So as some of you might have seen in my other thread, I'm having some transmission problems. Tomorrow I'm taking it in for a free diagnosis. I just want to be a little more prepared to talk to the guy so he can screw me with fancy words and high prices. If he ends up telling me that I need a rebuild and he offers to do it, which components should I request in a rebuild? Money is not really an object in this case. So far I have been told that billet torque converters are the way to go. What else? Three-clutch vs. Five-clutch? I'm looking for any and all advice here, I know NOTHING about transmissions. Read about my truck in my sig. I know gustang knows a lot about trannies, anybody else able to offer advice here? Thanks guys.

 

not so much as a guru but just good common sense
if they say it needs rebuilt then get a detailed list of what
is replaced as a general rebuild
then make them give you a list of common "other" problem parts
and what they replace then with, and prices
this can double a rebuild price
not sure about the "billet" converter but there are converter upgrades
also there are poss. stock upgrades for 96, 97 years
must have is a shift kit and full flush of all cooling lines and coolers
while it is new make sure of the type of fluid going back in
and post any differances under the hood prominently ie: mercon V
there are several sites I have looked at that list heavy duty parts upgrades
check thru the trans forum for pop ups with links, Ive not saved
any names to give you
good luck Mike

 

Good advice Mike, thanks.

And I forgot about the transmission forum. I'll go post a link over there.

 

I might as well throw this out, what about Kevlar clutches? I had a friend that had a Chebby camaro dragster with a Turbo 400 tranny, and he said he put Kevlar clutches in it to hold the power of he built 454 he had in it.

 

I have no clue what that means... It's all gibberish to me... Can you explain?

 

While I turn green with envy, take a look here.
http://www.transmissioncenter.net/ex...parts.htm#Ford

1: Upgraded triple clutch brazed fin torque converter.
2: Steel 6 pinion gear forward planetary if not already there.
3: Steel 6 pinion gear rear planetary if it's not already there.
4: 5 clutch forward clutch drum.
5: 5 clutch direct clutch drum.
6: A decent shift kit.
7: Ship it to me for extensive testing, but make sure it fits a 91 7.3 Diesel.

 

Well of course money is a factor WITHIN REASON but I meant that I would like to spend more money to get a quality rebuild rather than spending less money for a transmission that will crap out on my again. No I don't haul much so I don't need to go out of control but I want a good strong rebuild.

Are those parts necessary for my application? I looked them over and it seems that most of them are upgrade parts. I'm not sure that I'll be able to find a shop that will be able to provide those parts for me. I guess what I'm asking is what should I request from the shop if/when they tell me I need a rebuild? Thanks for your help arch.

Oh and, what do shift kits do?

 

Much in the same way that a camshaft can be thought of as the mechanical brain of the engine, the tranny's valve body can be thought of as its brain. A shift kit alters the valvebody's "programing" by increasing pressure and redirecting fluid in its circuits to produce different results. Moving shift points, firming them up or other changes as needed dependant on use. Towing, competition or endurance need (work better with) different shift patterns.

As far as upgrades go, roller bearings work better than friction bearings. Clutch material can be improved over standard production line quality. Pump size can be up graded for better volume or pressure. There is a reason they call it "ballooning when regarding torque converters failure. Do lots of research if you go the rebuild route over simply installing a re-man.

Its just like building an engine. Do you want a forged crank & pistons with HD rods or do you throw bearing & rings at it and be done? The problem is that an auto tranny is about a 100 times more complex than a pushrod V-8.

Good luck. Will be watching for your outcome.

 

There is a vast collection of information here: http://www.transmissioncenter.net/e4od.htm

They explain a lot of parts on that site, whats better and why, if you take some time and dig around.

 

Yeah I already found that site a few days ago and looked around. Most of the terminology is very foreign to me so it's hard to understand. But I just dropped my truck off at the transmission shop, everyone cross your fingers!!

 

Just wonderin, how did you get the truck home?

 

Had it towed. Luckily my brothers girlfriend was with us and she had AAA with 100 mile tow coverage. And that follows HER, not her vehicle. But the towing was a whole ordeal in and of itself which I won't get into. Long story short, my truck showed up at my house the next day (yesterday) safe and sound. It runs and shifts fine but I didn't want to take any chances damaging my transmission BEYOND REPAIR driving through the Sierra mountains. I was able to drive it 20 minutes down the road to the tranny shop without a hitch.

I should be getting a call from them pretty soon, I'll keep you all posted.

 

after reading this ordeal, so far that is, i am glad i have 140,000+ trouble free e4od miles on my 1994 f150.

 

Whelp! Just got off the phone with the tranny shop and the guy (real nice guy) said he drove the truck for 5 or 6 miles and didn't hear the damned noise. Which makes sense because it only comes after I've been driving the truck for a while, like I told the guy. He removed the inspection plate to take a look at the converter and said that when a converter is getting too hot it will show a blue ring on it that they called the "ring of death", and my did not have the ring. Has anyone ever heard of this blue ring? Does it STAY after the TC cools back down or does it disappear? He seems to think it is NOT my torque converter. Said my transmission is shifting and running well, and I agree.

He said that my symptoms sounds kind of like a plugged cat (which I already thought of) but he said he threw a temp gun on the cat and it was 180* (normal). Also threw a temp gun on the bellhousing at that was normal too. GRRR. He's gonna keep it until tomorrow drive it some more to try to hear the noise. I'm glad I only have 1 small gas tank so he can't run through $100 in gas. I'll keep you posted on what happens next...

 

a vacuum gauge can show if cat convertor or exhaust is blocked.

any manual will show you how to read gauge before you post how does it do that.

hope this all works out for you.