so i asked my buddy what he does to my 904's to make them last.
his reply:
****. Nothing exotic in there. The most exotic thing is the direct clutches and the fact there is 5 of them instead of 4.
There's a 4.2 lever. 1 5/8 wide band. 5 direct clutches. I always replace the bushing in the front drum no matter what and make sure the end play is on the tight end of the spec. I have a few secrets I do in the front drum. I drill a hole or two, enlarge a hole or two in the valve body. I have a certain way I set the line pressure screw. I use a screen filter. I set the two bands to my liking. Every unit is different, it's done by feel. And I normally don't do anything to the accumulators.
Other than that it is a close to tolerance stock overhaul replacing all the needed parts.
And on the installation, the linkage better be adjusted right and the kickdown better be hooked up or I don't want to hear a ******* word.