Originally Posted By John_Kunkel
Originally Posted By DLJ
when I told him I would put in an orifice plug in the direct clutch he said I`d FRY my clutches...


Nonsense !!!! The "tech" probably believes that the delayed clutch engagement will cause the clutches to wear...we're only talking fractions of a second delay. In fact, the factory reduced the size of the front clutch feed orifice in the VB separator plate in '71 to eliminate overlap, the orifice plug does the same thing but further downstream.


Thanks John_Kunkel, I have just tried today the 0.140" direct clutch orifice I made out of aluminum and must tell I also changed the Pressure Regulator spring for the heavy duty spring that came in the Superior shift kit so I noticed all the 2-3 upshifts became more aggressive than before, feeling more like a little bang, even at lower rpm, at WOT it still feels like a bump in the powertrain but somehow not so much as before.
Maybe the increased line pressure (15 to 20% stronger PR spring) is causing the 2-3 upshifts more perceptible and the orifice plug I installed should be smaller... I saw a few trans techs posting they end up in the 0.110" diameter range but my 46RE is for street use, not into offroad or track at all so I want to preserve the clutches and bands not having harsh shifts.
I will drive the truck a few more days and by the weekend probably will remove the VB again, come back to the stock PR spring and try a smaller orifice plug, should I go 0.130"? or 0.120"? If I get a flare up I know I have to use a larger orifice... don't want to remove the VB that many times but I can't sleep with my current harsh wot 2-3 upshift, just have to try.

Again, my question would be, an orifice plug installed in the direct clutch port would not really fry my clutches because after they have been applied, they require a small amount of fluid flow to maintain pressure on the clutches, am I corretct?

In other words, the 0.010" orifice would still be large enough to allow fluid flow to maintain the front clutches applied at the correct pressure, is that correct?