polished steels

[ITSAV6]

Bruce-are you still testing those machined smooth steels. Don't remember who sent them to you. I was wondering if it was a bust or if they were still being tested.
Later

 

[monte_383]

I sent 'em...

... but I didn't have enough good used ones to make a whole set. I don't think it progressed much from there, least I didn't hear anything more from Bruce. I'm still willing to do more (a whole set this time) but I would like to start with new steels this time. The first batch I did was an experiment to see if it would even work on something that light weight. The stuff we usually do that type of finish work on weighs ~15-50 lbs and the weight of it pushes the object into the machine. -Chuck

 

[ITSAV6]

ok

I was just wondering if anything ever came out of them. That was to get them perfectly flat?

 

[WE4]

That is funny,

Because 1) I found them yesterday and 2) I am building Chucks trans right now and was gonna call him to see if he wanted them in there
I still dont have a full set but I like the finish. When we have more time, (spring/summer) we will play some more with them. But it is ironic I ran across them yesterday.


Bruce
WE4

 

[ITSAV6]

hmmm?

Does this make me have ESP?

 

[chris718]

some vuseful information .bruce you should know this already as we all ate alot of kevlar bands rite ?polished steels only work with hard clutches or bands .polished steels with paper clutches dont hold .look at the clutch and the steel w/ a magnifying glass .if you are using raybestos blue kevlars in a heavy car with polished steels the shift quality sucks . at 3200 lbs or below its acceptable but still better with syock steels .polisghed surface has however proved useful in powerglides w/ kevlar band and transbrake to improve t brake apply and reduce rock but who gives a crap ....this is a buick board and we all love our 2004rs .too bad they dont fit under the covers or my daughters teddy would be getting kicked out . she does play with 4 brand new red ,white , orange and green governor gears that daddy gave her .

 

[monte_383]

They weren't exactly polished per se, just reeeally smooth and flat. Which was the reason for doing them, to make them flat. The smoothness was a by product at first, then discussion turned to surface finish. I'm not the one to say it has a benefit or not, I just put them on the machine to get flat. Bruce has the set of plates that I sent and he can testify to the lack of flatness the stock plates have to begin with. Some of the plates I put on the machine for 30 minutes a side (normal machine cycle) came out great, others had been on for 1.5 -2 hours on just one side and still weren't flat enough to warrant turning over to do the other side. We were initially going for flat to see if we could get more longevity out of the clutch discs.
Bruce, we'll have to get a whole set tested before I put them in my tranny, shipping is a killer out there and back Sure would be nice to know since mine's on the bench now tho. -Chuck

 

[chris718]

i really dont see this as something to invest time in ,but thats my opinion

 

[WE4]

I'll bet..

Chris, you were the one who put the Baby Ruth bar in the pool too, Huh?

ROFLMAO

Bruce
WE4

WE are playing and LEARNING , thats all

 

[chris718]

i hear you ,get the skimmer

 

[jakeshoe]

I've always hand sanded my steels with some 400-600 paper but recently started sanding them with paper taped to marble tile. It puts a nice finish on them and should flatten them better. Not a "machined" finish but a deglazed smooth and flat finish.
A person could always check surface finish and compare results. The its just a matter of determining what works best...
I'll leave that to you experts.

 

[chris718]

sanded steels on clutch packs that carry an upshifting torque load interrupts the bond between friction and steel materials causing less clamping force and also erodes the friction material .if you sheer the oil film you overheat the frictions and severely reduce durability in stock and hp applications.new unsanded steels will always produce the same shift pattern ,sanded will not and shift charetaristics will always differ untill steel and friction unify and by thenhard ,torn clutch surface just aint working how it could have withNEW,UNSANDED STEELS.

 

[monte_383]

Just to clarify, the machine I put them on produces a finish equivalent to 2000 grit paper. Rather smooth, I don't think they would have the friction erosion problems Chris is mentioning with coarser paper. I can see where he's coming from with a more coarse finish though. -Chuck

 

[jakeshoe]

I use solvent to "wet sand" the steels. Not trying to put a coarse finish and really it leaves a fairly smooth finish. I've always believed that the steels will get somewhat glazed in the first couple of shifts, which are usually under light load.
So what do you do Bruce?
I don't care for the varnish stuff that comes on new steels so like to at least knock that off.
So should I not sand the steels or sand with even finer paper?

 

[WE4]

Me?

I use new ones whenever possible.

 

[jakeshoe]

Bruce,
So I take it you don't sand them because they are new. I use new ones too, there too cheap not too but have always hit them with something to scuff them up, 400-600 grit wet/dry paper, scotchbrite, whatever. Never had a problem.
But I'm going off old tehcnology too so just looking to learn something new. Obviously Chris knows his stuff but I always like to get the opinion of more than one person.

 

[PTS XTREME]

New steels are fine as is, the finish monte_383 is doing is not for the finish, he's not trying to polish or scuff them just trying to make them "perfectly" flat.

 

[Blown&Injected]

Originally posted by jakeshoe
I use solvent to "wet sand" the steels. Not trying to put a coarse finish and really it leaves a fairly smooth finish. I've always believed that the steels will get somewhat glazed in the first couple of shifts, which are usually under light load.
So what do you do Bruce?
I don't care for the varnish stuff that comes on new steels so like to at least knock that off.
So should I not sand the steels or sand with even finer paper?

How about a laquer thinner bath and some paper towles to just clean the varnish off the steels?

 

[HOTTOGO]

Originally posted by Blown&Injected
How about a laquer thinner bath and some paper towles to just clean the varnish off the steels?

That's fine, but preferably compressed air or lint free towel.

 

[chris718]

reply to polished steels .something to think about .i have seen aods and 700s in nyc taxi cabs with 290 /320,000 miles on the original trans with no damage to the steels and just about 0 paper lining left w/out failure ,or burning /bluing of the steels . these guys have alot more at stake as far as unhappy customers so i say use new non sanded stock steels always and kolenes in lite cars w soft clutches , but never in a 2004r lots of luck.www.ckperformance.com