|
T/350 - 3 speed hydraulic transmission

This is what the T/350 transmission
looks like before we start to dismantle the unit and prepare it for
the wash. The whole process from this stage to the final coat of paint
will take three days while a standard unit can be built in one day.

This photo shows the
transmission completely striped and coming out of the hot wash just
before being taken to the rebuild room for inspection.

This shot above shows almost everything
that is used to build the EXTREME T/350 with only the convertor and
rear annulus missing. A lot of extra hard parts go into the Extreme
T/350 with the Front planetary, Reaction Bell, Center Support, Rear
Annulus, TCI Outer Sprag Ring and Super Wide Band all added for extra
strength. As you can appreciate we tend not to itemise the exact
contents of our kits.

This is a T/350 having is lower case
machined dead flat as they are NEVER flat. The machine used was
specially built for us as the surface is so large on many
transmissions, milling such a large surface area will always distort
the case as it builds up heat.

The end result of the machine work shows
the case now completely flat and free from any distortion it may have
received over the years. There has been many times that we have found
quite large bows within the case, some as large as 40 thou ( 1.00 mm
).

This is a perfect example of a pump half
that has been so poorly machined from the Factory that the large
portion shown between the fingers has been complete missed and not
machined at all.

As with all of our Extreme transmissions
particular attention is paid to the front surface of the pump ensuring
that it is not only perfectly flat but machined 90 degrees to the
alignment of the pump. Not like that last photo!

When machining the front pump surface
the rear thrust surface must also be machined for perfect alignment,
this must be done without removing the rear pump half from the lathe.

The width of the brand new inner and
outer pump gears are checked for tolerance after being wet blocked
flat.

The complete pump assembly with new
bushes, new Torrington bearing, intermediate piston assembly, direct
drum and forward drum rings, pump gasket and outer pump D`ring. The
end float shim under the Torrington bearing will no doubt be changed
during case assembly.

This is the new low - reverse clutch
pack replacing the standard clutch pack with new radial ground steel
plates and heavy duty treated frictions. In all there are 4 clutch
pack assemblies with in the transmission but we only have room for one
photo.

This is our new Super Wide Extreme band
that we have made locally with welded ends replacing the spot welded
ends and heavy duty lining replacing the factory O.E.M lining. The
band is later treated before assembly into the transmission.

This is a photo of the two different
front planetary assemblies that can be found in the T/350
transmission, one with a Torrington bearing and the other with a
thrust bearing. All Extreme T/350 transmissions are built using the
Torrington based front planetary.

On the left you see the newly imported
TCI Heavy Duty outer sprag ring that are fitted in all Extreme T/350
transmissions and on the right is the factory O.E.M unit that is quite
prone to brakeage under harsh conditions.

This photo shows the late model T/700
center support and roller sprag unit that is used in the construction
of the Extreme Transmission and on the right is the factory unit.
Notice the difference in height of the rollers? The T/700 unit on the
left is a lot thinker through the body of the outer sparge race
allowing for the long rollers to be fitted. The secret is in the
widening of the Rollers with the Outer Sprag Race being an
indirect but welcomed result. The inner race in interchangeable
between the two.

Machining the valve body flat is
possibly not one of the most important tasks that we undertake with
the EXTREME transmissions but it is certainly part of the Blue
Printing process that is undertaken.

Not all jobs can be done with machine
work, Every valve within the valve body has to be polished with the
Scotch Brite by hand and this can take a couple of hours to get them
all perfect.

This photo basically shows the valve
body after it has been completely stripped down and made ready for the
machine work and valve body updates that are added to bring the unit
up to scratch.

This shot shows a T/350 case having it`s
forward mounting surface ( Bell Housing ) machined square to the
alignment of the transmission tunnel. The lathe that we bought to do
this job weighs over 7 tons and is over 14 feet long.

This is a great shot showing right down
deep inside in the empty transmission as we install the new rear bush
into the base of the case.

With just the pump to go on after the
final dummy assembly we are on the home run. Everything has to
be kept absolutely clean and dust free during the assembly stage or
what you will get is a transmission full of stuck valves.

With the main case assembly finally
complete after disassembling and reassembling for the umpteenth time
to get the end float exactly right. All we have left in the
installation of the valve body, Filter and sump.

It take's almost two days just to paint
the transmission with two coats of enamel under coat going on before
the two coats of gloss black are added.

The final product has taken a total of
three days to build and another day and a half to paint but the
Extreme T/350 transmission is now complete. This is when you know you
got what you paid for.
|