Report: Full J-MOD with Lidio tune complete. That's more like it!

[fastcar]

Hey Gang,

Finished this today and tested it. Now that's more like it :D

Seriously, though, 1-2, and 2-3 is better than before.

(This is a follow up to my last thread which you can find here: http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=38293 , where I reported that the separator mod alone did not get 1-2 to hit hard enough. So, I decided to remove both springs, also, which is the complete J-MOD.)

Anyway, depending on conditions, the rearend will bang to the side on the 1-2. However, most of the time it does not, and I still feel that the shift is NOT hard enough. Now I wish I had drilled 4 and 5 out to .125 :eek:

Based on other member's reports that there cars had NECK-SNAPPING shifts after this mod, esp. with a tune, I am beginning to believe that my tranny is just getting tired. I have 107,000. Also, when I pulled the pan, the magnet was 'furry'.

So, there you have it. I'm not doing it again, but if I had to drop the pan, I'd drill #4 and #5 out to .125 without hesitation. 1-2 still does not hit hard enough under WOT for my taste.

But, I'm reasonably satisfied, and know that I did all I can, to get a good shift. 2-3 is really very good, now. Sometimes it shifts a bit abruptly at part throttle, or in certain situations, but at this point, I don't think I am going to pursue 'tuning it out'. If I change my mind, I'll PM Zack ;)

Also, I brought reverse out to the full 3/32 from the 5/64 I tried earlier, b/c 5/64 made no difference. 3/32 is OK. I do notice it engages a bit faster than stock, but I believe that this could go out to 7/64 just like all the other holes with absolutely no issues. J himself at TCCOA even recommends a size larger than 3/32, if you so desire.

Anyway, I want to thank Sabtaj1, Darrin and Zack for all their help, and motivation during this time, esp Darrin who stuck his neck out to get me to do the job, and Zack who offered to adjust my tune in case I didn't like it. You all are really great folks.

Now I'm off to the track to see my time with the J-MOD and a special race gas tune supplied by Lidio. I'll keep you posted!

fastcar:burnout:

P.S. BTW, I'm improving MM.net's 'popularly circulated' J-MOD paper. CRUZTAKER has been emailing the directions to anyone that PMs him, and I will be sending him an improved version, if he desires to accept it, that fixes some mistakes, and adds some useful information. I hope this helps others in the future who wish to undertake this worthy, and not too difficult (and cheap!) mod.

[sabtaj1]

Glad to hear you did it and like it! Congrats on the cheap mod, even though you had alot of labor and time in it. Interested to hear if it helps alot at the track! Have fun and stay safe. Now get some SPRAY!!! I did, I LOVE IT!!!

[gmtech]

thanks for the write up..maybe ill do this:rolleyes: J-MOD too

[fastcar]

Hah! I will pass on the bottle. I'd probably have to fill it weekly, which would quickly pay for a blower:D

I recommend the J-MOD also because it will extend the life of your tranny, GMTECH.

fastcar:burnout:

[fastblackmerc]

Opinions on doing this mod or buying a valve body from a vendor?

[fastcar]

Opinions on doing this mod or buying a valve body from a vendor?

I heard that Reinhart has a valve body, but I know nothing about it.

The mod is free, and easy to perform. A complete novice could do it in 4 hours, an expert in 1-2. So the price is right, and it is very effective on tight trannies. Even my tired tranny works WAY better than before.

If I had money to burn, I might consider a valve body.

BUT, if I had a BLOWER I would DEFINITELY look into it. 1-2 shift with a lot of power is impossible to make firm on these transmissions with just a tune and J-MOD. Lidio says so, and I believe him.

I may completely rebuild my transmission next year, when I install the PI 3500 RPM stall converter. But, I should do the cooler mod, tranny cooler, and everything else at the same time. So, a $800 job turns into a $1600 dollar job. So it goes...:bigcry:

fastcar:burnout:

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

Fastcar, do you have a PCM tune? With just a PCM tune and a totally stock trans, I was able to get the 1-2 part throttle and WOT shifts so firm I was afraid I was going to snap off the input shaft of the trans when it shifted. Had to back them way off.

I hope this is not a stock 15 second Marauder banging gears like its an 11 second car.

[Krytin]

Opinions on doing this mod or buying a valve body from a vendor?
Do the mod & save the money!

[Zack]

I hope this is not a stock 15 second Marauder banging gears like its an 11 second car.

Care to tell us why you feel this way?
Firm shifts dont hurt anything.

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

It's just silly when I see slow cars banging gears w/ shift kits and the like. It's like having a super loud exhaust on a slow car. It doesn't hurt anything, but it's not exactly necessary either. I'm not saying his car is slow, it was a question as to the state of mod's of the car. I have a 305 trans am that someone shift kitted, and it gets wheelspin 1-2 WOT. I laugh when I drive the car, and I'm sure other car guys laugh when they see it running a 16 sec 1/4 mile, spinning the tires shifting. Whatever makes people happy I guess. Hard shifts definitely make a not fast car feel faster when your neck snaps back, I accidentally had that happen with the first tune on my MM.

[fastcar]

Fastcar, do you have a PCM tune? With just a PCM tune and a totally stock trans, I was able to get the 1-2 part throttle and WOT shifts so firm I was afraid I was going to snap off the input shaft of the trans when it shifted. Had to back them way off.

I hope this is not a stock 15 second Marauder banging gears like its an 11 second car.

Hey Evil,

I don't know what a PCM tune is, but I have Lidio's SCT tune.

He says he has turned the line pressure up as high as possible, but that the 1-2 can still be soft, particularly on NA cars. I'm surprised you don't know more about my car's state of tune. I have been modding it and posting my results all summer long. You can find them in a search under 'progress report'. I have published six, altogether.

My car runs mid fourteens, which I do not consider slow. When people stop to watch me fly by, I am pretty sure they are NOT laughing when I nail a second gear ripper.

fastcar:burnout:

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

I meant a flash tune, which you have. I'm not following too many posts religiously on this board, I have another faster car that I do most of my heavy duty work on, which keeps me on other boards. It's probably a blessing to you guys that I'm not around here more often. The MM is my regular car. Fast and slow are relative. It's movin pretty good for the size and weight of this car and a little little 4.6!! It feels like a slug compared to some other stuff I drive. All depends. It does what I need it to do. It's not like I can really make use of power in Washington DC and northern VA traffic any way, unless I had a helicopter. Thanks and have fun

[fastcar]

After driving it for a number of days, I realize that the car does not engage FIRST gear as quickly as it used to. This is annoying. If I'm rolling backwards, and put it into first, it keeps rolling! Then engages later. Not sure why the J-MOD does this, but it does!

I'd like to hear Jerry chime in on this...

fastcar:burnout:

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

That is not good. I hope you get an answer. I had an Acura TL type S with honda's famous 2000-2003 5AT horrible transmission, and I had 3 go on a super low mileage car. They started having delayed engagement in D before they would go. Hope you get that fixed!

[fastcar]

That is not good. I hope you get an answer. I had an Acura TL type S with honda's famous 2000-2003 5AT horrible transmission, and I had 3 go on a super low mileage car. They started having delayed engagement in D before they would go. Hope you get that fixed!

Hey Evil,

It's annoying, but it is definitely something about the mod I did, so, I'm not really thinking it is like systemic, or indicative of anything chronic. But thanks for the heads up.

fastcar:burnout:

[ahess77]

After reading all these very thorough and informative reports I decided to remove the 1-2 accumulator springs. I did the full J-mod on my 99 Crown Vic with the stock converter and hated it. The 1-2 shift was so obnoxious that I instinctively lifted at about 35mph every time to reduce the jerk that always occurred. It was NOT a good daily driver.

So, when I rebuild the Marauder transmission I did everything except remove the accumulator springs (also has a 3000 stall PI). I was not impressed with the 1-2 shifts. Then I had Lidio do a tune to do what could be done through programming but it still was not good enough. So after reading through these threads I went ahead and removed the 1-2 accumulator springs yesterday and guess what! I can’t even tell.

To me with the 3000 stall converter and the other modifications in place I cannot tell a difference on the 1-2 shifts. They’re still soft. It’s definitely not factory where you can’t even tell when it shifts, but it hasn’t been like that since I drilled the separator plate a couple years ago. I expected without the springs to hit hard, neck snapping hard, like the Crown Vic. But it doesn’t. So my recommendation if you have a high stall converter, the full J-mod is a no-brainer, just do it.

Just my impressions. Thanks for the write-ups.