Manual Valve Body

[austinjjesus]

Does anybody have any experience or opinions on running a manual valve body in a 4l80e in a pro touring application?

[Craig@Bowler]

Does anybody have any experience or opinions on running a manual valve body in a 4l80e in a pro touring application?

Do you have a particular reason why you want to go that route? With the way that transmission is controlled electronically you can have full manual shift control without going to a full manual valve body.

[austinjjesus]

Do you have a particular reason why you want to go that route? With the way that transmission is controlled electronically you can have full manual shift control without going to a full manual valve body.

Manual control without the need for a clutch. How can I do that without the manual valve body?

[Craig@Bowler]

Well, there will be clutch packs in that transmission regardless of how you are controlling the shifts. Going to a full manual valve body will allow you to run that transmission without an electronic controller, but you will always have to shift from gear to gear every time you want to change gears. If you keep the TCM in control, you will have fully automatic shifting and the ability to manual shift, so for a street driven car it just makes more sense to us to keep it electronically controlled.

[austinjjesus]

Well, there will be clutch packs in that transmission regardless of how you are controlling the shifts. Going to a full manual valve body will allow you to run that transmission without an electronic controller, but you will always have to shift from gear to gear every time you want to change gears. If you keep the TCM in control, you will have fully automatic shifting and the ability to manual shift, so for a street driven car it just makes more sense to us to keep it electronically controlled.

So is it possible to run a sort of gated shifter on just a normal 4l80e and control the low end? With it fully cooperating

[Craig@Bowler]

So is it possible to run a sort of gated shifter on just a normal 4l80e and control the low end? With it fully cooperating

Yes, as long as you are still using the shifter in conjunction with a transmission control module. If you go with full manual valve body you will lose the "automatic" shifting and it will have to be manually shifted into each gear, so you will have to physically put the gear selector in 1, then 2, then 3, then 4 and back down again as you need to down shift. If you put it into just "drive" or 4th gear it will always be in that gear if that helps clear it up.

[AU Doc]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what is being asked, but with a gated shifter would it be possible to go from (for example) 1st directly to 3rd or 4th? Similarly for downshifting, would it be possible to go from 4th down to first?

It seems like you would be putting the transmission in neutral each time you changed gears. Would that be excessively hard on the transmission?

[astroracer]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what is being asked, but with a gated shifter would it be possible to go from (for example) 1st directly to 3rd or 4th? Similarly for downshifting, would it be possible to go from 4th down to first?

It seems like you would be putting the transmission in neutral each time you changed gears. Would that be excessively hard on the transmission?

A gated automatic shifter will run through the gears without going to neutral. Neutral should be locked out until you physically unlock the gate with the shifter lever.
Look at any column or console shifter, you will see the N is between reverse and drive and cannot be reached through any other gear selection.
I ran a couple of TH350's with manual valve bodies a long time ago and got tired of rowing very quickly. I put the auto valve bodies back in within a couple of weeks... It's easy enough to "run thru the gears" when you pull the shifter back into Low.
Also, there is valving inside the transmission to protect it from a 4>3, 4>2, or 4>1 downshift with the console shifter. The trans will not downshift into the next gear until the RPM's and line pressures reach a certain point.
Mark

PS: Installing a "ratchet" style shifter like B&M's Mega unit or Hurst's V-Matic (same shifter as the B&M) will allow you to pull the shifter all the way down into 1 when you first start rolling. As the car speeds up you can just "slap" the shifter forward to the next gear. I just put the Hurst shifter in my '56 wagon with 200R4 and it works very well.

[AU Doc]

Ah! Gotcha! I was thinking gated as in H-pattern similar to a manual.

[austinjjesus]

Only reason I'm asking is because I had a suburban with the 4l80e and it wouldn't stay in the low gears like I wanted it to, it would shift even if i had it in the 1 position or 2.

[astroracer]

Only reason I'm asking is because I had a suburban with the 4l80e and it wouldn't stay in the low gears like I wanted it to, it would shift even if i had it in the 1 position or 2.

Look into having it reprogrammed. The upshifts and downshifts can be altered using the computer. A high performance type tune may work for you in this case.
Mark

[Craig@Bowler]

Only reason I'm asking is because I had a suburban with the 4l80e and it wouldn't stay in the low gears like I wanted it to, it would shift even if i had it in the 1 position or 2.

Look into having it reprogrammed. The upshifts and downshifts can be altered using the computer. A high performance type tune may work for you in this case.
Mark

Exactly. The factory settings will try and keep you from destroying it by overriding and going to the next gear, with a custom program or aftermarket controller you can alter those settings.