Zack
08-17-2004, 07:45 PM
Well it seems as though Im making an annual event of burning up my transmission. I lost Overdrive at MV1 AND MV2, how ironic.
The first time the trans was rebuilt revealed every clutch pack, the overdrive band, snap rings, gaskets, etc were COOKED. So the trans was rebuilt to Jerry W. specs and off I went, thinking I had an indestructable transmission.
Well, MV2 comes along and bye bye overdrive. So I get the car home, (thank god for a 2 hour ride vs. 17 hours from Texas!) and pull the trans.
After disassembly, I find the overdrive band is fried, along with the reverse input drum (what the overdrive band 'clamps' to. This is also what happened the first time being rebuilt.) The intermediate clutches are also burned up 50%, which is very uncommon because they are so big. Everything else looks fine.
I can understand why overdrive went out, bad driving habits no doubt. I am notorious for going in and out of overdrive under a lot of power, which rapidly decreases the life of the OD band, on a S/C car or bone stock.
Easy fix, turn OD off around town, never do a WOT downshift out of OD (turn it off first, making sure it is disengaged before going WOT) and only use it when I know Im gonna be cruising around for extended periods.
So a new OD band and reverse input drum is on the list.
On to the Intermediate clutches. Im still confused about this, so I buy a dial caliper to measure the steels and frictions. Turns out when it was rebuilt last, this clutch pack was built on the highest side (loosest) of allowable clearances. Fine for a stock Marauder, but obviously not for mine. So I borrowed a special Ford tool for measuring the clearance and built this clutch pack to the low side (tightest) of tolerance. I was within .001 of the lowest measurement allowed. Im satisfied this will remedy the situation. I also raised the trans pressure a little with my SCT Software.
On to the torque converter.
Im gonna take advantage of Precision Industries 2 year 'free rebuild and stall speed change' I talked to Jack at precision and told him I wanted the Converter to be gone through, checked and the stall speed raised to 3500. No problem he says, just send it in. Folks, I sent it out Tuesday and I had it back the following Tuesday; unbelievable service. I paid 16 bucks for shipping. Obviously I want the stall speed changed to bring my 60 foot times down, which I will discuss later.
While I was in the trans, I replaced all the friction plates (which didnt need changing) but if you are a car guy or gal, you know why I did this, just because. All in all, parts total straight from the Ford Dealer totaled up to $200. Keep in mind the reverse input drum, which is not usually replaced unless you are a maniac driver like me costs $80 bucks by itself. I also picked up a Ford Racing Trans Pan which sells for $200. 2 extra quart capacity.
So I get it back in the car, which is considerably harder when you have Kooks Headers, but it went in without a hitch. I start it up after Midnight on a weekday, fill it with fluid and go for a ride. Its awesome for a mile until I downshift into second. Unfortunately, I only had second after this. Turns out the long electrical connector below the valve body came loose on one connection, no problem, reconnect it and its fine. I wont let this happen ever again!
Off to the track. the stall speed change is incredible for the track and the street. There are NO temperature increases and driveability is almost identical to the 3000 stall. Im pleased. The engine also revs much quicker.
After 4 runs at the track before it poured rain, the converter change netted me a 1.738 60 foot time; with my previous best of 1.83 @ 3000 stall. Not bad for free, huh? I ended up with a 12.092 et, awesome! When I get my electric water pump installed, 11's should be within my reach.
Back to the trans. Another reason I attribute my OD failing is because of constant manual shifting. When you are manual shifting from 1-2, the trans applies the OD band, which is bad. Im not sure if it remains unengaged when OD is off, but I will look into it. So this is a tech article and friendly warning to anyone here who drives like me. You WILL cook OD very easily.
Change your driving habits if anything here applies to you. Just put it in drive and forget about it. I used to have to manual shift when I first got into modding the car because it would hit the rev limiter if I did not have control of the trans manually. Now that I have the SCT Software, I can make changes on the fly. Would you believe my car shifts between 6500 and 6700 when im at the track. I go through the trap at 6600rpm. Scary isnt it? But it refuses to blow up, so Ill keep pushing it harder.
After the 3500 stall change, the shifts felt weak due to the looseness of the converter. So I went into the software and damn near maxed out the shifting pressure, which yielded tight, crisp shifts once again. It will probably aid in clutch life as well.
On a final note, this transmission is a breeze to rebuild. Do not be scared of it, a Turbo 400 is harder, Im not kidding.
Treat your transmission with the kindness it needs to stay in one piece, because Im sure not many of you enjoy rebuilding them, let alone removing them on a garage floor.
I hope you enjoyed this-
Zack
The first time the trans was rebuilt revealed every clutch pack, the overdrive band, snap rings, gaskets, etc were COOKED. So the trans was rebuilt to Jerry W. specs and off I went, thinking I had an indestructable transmission.
Well, MV2 comes along and bye bye overdrive. So I get the car home, (thank god for a 2 hour ride vs. 17 hours from Texas!) and pull the trans.
After disassembly, I find the overdrive band is fried, along with the reverse input drum (what the overdrive band 'clamps' to. This is also what happened the first time being rebuilt.) The intermediate clutches are also burned up 50%, which is very uncommon because they are so big. Everything else looks fine.
I can understand why overdrive went out, bad driving habits no doubt. I am notorious for going in and out of overdrive under a lot of power, which rapidly decreases the life of the OD band, on a S/C car or bone stock.
Easy fix, turn OD off around town, never do a WOT downshift out of OD (turn it off first, making sure it is disengaged before going WOT) and only use it when I know Im gonna be cruising around for extended periods.
So a new OD band and reverse input drum is on the list.
On to the Intermediate clutches. Im still confused about this, so I buy a dial caliper to measure the steels and frictions. Turns out when it was rebuilt last, this clutch pack was built on the highest side (loosest) of allowable clearances. Fine for a stock Marauder, but obviously not for mine. So I borrowed a special Ford tool for measuring the clearance and built this clutch pack to the low side (tightest) of tolerance. I was within .001 of the lowest measurement allowed. Im satisfied this will remedy the situation. I also raised the trans pressure a little with my SCT Software.
On to the torque converter.
Im gonna take advantage of Precision Industries 2 year 'free rebuild and stall speed change' I talked to Jack at precision and told him I wanted the Converter to be gone through, checked and the stall speed raised to 3500. No problem he says, just send it in. Folks, I sent it out Tuesday and I had it back the following Tuesday; unbelievable service. I paid 16 bucks for shipping. Obviously I want the stall speed changed to bring my 60 foot times down, which I will discuss later.
While I was in the trans, I replaced all the friction plates (which didnt need changing) but if you are a car guy or gal, you know why I did this, just because. All in all, parts total straight from the Ford Dealer totaled up to $200. Keep in mind the reverse input drum, which is not usually replaced unless you are a maniac driver like me costs $80 bucks by itself. I also picked up a Ford Racing Trans Pan which sells for $200. 2 extra quart capacity.
So I get it back in the car, which is considerably harder when you have Kooks Headers, but it went in without a hitch. I start it up after Midnight on a weekday, fill it with fluid and go for a ride. Its awesome for a mile until I downshift into second. Unfortunately, I only had second after this. Turns out the long electrical connector below the valve body came loose on one connection, no problem, reconnect it and its fine. I wont let this happen ever again!
Off to the track. the stall speed change is incredible for the track and the street. There are NO temperature increases and driveability is almost identical to the 3000 stall. Im pleased. The engine also revs much quicker.
After 4 runs at the track before it poured rain, the converter change netted me a 1.738 60 foot time; with my previous best of 1.83 @ 3000 stall. Not bad for free, huh? I ended up with a 12.092 et, awesome! When I get my electric water pump installed, 11's should be within my reach.
Back to the trans. Another reason I attribute my OD failing is because of constant manual shifting. When you are manual shifting from 1-2, the trans applies the OD band, which is bad. Im not sure if it remains unengaged when OD is off, but I will look into it. So this is a tech article and friendly warning to anyone here who drives like me. You WILL cook OD very easily.
Change your driving habits if anything here applies to you. Just put it in drive and forget about it. I used to have to manual shift when I first got into modding the car because it would hit the rev limiter if I did not have control of the trans manually. Now that I have the SCT Software, I can make changes on the fly. Would you believe my car shifts between 6500 and 6700 when im at the track. I go through the trap at 6600rpm. Scary isnt it? But it refuses to blow up, so Ill keep pushing it harder.
After the 3500 stall change, the shifts felt weak due to the looseness of the converter. So I went into the software and damn near maxed out the shifting pressure, which yielded tight, crisp shifts once again. It will probably aid in clutch life as well.
On a final note, this transmission is a breeze to rebuild. Do not be scared of it, a Turbo 400 is harder, Im not kidding.
Treat your transmission with the kindness it needs to stay in one piece, because Im sure not many of you enjoy rebuilding them, let alone removing them on a garage floor.
I hope you enjoyed this-
Zack