Ok guys.....there is always someone looking for advise on an automatic tranmission. Now I'm not going to say go with anyone. All I'm gonna do is give you a breif run down of operation. Hopefully this clears up some things.

Torque Converter: The torque converter has a fluid coupling. To get an idea of how this operates it is like taking 2 fans and facing them towards eachother. Now turn one fan on. The other fan will turn due to the air movement. A converter works in a smilar fashion. The Different companies out there have found a way to make the second, non powered fan spin at a higher rate. They do this with the Stator. The stator changes the direction of the air flow. The stator dictates Stall Speed and converter effency.

Stall Speed: Remember when you were a kid...maybe you still are....And you put your left foot on the brake, and your right on the gas to do a big old smokey burn out? Well now do the same thing, but don't let the tires break loose. The point where the engine revs to but does nothing. That is the Stall Speed. The stall speed is done within the converter with the Stator.

Planetary Gearset: A planetary gearset is a very strong gearset. It has 3 main parts. The annulus gear, the the planetary carrier and the sun gear. To explain this, think of hellical cut gear in the center, around it you have 3 smaller hellical cut gears and outside of that you have the Annulus gear. This looks more like a drum, inside it is where the small planetary gears run.

Clutches and Bands: The various clutches in our transmission are slightly different than most other transmissions. In the Overdrive(rear section) of our transmission there is a VERY large spring that holds the Direct clutch. The Direct clutch is applied even when the truck is sitting still. The Direct Clutch is used for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and reverse. The only time the Direct Clutch is not applied is in 4th gear.

Overrun clutch and Overrun sprag is a simple one way clutch. They are 2 different assemblies that do the same job, but in different areas of the transmission The Overrun Clutch is in the rear of the main case of the transmission, it is used for 1st, manual 1 and manual 2. The Overrun Sprag is used in all forward gears in our transmission. It is located in the overdrive section.

The Bands: The Front band is applied in 2nd gear and 2nd gear Manual selection only. The Rear band is applied in Reverse and Manual 1st only. It is used in Manual first for engine braking.

Reverse: The Front Clutch, Rear Band and the Direct Clutch are applied
First: The Rear Clutch, the Overrun clutch, the Direct Clutch, and the Overrun Sprag
Second: Front Band, Rear Clutch, Direct Clutch and the Overrun Sprag
Third: Front Clutch, Rear Clutch, Direct Clutch and the Overrun Sprag
Fourth: Front Clutch, Rear Clutch, and Unapplies the Direct clutch and applies the Overdrive Clutch.

Manual First: Same as above, but applies the rear band for engine braking.
Manual Second: Same as above.


I hope this helps you guys understand the function of the transmission a little better.