Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

30RH Replace or Reuse?

Christian.mers

Point A to Point B
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May 7, 2024
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339
Location
Huntington, West Virginia
Rebuilding my trans, rear drum damage was very minimal. However, all these components are part of the Front Drum assembly (I haven’t pulled the Spring or Pump yet, I’m wrapping It up for the night)

Just for giggles here’s what the clutches and steels look like they got so hot that they warped and friction welded together. That explains a lot!

Thought you would find this amusing @hear
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Transmission pr0n are my favorite threads. Good on you for tackling this project. Don't listen to anybody who says you can't do it or you need a clean room or it's best left to the professionals.

Those frictions are roasted for sure, bravo. Let's see both sides of the "thicc steel" aka the pressure plate. It might be scored hard on the one side. The snap rings show evidence of being burned, but they're totally re-usable so long as the clearance is right when you re-assemble it. You bought a rebuild kit with new steels, right? Also be aware that the front & rear frictions are the same diameter, but not the same thickness. I can never remember which goes where, I have to set up both stacks and then measure the clearance. If both check out then you're golden. If only one checks out then you probably have them in the wrong drums.

The scoring on the drum indicates that either your kickdown band is thrashed or there was some hard debris that got between the band and the drum. If those grooves can catch a fingernail then you might want to take it to a machine shop to smooth out. They can take a few thou off that thing w/o issue, the kickdown band is the only thing that cares about the outside diameter and the band adjust process will remain unchanged. If you can't catch a fingernail on the grooves then just send it. Nothing about that drum makes me think you need a new one, but a new one is (a) expensive and (b) could screw up your overall endplay, requiring a different set of thrust washers which you probably don't have. Replacing the drum is a last resort.

I also recommend a good cleaning of everything. Brake clean & then compressed air. Remember that there are tiny holes on the drums, shaft, pump, and case (including the piston bores)...brake clean all that crap out multiple times, then compressed air to dry. It's also a good time to get familiar with what holes & passages connect to each other. This is your one chance to clean everything out to start fresh, don't miss the opportunity.
 
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I bought all the basics, my band, clutches, and steels have been soaking for about a day now. I’ve made sure to be extremely through with my cleaning and I disassembled my valve body and cleaned as well. I’ve ran through shop towels and brake clean but it’s all part of the process! I don’t have compressed air which is my only issue

Another tip for Frictions on the 30RH, the Front Clutch pack has 4 Frictions and 4 Steels (5 If you include the pressure plate)
While the Rear Clutch Pack 3 Frictions and 2 Steels (4 if you include the top and bottom pressure plates)
Besides having a difference appearance per clutch pack (at least with Raybestos) you also have a different amount of internal components so there’s no guessing games, put it together once and check clearance and then move forward.

Attached is a picture of my Pressure plate for the Front Clutch Assembly

Attached is a picture of my kickdown band

Another tip is the 30RH has a single wrap and (at least my 97) and has a stupid band link and strut instead of sitting on the reaction pin like the similar 32RH

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Is that a friction fused to the other side of the pressure plate?! And show me what you mean by "stupid band link strut."

For the frictions, if you have both drums torn down then you'll find yourself in the same place of not knowing which new frictions go in which drum. The kit probably gave you 4 of each, right? Because it doesn't know if you're rebuilding a 30 or 32, so they send you enough parts to do either. There will be extra stuff like that in the kit. I have a bin full that unused stuff.

For the valve body, I really and truly hope you took video of you disassembling the valves. The FSM has an error on (at least) one of the valve orientations. In the FSM corrections thread I corrected the diagram, but obviously it is not in the actual FSM. I believe the ATSG guide has it correct. I think I make a mention of it in my video...hmmm....maybe I need to go re-watch that, because the video would've been me following the FSM and therefore doing it wrong. Now I can't recall if I corrected that in the video or not.

Also be very careful on torque specs when you re-assemble. There are a few that are supposed to be inch-lbs but the typesetter forgot the "*" so they appear to be foot-lbs. That will be a costly mistake if you're not paying attention. Ask me how I know.
 
It it in fact fused! It got so hot that they are all warped to the shape of the pressure plate and 2 frictions fused to 1 steel!

The kit came with 4 rear and 5 front frictions

The link is different between 30RH and 32RH. Attached is a picture

For the valve body I just watched your video and took a million pictures and videos. I didn’t notice any discrepancies in your VB disassembly video compared to my experience.
Now that I look back I don’t think I noticed the discrepancies, could you point them out for me?


I also noticed you mentioned the torque spec errors in your videos so I have made a mental note of that

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I’m also having a lot of trouble getting my clutch piston back into my Rear clutch drum. Any tips?? I’ve tried a lip wizard, a lot of atf, and a twisting motion and no luck. I’ve also ensured both seals are oriented the correct way.
 
I used red grease in one of my videos, but I think ATF might ultimately work better fyi. If there's a trick, I haven't found it yet. It just takes some patience & perserverance. And usually what happens is I get fed up, go grab a drink, and then come back with a clear head and it drops right in. You'll notice in my video there is a clear cut while I'm doing that step. There's a reason for that cut.
 
Around 3:50 is where I do the kickdown valve, which is wrong in the FSM. It's been a minute since I did a valve body so I can't recall if my video is correct, or if my text overlay is different from what I'm saying I'm doing in the video. Sorry I can't remember the exact deets at the moment.

 
I didn’t notice the sleeve had a right and wrong way. Looking at the valve body it is protruding which leads me to believe it is in the incorrect orientation.

I installed in this orientation

Is it correct in your video?

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you can get them off ebay probably, but you'll want to mic them. The ones you have set the endplay on the input & output shafts.
 
the sleeve should fit all the way down to the shoulder on the kickdown valve. The inside diameters are different on either end. I show it in that same video I posted.
 
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you can get them off ebay probably, but you'll want to mic them. The ones you have set the endplay on the input & output shafts.

I couldn’t seem to find any on eBay except this which I’m pretty Sure is from cobra and they have it $45 shipped on their site. Also listed on Amazon at around $50 shipped and arriving October 10-14

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I've never had to replace them before, but I've never had a set that were as worn as yours. I bought the kit from OPT when I did my first rebuild but ended up not using them because mine were great. They were $35, but i was already paying for shipping for the rest of the kit. Sorry for not telling you that you needed them, I honestly didn't expect that you would.

I did a little reading just now, and apparently that bronze layer has a lower coefficient of friction which reduces heat and has other good properties. I was tempted to tell you to just send those too, but now I think that is bad advice. You should replace them. Try to find some that aren't in australia, lol.

I have a 904 core in my garage....I wonder what shape they're in?
 
You did tell me to get them, I remember you said “Thrust washers yes” I had just forgotten to order them when I was buying everything.

Probably in better shape than mine
 
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Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator