I was wondering if it would be a good idea to put a torque converter on my 5.0 engine the have made many modifications to. I was thinking 2000 stall but I would like to hear opinions from people who have done this or know alot about it. thanks.

it's a c6

 

What kinda mods? A higher stall on a stock or modified engine is a good idea so call a converter manufacturer or supplier and get some recommendations it will make a difference, just have the company or supplier do the recommending. Might consider a mild shift kit if you haven't already it will improve performance as well as tranny longevity. Good luck

 

I have a B&M shift kit. I have put in the biggest crane roller cam that I can without messing with the fuel injection and computer stuff with roller lifters and comp roller rockers...come head work, headers. Those are the major things.

 

Well read this that I typed up:

Converters are the "black holes" and "voodoo" of cars and trucks. They are strange, complicated, and misunderstood.

First, stall is based on input torque. I.e. an anemic, low compression 350 may be able to stall a converter to about 2000 rpm. A hot, higher compression with good heads 350 may be able to get that stall up to 2600 rpm due to making more torque. That is with the same converter. It really depends on your motor.

Stall also is in different forms. There is flash stall, brake stall, and actual stall.

Flash stall is, with no traction problems, the peak RPM or the quick jump of the engine RPM's on with the converter. This isn't the best way to measure stall. Insane amounts of torque can make a 3000rpm stall to 4200rpm+
Brake stall is, holding down your brake and gassing the ride with the other foot. That doesn't work too well either b/c you will generally begin to light up the rear tires.
Actual stall is if you had a line lock on your trans (holds R+D together) so you don't move and your RPM's rise to your stall speed. If you have a 3000rpm stall, that is what your engine should rev to with the line lock on. You would launch off of that.

Softness depends on the stall and size you go with. High stall, small converters are "loose" converters if you will. Larger diameter usually help keep the looseness away and keep the factory towing up. These act more stock with higher stall. The softness is more likely to be with the part-throttle shift than the WOT ones.

Looseness is hard to explain. Like you'd have to give the vehicle a bit more gas to get moving and depending on diameter. Generally your part throttle putting around rpms are about 2000-2200rpm.

Precision Industries recommends a TransGo shift kit (at least they used to, prolly still do) to be installed with the converter. Check out all the car mags like: 5.0 Mustang, CarCraft, Hot Rod, GM HighTech, etc they all install shift kits with the converter install.

Finally, with a high stall converter, install a large transmission cooler. Even if the instructions say it is okay to use the factory cooler/heat exchanger get one. They are cheap insurance. $50 cooler or $2000 transmission?




With that being out of the way...2000rpm stall isn't too much of an increase. I'd get a 2600 or so in a large diameter case to avoid any looseness. I have a 2200rpm in my AOD

 

that's very interesting. thank you

 

Sure, no problem. I typed it up so more people can get a better understanding of stall...and I tried to make it easy to read.

 

I have heard that some small block chevy guys can use a smaller vega type convertor to get a higher stall, does Ford have such a 'smaller' converor that will fit a C4 behind a 302?

 

Some of the chebby guys on a list I participate in have used the smaller S10 truck converter on their SS and Caprice heavy cars. This gives them a nice stall performance increase, but it has lead to greater numbers of tranny failures from failed torque converters.

The smaller converters from smaller vehicles are often not built to handle the power or load of a heavier vehicle. So while they may work nicely for awhile, you risk early failure. Buy yourself a converter that was designed to work in what you got. It is much cheaper than a rebuild.

Using a converter from a smaller drive train is like putting Honda tires on your F250 since you get to do cool burnouts. Yes it works but it may not be the best solution for your truck.

Jim Henderson