or later. When the harness connector is plugged into the solenoid, this seal provides a weather-tight fit to prevent corrosion of the connector terminals. TransTec has received a number of requests for this seal, especially since Solenoid Assembly the E4OD has had problems with bad electrical connections. The only way to get this seal from Ford is to buy a solenoid assembly, since they do not service it separately. Until recently, this seal was not available in the transmission aftermarket, since it is not actually a transmission seal (it does not seal transmission fluid). TransTec's part number for the seal is #32679. Harness Connector

GM 3T40 & 4T60 Vehicle Speed Sensor

Many of the later model GM 3T40 and 4T60 transaxles have an electronic vehicle speed sensor with a magnet that may attract metal particles present in transmission fluid. This sensor replaced the governor cover used on earlier models with speedometer gears and cable-driven speedometers. The sensor should be disassembled for cleaning during a transaxle overhaul. To make this easier for rebuilders, TransTec is including the gasket and Oring for the sensor in 4T60 gasket sets and overhaul kits starting with a date code J95.

Clutch Housing Bolt Added 4L80-E Kits

This gasket & O-ring Tech services are recommending the 4th clutch housing to case bolt be replaced on every 4L80-E overhaul. As a convenience to customers, TransTec is adding this bolt, TransTec part #81657 (OEM #8686124), to our 4L80-E gasket sets and overhaul kits starting with a date code of H95 and later. (Gasket set #1224 and Overhaul kit #2224). Until now, the bolt had to be ordered separately running the risk of it not being in stock when needed. TransTec 4L80-E kits are the first on the market to include this clutch housing bolt, just as they were the first on the market to include the center support bolt in 1993. will not be included in the 3T40 kits, but a sub-kit (TransTec #4845) is now available separately. This sub-kit contains the gasket, O-ring, and lathe cut seal that goes between the sensor and transaxle case.
REBUILDER

NEWS

Denny Scher, Editor Rebuilder News is dedicated to providing current technical information to the automatic transmission rebuilder. Reader's comments/suggestions are welcomed. Write: Editor, Rebuilder News, P.O. Box 556, Milan, Ohio 44846-0556. 1995 Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership. All rights reserved. Reproduction without prior written permission is prohibited.

TROUBLESHOOTER

When You Work On A Nissan, Cover Your Rear By Checking the Rear Cover
By Bob Bodossian, TransTec Transmission Product Engineer

I once read that the hardest thing about working on import transmissions is to figure out which trans you have in front of you. Working on Nissan transmissions certainly proves the truth in that. Just when you think you have sorted out all the Nissan Rs, Ls, Es, Fs, and the 3&4, they bring out a new trans. And to keep you and me from getting too cocky, some of the Nissan transmission designations end with an "A" and some with a "V". Nobody ever said it would be easy, except this article tries to make things a little easier for you when you work on a Nissan RL4F03A or on one of the versions of it. This is the trans you'll find in a Nissan Sentra or Infinity G20. This trans has been on the road since 1991, so if you haven't seen one up until now, chances are good you'll begin to see them soon. To give you a leg up, this article covers the basic operation of the trans, explains some of the major rebuilding procedures, and identifies some of the things you need to watch for when you rebuild one.

valve body: A torque converter clutch solenoid, and an OD cancel solenoid. The converter clutch solenoid controls apply and release of the converter clutch; the OD cancel solenoid controls the 3-4 shift. When the OD switch on the shifter is off (released), the OD solenoid is energized and prevents a 34 shift. With the OD switch on (depressed), the solenoid is not energized, so the 3-4 shift can occur.

The Exciting "E" Version In 1993, Nissan went fully electronic on the 2.0 version, and Infinity followed suite in the middle of that year. Naturally, the electronic version got a new designation: RE4F03A. The RE version can be easily identified: It has no TV cable or governor, but it has an output speed sensor (Fig. 1). And it has five solenoids on the valve body instead of the two on the RL version. Figure 1

Cover Thy Rear Nissan used two different versions of his trans, one behind the 1.6 litre engine and the other on the 2.0 litre engine. The 2.0 version is a little beefier than the 1.6 engine, but the easiest way to tell them apart is by looking at the rear cover. There's a cast aluminum cover on the 2.0 litre transmission; a stamped steel cover is on the 1.6 litre unit. The reason the covers are different is because the output shafts are different. On the 1.6 litre engine's transmission, the output shaft is supported by tapered roller bearings at the front and rear (just as it is in a Chrysler 404). The larger-diameter shaft in the 2.0 litre trans is supported by a needle bearing in front and a ball bearing in the rear. The cast cover is needed to support the rear bearing.

O-ring Revolution Sensor

On the RE, the line pressure solenoid and the TCC solenoid are pulse width modulated solenoids that control the main line pressure and the converter clutch apply. The A&B shift solenoids and the overrun clutch solenoid are simple on/ off solenoids. The shift solenoids determine what gear the trans is in and the overrun clutch solenoid applies the overrun clutch when the OD switch is in the "Off" position. Solenoid locations for the RL and the RE valve bodies are shown in

Multiple Choice Problems For openers, you need to know that there's more than one version of this transaxle. The first introduced was the RL4F03A, a 4-speed overdrive, hydraulically-controlled unit with a governor. That one has two solenoids on the

Figures 2 and 3, respectively. Figure 4 shows the state of the shift solenoids in each gear. The number of solenoids isn't the only difference between the RL and the RE valve bodies. The gaskets in the two units are totally different. So is the number of check balls and their locations.

Figure 4

Gear Position

Shift solenoid valve A Shift solenoid valve B

the check ball locations aren't enough to keep you alert, you can really lose it trying to remember where all the vlave body bolts are supposed to go - they

ON ON

OFF ON

OFF OFF

ON OFF

come in different lengths, of course. Again, don't panic, because we've covered that for you, too, in Figures 7 and 8.

It's A Whole New Ballgame Both valve bodies have a bunch of check balls. If you didn't see where they all came from, don't panic. Figures 5 and 6 show the check ball locations for each valve body. And if

Figure 7a "RL" Valve Body Bolts - Length and Number (Refer to Figure 7 below)

Bolt Symbol
Bolt length mm (in) Number of bolts

a
13.5 (0.531) 4

b
58.0 (2.283) 3

c
40.0 (1.575) 6

d
66.0 (2.598) 11

e
33.0 (1.299) 2

f
78.0 (3.071) 2

Fig. 9 shows which elements are on in each gear. That should be pretty easy for you to remember because - like many of today's transmissions, this one works a lot like a TH700. All five clutch packs in this unit use selective pressure plates to adjust the clutch clearance. The packs also use one or more "dished" plates, which are arranged differently in each clutch drum.
Figure 8a "RE" Valve Body Bolts - Length and Number

Bolt Symbol
Bolt length mm (in) Number of bolts

a
13.5 (0.531) 6

b
58.0 (2.283) 3

c
40.0 (1.575) 6

d
66.0 (2.598) 11

e
33.0 (1.299) 2

f
78.0 (3.071) 2

The powertrain of this transaxle is basically the same as in all Nissan transmissions introduced since 1987, when they bought out the RE4R01A.
Figure 9 Operation of Clutch Brake
Shift Reverse position clutch High clutch

If You Know How A TH700 Works... The RL and the RE4F03A have five clutch packs, one band, and two oneway clutches. The power flow chart in
Band servo 3rd apply 4th apply

Starting at the front of the transaxle, the first clutch behind the pump is the Reverse Clutch. It has two back-toback dished plates against the clutch piston. The bottom one has the dish pointing down, the next one has the dish pointing up. (Up and Down refers to the way the inside diameter of the dished plate faces.) The clutch clearance should be .020" - .047". The Differences .4 Litre Makes The next clutch is the High Clutch. Here Nissan uses two different setups,
Remarks

Forward Overrun 2nd clutch clutch position

Forward Low Low & one-way one-way reverse Lock-up clutch clutch brake

P R N
1st 2nd D *4 3rd 4th 1st 2 2nd 1st 1 2nd
*1 Operates when overdrive switch is set to "OFF". *2 Oil Pressure is applied to both 2nd "apply" side and 3rd "release" side of band servo piston. However, brake band does not contract because oil pressure area on the "release" side os greater than that on the "apply" side. *3 Oil pressure is applied to 4th "apply" side in condition *2 above, and brake contracts. *4 A/T will not shift to 4th when overdrive switch is set to "OFF" position.

PARK POSITION REVERSE POSITION

123 123 123 *1 123 123 *1 123 123 123 *1

NETRAL POSITION

*2 *3

Automatic Shift 1 --- 2 --- 3 --- 4

Automatic Shift 1 --- 2 --- 3 --- 4 Locks (held stationery) is 1st speed 1 ------ 2

123 123 123

Operates Operates when throttle opening is less than 1/16. Operates during "progressive" acceleration. Operates but does not affect power transmission.

depending on engine size. (Remember the 1.6 and 2.0 litre engines with their different output shafts?) Well, those engines have different High Clutches as well. The trans on the small engine has three .079"-thick friction plates, five .079"-thick steel plates, and one dished plate that points down against the piston. The transmission on the larger engine uses four .063"-thick friction plates, seven .059"-thick steel plates, but no dished plate. Clutch clearance is .055" - .094" on the three-friction pack and .055" .102" on the four-friction pack.

apply plate, the frictions and steels and - finally - the pressure plate. Do Not Align Splines When you install those dished plates, make sure the outer splines are Not aligned to one another. If the splines on the two plates touch one another, the plates will be too far apart and the clutch clearance will then be too tight. Clearance needs to be .055" - 110. Both one-way clutches in this unit could be installed backwards, so youll need to take extra care at this stage, or look forward to additional work you really dont want to do. The Low Clutch is a spring and roller type whose outer race should turn counterclockwise when you put it on the front planetary, as shown in Fig. 10. The Forward Clutch is a sprag type that installs between the Forward and the Overrun clutch hubs. When you hold the hub of the Forward Clutch, the Overrun hub should turn counter-clockwise, and it should lock when its turned clockwise. Fig. 11 shows you that. Neglected End Play Can Hurt Youll want to pay attention to the several end-play and pre-load adjustments on this transmission. The drivelines total end-play should be .010" - .022". Adjust the end-play by the selective front thrust bearing race on the back of the pump stator support.
Figure 11
Forward Clutch Hub Overrun Clutch Hub

The plastic washer between the pump and the Reverse Clutch drum is also selective. This washer adjusts end-play of the Reverse Clutch drum to the desired .026" - .039" specs. The Reduction Gear Shaft has tapered bearings at both ends with a selective shim in front of the rear bearing to set bearing preload at .002". After the shaft has been assembled, the torque required to turn it should be 1-6 in.-lbs. Its Been Simple So Far Now things get a bit tricky. Adjustment procedures for the output shaft and final drive are different between the trans on 1.6 litre engine and the one on the 2.0 litre engine. The trans on the smaller engine has tapered bearings on the output shaft and ball bearings on the final drive carrier. The trans on the 2.0 litre engine is set up exactly opposite. It has tapered bearings on the final drive plus a roller bearing and ball bearing on the output shaft. Be Sure To Get Your Bearings The output shaft for the 1.6 version (with tapered bearings) has to be preloaded .001" - .003", but the output shaft (with ball bearings) for the trans on the 2.0 litre engine should have an end-play reading between 0.0 and .020". The selective spacer for setting preload on the small shaft goes in front of the rear bearing. The shim for setting endplay on the large output shaft is between the ball bearing and the rear cover. If the final drive youre working on has tapered bearings, the preload spec is .0016" - .0035". The ball bearing and the rear cover. If the final drive you're working on has tapered bearings, the preload spec is .0016" - .0035". The ball bearing

Down with the Overrun, Up with The Forward! Near the rear of this trans is the forward clutch drum. At the bottom of this drum are the Overrun Clutches, and above those are the Forward Clutches. Both of those clutch packs have a dished plate at the bottom of the stack, but the Overrun dish points down while the Forward dish points up. Overrun Clutch clearance is .039" - .079"; the Forward Clutch clearance is .018" .073". The last clutch - its located in the back of the case - is the Low-Reverse Clutch. This stack-up starts with a flat steel plate against the piston, followed by a dished plate pointing down, a dished plate that points up, a thick
Figure 10

Low One-Way Clutch

Lock

Lock Unlock

version should have an end play of 0.0" - .006". In both cases, the selective shim goes between the bearing and the trans case. The only good thing about all these different shims is that they usually dont have to be changed, unless you replace hard parts that would affect the adjustment. Count yourself lucky on that one, because the list of shims goes on and on, and Id be surprised if you find them in stock at your local Nissan Dealer. With the information above, I think youll be able to readily handle building one of these transmissions. And just in case you care about what youre working on, keep reading. Heres the Secret The trans for the 1.6 litre engine has a stamped steel rear cover; its called the RL4FO3A, and its hydraulic. The trans for the 2.0 litre engine has a cast aluminum rear cover. In 1991 and 1992, Nissan gave it the same designation they used for the 1.6 version, RL4F03A. Fortunately for all of us, Nissan changed to full electronic control for this trans in 1993, and began calling it their RE4F03A. You may even run up against a RL4F03V or a RE4F03V, which are hydraulic and electronic versions of the 2.0 litre trans with a viscous coupling on the differential. So the next time you look at one of these trans on your workbench, youll not only know how to build it, youll know to which unit youre addressing your curses. (If you must swear, its much more satisfying to swear at something specific, instead of just in general.)

3L30 Valve Body Gaskets

There are two different lower valve body gaskets for the 3L30 (TH180/C) transmission. These two gaskets are very similar, and in some cases it is difficult to determine which is the correct one to use. The figures below show both gaskets, the TransTec part
TransTec #12633 1969-87

number for each gasket, and the difference between the gaskets. Note that the One Hole gasket fits 1969 through 1986 transmissions, plus the 1987 Chevette. The Two Hole gasket fits 1987-Up transmissions.

TransTec #12631 1987-Up

Jatco Teflon Lube Seal Rings

The Jatco F3A front drive transaxle and the 4N71B & N4A-EL rear drive transmissions use a thin wall Teflon ring to seal lube oil to the planetary gear train. In the F3A transaxle, this ring goes between the forward clutch drum and the front planetary carrier. The ring, TransTec #32270 (Mazda #FT0519538), will be included in TransTec ring kit #3308 starting with date code H95. It will also be in our Overhaul Kit #2118, which contains the #3308 ring kit. In the 4N71 B and N4A-EL rear drive transmissions, this ring fits between the overdrive planetary carrier and ring gear hub. It is larger than the F3A ring, and is identified as TransTec #32271 (Mazda #BV01-21-5A1). Ring kit #3322 will include this ring starting with date code J95. It will also be in Overhaul Kits #2178 and #2257, since they contain ring kit #3322.

NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT

New TransTec Overhaul Kit #DP2297 with Duraprene@ pan gasket are in stock and ready for immediate delivery for: BMW 525i (1991-0n), BMW 318i (1992-0n), BMW 325i (1992-0n), Isuzu Rodeo & Trooper 1990-On, and European Opels.

BMW, Isuzu & Opel 4L30-E Transmissions (1990-On)

TT