96 Beretta Project

[3400-95-Modified]

Used my new engine support brace.... Way easier than trying to work around a damn hoist, and then having a jack stand under the engine.



Spider failure






Burnt 4th gear clutches


Excess wear on input hub where 2nd gear interfaces


New axle support bearing/seals








Sonnax 3rd gear performance piston







ZZP aluminum trans pan



Checkball removal for improved 4th gear shift, and hopefully overall apply pressure.



3rd gear up and down shift orifices drilled out for quicker improved shifting



New Chain



Channel plate and valve body fun...









Then I stripped out this hole...





All back in on Sat night.



Woke up and remembered I forgot a spring.... LOVELY





She's all up and running now and feels great. I may even take the trans out over the winter and drill out the 2nd gear shift orifices because of how nice the 3rd gear shift feels.

[3400-95-Modified]

Lots of work in the past month on this pig...

Pulled the trans to try my last RevMax converter that I had made for free to replace the "rebuilt" one that had slipping lockup. Spoiler alert** LUCKILY after doing everything I did this time around the converter is working as it should be.

Now on to what was done.
Had the LSD serviced since it took a good beating after I broke the axle and it spun freely in 2015... Been driving on it since then and always felt that it seemed a bit loose after that. Come to find out a mod done to make the plates fit the HD diff compromised the spider gear which caused it to gaul up easy and slip easier. That's been repaired and it's back in and running...

On top of that I decided it was time to upgrade to my 4t65e 03+ ratchet type sprags for the input and 3rd gear clutches. That also required me to purchase new input clutches since the splines are different. Also while I was in there I found 4th gear was slipping, not sure why but made some changes there, removed every other piston return spring, removed shift passage check ball and went back to metallic type Raybestos clutches vs the Alto reds.

Next on the list was acquiring the Sonnax 3rd gear billet piston... That took way too long and really shouldn't have so that's what held up this whole project. Once I got that in the build was on it's way. New Raybestos stage 1 65e Input clutches, New Alto 2nd gear pack, re-used 3rd gear Raybestos Z-pak clutches, and Metallic Raybestos 4th clutches. Replaced all the bushings, replaced the input hub due to some wear from 2nd gear splines, replaced axle seals with axle seal/support bearing's (if you've never seen these they have a roller bearing that helps support the axle itself, really neat) New thrust washers, new drive chain and of course the RevMax high stall converter (existing one was a stock 2095 stall unit). This is the first time I've actually messed with valve body passages and check balls and I have to say... 3rd gear shift is NICE and so is 4th. I've always thought 3rd just slipped in and was so slow... I'm hoping this change gains me a few in the 1/4 as well because now it's real quick and firm! I'll get some pictures up later today.

[niceguy]

Nice welding job man! Laying dimes like a Boss lol

[Heartbeat1991]

Sounds good.

[3400-95-Modified]

Finished up the exhaust Friday of last week and I did not expect it to take on the MPFI note...



And the idle vid...

[3400-95-Modified]

Slowly plugging away at the exhaust system... Lacking the time to get out to the garage lately with my busy schedule.

Made up a muffler hanger from 316 stock.



And... Welding like a boss...



Also added a mid pipe hanger like the older cars had 316 stock again so it wont rust!.

[3400-95-Modified]

Yes I did manage to get the hunk down the track last year.. The time is actually in my signature, It did a 12.61@105 on nitrous which melted the spark plugs due to having too hot of a plug, but prior to that its now a 13.58@98.8mph car N/A which blew my mind since I did not expect this engine build to gain me over a half of a second... I was in the 14.1's with my old hybrid on a regular basis. This is also all with a 2095 stock style converter. I have not run it with my rebuilt RevMax one yet because the first rebuild I got back from them would not stay locked up on the higway and this car makes trips so that's necessary... I'm hoping the latest one in the box will work this time around so I can not only run nice on the highway with lockup but also maybe gain a few more 10th's with the higher stall by getting a quicker 60ft time.

And I will definitely keep the purge paper in mind for the future since with every project my welding requirements are getting more and more involved so I'm sure one day it will come in handy. A few years ago I never needed the ability to back purge and just last year I went on the hunt for a second L-35 flow meter so I could have a dual setup to make it possible. The collection of welding stuff continues to grow

[45es]

Lucky the sections that require a back purge are very short so the argon needed isn't that much. I only have to use it on the S design for the rear and the one pipe that I posted above where I have a butt joint. The flanges, if I keep the heat down I'm able to get the weld complete without any sugaring on the inside, its only the butt joints that are impossible to do that with. Plus the flanges if there is any rough patches on the inside I can easily clean it up. due to the easy access to it.

Your observations with respect heat and/or need for purge are correct of course. I mentioned the purge paper more as something you may find interesting. On the other hand, in the future if you find yourself butt welding some long sections it is you may want to consider.

I don't recall but with this latest engine build, did you ever get it to the track? Best time? It has been fun to ride along and watch the evolution of the car. Thanks for sharing.

[3400-95-Modified]

Lucky the sections that require a back purge are very short so the argon needed isn't that much. I only have to use it on the S design for the rear and the one pipe that I posted above where I have a butt joint. The flanges, if I keep the heat down I'm able to get the weld complete without any sugaring on the inside, its only the butt joints that are impossible to do that with. Plus the flanges if there is any rough patches on the inside I can easily clean it up. due to the easy access to it.

[45es]

Took a lot a patience to get it to come out that way... and I'm STILL learning how to do better. LOL

It does take a lot of patience and practice to make good quality welds. Your welds are showing the effort you are putting in as they do look good. You mentioned earlier back purging your welds. That can use a lot of argon if the system is large. Something we used to reduce the size of the purge area was a water soluble purge paper and/or tape. It is used to build a dam inside the pipe just beyond the weld joint area and when the weld is complete water is used to dissolve the dam. Due to the exhaust pipe being small diameter as apposed to some of the systems I worked on, the dam could be made with just the tape. It worked really well.

http://www.aquasolwelding.com/aquasol-water-soluble-paper-tape

[3400-95-Modified]

Took a lot a patience to get it to come out that way... and I'm STILL learning how to do better. LOL

[Heartbeat1991]

I wish I could weld like that.

[3400-95-Modified]

Getting some chit done last night.

Muffler!




Pipe made up to connect it.



Welds came out ok so far.



Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[3400-95-Modified]

New routing with the 120* pipe in there, Clears the axle way better...





Not worried about back purging... I have some metal tape that I use to cap the ends, and I have a dual flow meter so all is well there.

Did one flange last night after fixing my Subie... if this is a standard I set for myself I'm screwed... lol Muffler is coming tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to actually finish the rest of the mock up Wed or Thurs night.

[ericjon262]

here's an option if you don't want to back purge.

http://www.solarflux.com/Pages/Whyuse.html

as seen used here:

http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum3/HTML/000143.html