Ford engineer-

hey guys lets make a 730ft lb. torque diesel engine and put a luxury smooth shifting designed-to-slip trans behind it!! yay !!!

I can see it biting the dust by 100k.

 

think they are trying to follow in dodges foot steps? Seems like a step backwards. I know my bosses 7.3 excursion has an electric shift kit that makes that 3spdOD go Waaa....WAAA...WAAA...Waaa and by then your doing 120. Forget about holding a cup of coffee, let alone drinking it or placing it in the cup holders... as opposed to the sloppy mess it was before.

 

I'll have to try this. I can't hardly top 55 towing my empty flatbed. Gross weight empty is about 8,000. Got on 79 the other day and said, oops, this was a mistake at about 50 uphill. Going downhill I can get the needle to 67 1/2, so a hair over 70, without a trailer. The radar screens the great commonwealth (not state) of PA puts up say I'm reading about 5% low.

You are talking about the same guys who complain that fit and finish isn't just right, or if there is a rattle somewhere. Or that a one ton dually rides rough. NO! It's a 1-ton, not a caddy!!!!! There's a reason I haven't read motor trend or truck trend in years. Probably about 3 issues after they started truck trend.

 

One thing i think should be added to this is it takes 5qts to re-fil the stock pan, maybe 6, depending on how big your cooling system is(mine is slightly smaller than stock).

 

been looking for more info to do this............
'
thanks for the write up.....

this will go great with the new tc

 

Before I dive in on my fummins, I want to confirm that the adjustment on the TV cable screw will affect my 2-3 shift point. Right now with moderate throttle it shifts to 2nd and then almost immediately into 3rd.

This is with the TV cable slid all the way forward in at the engine side.

thanks, Aaron

 

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum, but here is my question. I've got a 93' ram with the a518/46rh non lockup trans. I've done the TC, it's got a custom built low stall. But my transmission shifts late, holds each gear to long. So I've got the TV cable about as far back as it will go; but it return I get sloppy shitfts. If I was to un screw (CCW right?) the shift point screw (blue locktite) then in theorie I should be able to make my TV a little more aggressive, hopefully giving crisper shifts. I have turned up the line preassure two turns. It helped a huge amount. I appreciate any input; thanks

 

I talked to a transmission shop about the two adjustments. The line preassure, according to the shop, will not wreck the trans if adjusted to much. He said adjust it by feel. It will crisp up the shifts. But the other adjustment will F&@$ the tranny if set wrong.

 

This is the limit on that apparently. Fred seems to know his TorqueFlites.

I actually wish I didn't do a full turn on that screw. 1-2 shift is a little too late on light throttle for my taste.

 

this old man keeps hearing about blowing the 3rd clutch seal. i raced these babys for 12 years. rebuilt them for almost 40 and have NEVER blown one and i used stock over the counter parts. i did my own manual valvebodies. i messed one up once and it blew the snap ring out of the drum taking the groove in the drum with it. i re-used the seal and 3 years later it was still working.

 

I'm planning to mess with these screws to try and help an issue I'm having. During acceleration I get a shuddering shaking that I suspect is the clutch pack slipping. I have a fresh gorends converter, the tight one, and a deep trans pan with the tubes thru it. Yes I checked the fluid level running in neutral. It's filled with atf+4 and I heard that is pretty slick so I am thinking to switch to dexron.

 

I would usspect your center bearing support rubber for the shudder actually since you have a club cab. Mine was deteriorated and letting the bearing move way too easy. There is a TSB about even moving your centerbearing mount DOWN on club cabs to alleviate this. Check that out on Geno's garage.

Not that increaseing your line pressure some won't help your put power to the ground, but I'm willing to bet it's not the clutches. Does this happen most at lower speed acceleration, especially with a load on? If so, absolutely look into dropping your centerbearing down or at least replacing the rubber.

 

Thanks Dzl,
That was the first thing I tried. The old bearing had the shims from the service bulletin so I reused them. The old center support was is terrible shape so it needed to be done, it just didn't solve the shaking. It used to do it the worst at low speed acceleration with a heavy load but now its doing it more and more with no load. Sometimes when its shuddering badly if i lift off the throttle and get right back on it a little harder it goes away. That's why I was thinking clutch pressure.

 

New info!!
I spoke with a tranny shop in st lucas, Iowa about this adjustment. The tech did not want to directly contribute to this thread so I will leave out the name of the shop, but you all know it.
This info is from the tech I spoke with ...
Much like our VE pumps, the trannys all came adjusted a little differently from the manufacturer. So saying to turn the pressure regulator screw 3 times will mean different results for different trucks.
The pressure regulator screw head is captive in the horse shoe shaped bracket. When the screw is turned it moves the little plate and compresses the spring. What we can't see is the other end of that screw has a second plate on it inside the transmission, and if the screw is turned too many times that plate can fall off and "do very bad things".
The spec that the pressure regulator screw can be operated safely whenin is the plate against the sprightly can be no more than .300" away from the retainer clip that holds the screw head. It was suggested that I only go 1/4" just to be safe. The photo on the first page looks to be mighty close for comfort.
All of this is info I am simply repeating, I plan on doing this ASAP and will post back with personal findings. Hopefully this will give us all an actual baseline to start adjusting from.

 

Awesome write up! Definately going to have to give it a try this summer hopefully.