Hello,

The transmission shop is remanufacturing the transmission back to day one. I got some info by phone last Friday and received some pictures of the torque converter. I don't have pics after remanufacturing, unfortunately.

I can only say that they changed the TC to a dual disk.

About the pictures: could anyone post their thoughts on what you see? I don't have a clue if something is wrong, worn or good... Thanks a lot!

Pictures of the transmission itself is for next Thursday or Friday.

Ok, here we go:

 

Bump for you. I don't have a clue, but some others may chime in later.

 

Appears to be still in pretty good shape. How many miles on it? Are they rebuilding/upgrading your TC core?

 

They changed it to dual disk. I assume that this is the core you're talking about?

It has 160k miles. The transmission itself is worn a lot more. Reverse is metal on metal and 3rd and 4th is in bad shape as well. The shop said it was unbelievable it still drove in reverse. Pics of transmission follow by end of the week.

 

Are they using your TC, pictured above, as the core to build the new one? Will it use a custom billet cover? Do they build their own converters, since they do have the equipment to cut one open? Just curious as to what this shop is capable of doing.

 

I assume that they will use the same cover, but I'm not sure. I only know that they are making it stronger than the original and with dual disks, but that's all I know. It's not the transmission shop that does this, but a company that only does torque converters.

I'm from Belgium and the transmission is being rebuilt in the Netherlands, about 200 miles from my home and the torque converter has been sent from the Netherlands to Scotland and is back in the Netherlands already, ready to be built into the transmission again.

The guy there is the only one in Europe who has a US degree, or whatever it's called, to rebuild transmissions. Over here he's known to be the best in a very big area. 200 miles is not far in US terms, but over here that's a huge distance to have customers from.

The downside is that he has lots of work, also because he does it all by himself, so I'll have to wait patiently until he's done with my truck. It will take 4 weeks as from today. Can't wait.

Edit: found this video about the torque converter company: http://vimeo.com/30827973

 

Here's an update with extra pictures:

I'm having the transmission rebuilt at this time to that point that it has zero miles on it and will/should be a lot better than when the truck drove out of the Ford factory when it was built. The reason for this is that it will have the full Sonnax treatment on the transmission and the torque converter and everything - really EVERYTHING is going to be replaced with stuff from Sonnax, even if the parts still look "as good as new".

The first and most important problem with my transmission was a COMPLETELY over the top worn reverse gear. The other problems: 3rd and 4th started to get black, the torque converter slipped and had a leak when the ATF got warm enough. I didn't have a temp gage at the time, so I don't know at which temperature it started leaking. It was after driving uphill with switchback after switchback after... for many miles.

Here are the reverse plates:


It has NO friction material on the plates left at all and the guy from the transmission shop has NEVER seen this before (17 years of experience in rebuilding/upgrading US automatic transmissions - I'm from Europe, btw) and if he didn't drive the truck himself to test the transmission, he would not have believed me if I told him that this truck still drove in reverse. Anyway, luckily I had a fluid leak after driving many switchbacks uphill, because I would not have taken it into the shop if that didn't happen, because there were no other signs at all!!

I have some extra pictures of various other parts as well.

Torque converter before rebuild (see wear on neck of axle)


Torque converter after rebuild (no wear anymore) and now has a Sonnax dual disk inside, from Borg Warner, actually:


Other gears (3rd and 4th were starting to get black), but don't know which is which:




One of the MANY Sonnax improved parts, compared to the OEM parts: (boost valve, if I remember correctly? Don't know a lot about these things)


Other parts:



The cleaned transmission body:



Park pawl:


It will also have a transmission cooler now and a temp gage, so I can check the ATF temperature while driving these switchbacks uphill. Not sure which cooler(s) it's going to be, but it will be one of these options:
* 3x Tru Cool 4590
* 2x Tru Cool 4739
* 31 row 6.0 transmission cooler (preferred, but not as easy to find in Europe)

All options should give about the same cooling capacity, but it will depend on what's in stock and which has enough room to be placed.

Can't wait until the job is done.

 

Congrats. It looks like you will be set for a while.

 

That's neat Mark. Didn't realize you were over seas. I spent a year in Den Hague, a long long time ago.
You will probably be fine with a Tru Cool. Mine was a little weak, but that was towing a 12k lb 5th wheel in the Colorado mtns. Your generally cooler over there than we get here, at least in the southwest.

 

You're right, but I have this truck for only one reason and that is to haul our truck camper around. And we like the mountains and Southern European countries.

We particularly like the Greek island Crete, as an extreme example. In the South of Crete it can easily get over 105°F or 40°C, it has a very mountainous terrain and the roads are full of switchbacks. You can easily drive at 1500ft altitude or even higher while you're only 1000ft from the sea.

Many of the roads are small, so this means driving slower than normal, so less airflow through the OTA cooler. That's why I don't want to save on a transmission cooler.

Like I said: it's an extreme example, because I would need 5 weeks off from work to get there and that's impossible where I'm working at the moment. I have done it twice in the past, but have never done it since we have the truck and camper.

 

Oh come on. We all know europeans get months of vacation!!
And that is something to consider, that you can find hotter climates over there. (My bad). I would try to find a 6.0 then, just to cover your options. Sounds like you have time to order one.

 

That's my favorite option, but it's not that easy to find them over here. And the transmission shop loves to work with their tru cool stuff... I showed him the same options and he knows that the 6.0 is what I really would like to get. Maybe he'll find one for me. I sure hope so!!

 

Well, with what it costs to ship stuff over there you might have to go with what you can get. I think the tru cool max, mounted in front ahead of the ac condenser, might get you enough cooling.

 

When I was at Ford we had different cooling tests for European models. I tested some US spec vehicles to the European tests.

The European test included a low speed climb. The ambient temperature was lower (I think it was 30°C or 86°F.) The grade was 12%. US tests are at 8%. The speed was 30 kph (18.6 MPH.) We ran this speed for an hour as I remember. I probably have the spelling wrong, it was to simulate an actual climb called Grossglockner.

 

Mark it looks like your tranny build is coming along nicely. Now hopefully your guy is using the Sonnax Performance Pack Sonnax - Aftermarket replacement transmission, torque converter, and high performance automotive parts which has most of parts needed to update the problem areas on the 4R100. I used Sonnax parts in my trans and I am very pleased with the results.

Also one of the biggest problems with the 4R100 is Center Support moves around. And in my book this one of the best modds that can be done to a 4R100 Sonnax - Aftermarket replacement transmission, torque converter, and high performance automotive parts
Also if you are REAL serious about tighting things up in the center support do a center support shim kit Sonnax - Aftermarket replacement transmission, torque converter, and high performance automotive parts.

At least run these by your tranny guy and get his thoughts on them. I know they will cost extra but at this point it would be money well spent.