Stranded in Texas!!!

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DOHCtor_Mark

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Well well well, it seems that I've gotten myself in yet another pickle of a situation! Ron, my trusty Mark, has chosen to lose 3rd gear and overdrive while I'm over a thousand miles from home.
So, today i'm pulling the tranny to have it rebuilt. Does anyone know where i can buy a nice kit with the nicer overdrive band and stuff?
 
DOHCtor_Mark said:
Well well well, it seems that I've gotten myself in yet another pickle of a situation! Ron, my trusty Mark, has chosen to lose 3rd gear and overdrive while I'm over a thousand miles from home.
So, today i'm pulling the tranny to have it rebuilt. Does anyone know where i can buy a nice kit with the nicer overdrive band and stuff?
Click to expand...


If your are in Texas why not get a hold of Art Carr Performance, they have good stuff.
 
I'm in Corpus Christi and I have to be back in Atlanta on sunday. I'm thinking about selling the car for whatever I can get for it and flying home. The car of my dreams is, once again, my nightmare.
GMAN, I got lost in Houston the way here. It was funny cause I still got here an hour earlier than I was expecting to.
 
Grab a cheap one form a boneyard and then rebuild yours up to race specs.

All you guys with the '93 - '97 trannies can't be doing the 1-2, and 4-2 shifts or say goodbye to your one-way clutch in the trans, which is the one you toasted. You need the mechanical diode if you want to drive the 4R70W like a 5 speed.
 
That's actually what I'm going to look for tomorrow. It's my only option at this point. I'm guessing the car would have to be at least be 97-98 to get one with decent mileage on it. And I should get it from a Grand Marquis/Town Car. Those would be the cars that have taken the least abuse.
It weird though, I drove on the highway for about 5 miles. I got off the highway stopped in a local store for about 30 minutes, got back out on the highway and there was just NO 3rd gear or overdrive. I've never seen one go out like that.
So, today I changed the fluid and filter and threw in a bottle of Trans X in case there was a clog in there. No luck! It runs and drives like it did before...takes off great in first, shifts to second like a champ and that's it...nothing else.
 
dont forget, you have to open it up, and replace the TCC solenoid. They arent just "plug and play" you know.

The only "plug and play" you can do is one for the same year as your car. Any other tranny will require a TCC swap, and possibly a MLPS swap.

Both are easy to do, but you will have to open up the pan for the TCC.

PM me if you need some help.
 
Well, I just dropped it off at Cottman transmission. They said i'm lookin at $1200.00 I'm seriously considering fixing it and selling it...)-: The amount i have in repairs is now exactly 1/2 what I paid for the car.
 
Know the feeling man, I just put $1800 into fixing my 97.5 Regal GS's tranny, I paided $7200 for it 2 years ago with 63k miles, now its got 94k miles and only worth $4500 KBB value... sometimes its just cheaper to fix it and drive it than replace it though. Kind of the dilemea that I'm in with the Regal.
 
DOHCtor_Mark said:
Well, I just dropped it off at Cottman transmission. They said i'm lookin at $1200.00 I'm seriously considering fixing it and selling it...)-: The amount i have in repairs is now exactly 1/2 what I paid for the car.
Click to expand...


anytime a tranny shop touches a 4R70W, its "$1200".
I know you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, but i as wable to get a KILLER 98+ tranny, INSTALLED for less than $800. Of course, I did all the labor, but on the counter-cost, shipping was $250.

I went 98 Mustang tranny, full JMOD, mach 1 TC, and the tranny has shorter reverse servo, and larger OD band...so, for $1200, that tranny better be able to handle 450+ hp, and come with a new TC.

The good news is, the tranny is one of the weakest links in a Mark VIII, besides the air suspension. Once you get it done, you shouldnt have to worry about it for another 140k miles. Now, is not the time to sell. Last month, was the time to sell, if you know what I mean.
 
the funny thing is, the day before I left to come down here, I got a killer deal on an '05 Mustang GT. It took all I had to walk away from it. There I was in the middle of showroom picturing myself riding in that thing on 20" Zenetti Throwbacks when reality hit...I'D HAVE A CAR PAYMENT AGAIN!!!
1998 was the year they got the 4r70W's (u know what) together. If I was home in Atlanta, I could sneeze out a Mustang tranny, no problem. You're now that I've done this much, I might as well go ahead and finish it. So, when I get home, the Zenetti Fives will be ordered and the nitrous kit will no longer sit on the floor of the garage.
You'll all be get a laugh out of this. One of the transmission guys wanted to buy my car...told me to give him a yell when it was fixed. His diagnostic drive turned out to be a ride in a car he'd always wanted...haha
 
so...what have you decided to do? spend the $1200?

I'd tell the tranny guy "built it as if it was you're own...after all, it could be".

Hell, I'd lie to the guy and say "build this thing right, and I'll call you when I make it home, and we'll deal"...then lose his number when you get home. face it, as long as it gets you home, right? it's not like you are going to be back in Tx anytime soon.

Too late now, but I think Johnny Langton is in Texas somewhere...he could have built you a killer tranny for.....never mind. Salt in the wounds.
 
MonsterMark said:
Grab a cheap one form a boneyard and then rebuild yours up to race specs.

All you guys with the '93 - '97 trannies can't be doing the 1-2, and 4-2 shifts or say goodbye to your one-way clutch in the trans, which is the one you toasted. You need the mechanical diode if you want to drive the 4R70W like a 5 speed.
Click to expand...
if you ever get the chance to cut a mech. diode one way your going to be suprised. there are actually only 4 ball ramps that hold for third.i use the up to date drum and one way,and us a spiral lock retainer. havnt had much luck with the mech.diode. if thay dont hold in a stock markor t car,it would be short lived in the cars you guys are running.
 
thanks BlackIce. I do have my old Cobra here with me. I couldve gone and picked up another tranny, especially if it was built with the goods. The final bill came out to $1795.00 w/ a 6 month unlimited mileage warranty. I only went to Cottman cause they're nationwide.
Oh yeah, I did find a guy who builds stall converters for $200 to $250. He took me in the back and showed me all the weak points of the ford converters and all the stuff he changes in them. He braises all the fins for increased rigidity and gets rids of the paper-like material for the clutch, replacing it with a kevlar based material. And best of all, he'll make them stall where ever you want them too.
And I talked to the Navy detailer about my new orders and it looks like he's sending me here. So, I will be back in Texas and in a helicopter squadron to boot!
 
Wish I saw this earlier. There is a shop called Columbus Transmissions that does awesome tranny's west of Houston. If you have not replace yours give them a call. They are a bit more expensive, but I have 90k on mine and drag race all the time. My stock tranny went out at 85k, my second ($1200) tranny went out at 135k. I now have 230k on the ticker with lots of drag strip runs. They can build it how you want it...

Columbus Transmissions
(979)732-8726
 
Wow, nightsky, I wish you had seen it earlier too! My died at 145k, so in my opinion it lived a good life for an automatic.
I want to thank you all for helping me keep my head up.
 
I take a tranny in to my buddies shop and drop off 900 bucks and pick it up three days later done.
OR for serious cars I buy all the parts Jerry calls out in his thesis which add up to about 1200 bucks MY price which is a hair under what Max sells stuff for and drop my guy 250 to put it all together.
I have one in a customers car thats putting down almost 500RWHP and has 13,000 miles on it with zero problems.
 
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