Transmission Input Seals, the Bad, the Good and the Best

[MrMarty51]

Just curious as to which is the better brand of seal to use on the front pump of a transmission, rather it be automatic or manual transmission.
The two brands carried at our parts stores are CR and National.
I once preferred the CR but then later changed to National, for reasons I can no longer rememer.

 

[MrMarty51]

No opinions on seals.
I guess it could get as ugly as the best motor oils threads.

 

[dbrannon79]

I would go with ether brand CR or National. IDK if ether are made in USA, but the local Napa should allow you to have a looksee before paying. have a look at them and make sure they are the double lip type with the inner spring. single lip seals don't do as well.

 

[MrMarty51]

I would go with ether brand CR or National. IDK if ether are made in USA, but the local Napa should allow you to have a looksee before paying. have a look at them and make sure they are the double lip type with the inner spring. single lip seals don't do as well.

That I shalt dooooh.
Just started scraping and soaking oil, grease and grime on the under the engine components.
Have not yet pulled the torque convertor to check it out.
Be nice to get a flush done on it but that would require a drive to Billings and taking a day off work, where there is yet no leave time accumulated.
IDK how good a new TC from a parts store would be, or even if they have different brands that might be better.

 

[dbrannon79]

I will let @Will L. and others chime in on the TCC. not sure who sells a good one.

 

[MrMarty51]

The two local choices.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/power-torque/engines---transmissions/transmission---transaxle/torque-converter/43c9cd85a6be/power-torque-13-3-4-inch-remanufactured-torque-converter/tcr0/tc1155

And NAPA

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/PMTGM88

Might best contact @Quadstar Tuning LLC and get one on its way.

 

[dbrannon79]

if you plan to do any towing I would look for one with a better built TCC lockup disc. I recall @WarWagon talking about the triple disc ones. from what I remember, it's the TCC disc that goes first and takes out the rest of the transmission on our 4l80's

 

[MrMarty51]

if you plan to do any towing I would look for one with a better built TCC lockup disc. I recall @WarWagon talking about the triple disc ones. from what I remember, it's the TCC disc that goes first and takes out the rest of the transmission on our 4l80's

Yeah. I do remember him telling of that.
I was just on QStar, $675.00 for their unit.
The PO told me that this transmission had been recently gone through before he got the truck and the PO didnt do any hauling with it.
Maybe I should just take the chance and stay with this TC as it seemed to have been working right and correct.

 

[dbrannon79]

Yeah. I do remember him telling of that.
I was just on QStar, $675.00 for their unit.
The PO told me that this transmission had been recently gone through before he got the truck and the PO didnt do any hauling with it.
Maybe I should just take the chance and stay with this TC as it seemed to have been working right and correct.

While you have it out, look for any numbers or stamping, that might tell you if it's a good one or what was put in when it was rebuilt.

I know on my 93, the PO told me that the trans had been rebuilt with less than 2k miles on it but it was done back in 2018, it had just sat so long.

I can feel a difference between it and my 95 when the TCC locks up. the 93 feels much stronger. the one in my 95 probably needs replaced. I've been babying it LOL. Though I need to at some point figure out what is causing the 93 to hard shift from 1st to 2nd. only does it after warming up and it will shift at low speed so it's not like the RPM is up when it does but it's the only gear change that hits hard.

 

[Will L.]

I am Not a good guy for trans parts. Take that any way you want.

 

[MrMarty51]

While you have it out, look for any numbers or stamping, that might tell you if it's a good one or what was put in when it was rebuilt.

I know on my 93, the PO told me that the trans had been rebuilt with less than 2k miles on it but it was done back in 2018, it had just sat so long.

I can feel a difference between it and my 95 when the TCC locks up. the 93 feels much stronger. the one in my 95 probably needs replaced. I've been babying it LOL. Though I need to at some point figure out what is causing the 93 to hard shift from 1st to 2nd. only does it after warming up and it will shift at low speed so it's not like the RPM is up when it does but it's the only gear change that hits hard.

Good plan. Check for brand and numbers.
If it appears to be GM numbers then chances are transmission is all original to the truck. Or could be the rebuilder rebuilt the TC while it was out.

 

[dbrannon79]

Good plan. Check for brand and numbers.
If it appears to be GM numbers then chances are transmission is all original to the truck. Or could be the rebuilder rebuilt the TC while it was out.

It might have some GM numbers on it, but I would think most re-builders would stamp or tag them as well somehow.

 

[WarWagon]

if you plan to do any towing I would look for one with a better built TCC lockup disc. I recall @WarWagon talking about the triple disc ones. from what I remember, it's the TCC disc that goes first and takes out the rest of the transmission on our 4l80's

The OEM TC clutch is weak: You don't want to override it as is/was a popular mode to manually lock the TC on. The more common failure mode is the TCC apply piston in the valve body wears out the bore and the TC slips from that. Changing the transmission oil often helps these components live longer.

The Triple Disk Yank I used would hold lugging the engine at 35 MPH where the OEM TC would slip and the ECM would unlock and lock it rapidly. I had a tune that would lock it at 35 MPH. Shitty 10 MPG in town unloaded where 35MPH is the lowest common denominator speed limit was a reason I wanted to lower the TC lockup speed. The switch forced lockup wouldn't notice the slipping as the ECM expected slippage assuming an unlocked converter clutch.