Well, got the stage IV put in along with the 16cm housing, cut the afc lever off, installed a piston pump, pulled the tranny out, and put on a new 2nd gen flex plate(my stock plate was soon to break, had cracks all over!) and a new convertor(suncoast), got the tranny rebuilt with a trans go kit, thanks to a certain buddy , and all i can say is !!!!
This truck is so much faster now it is unbelievable. Now i just need to head to the track... I can't wait. I already schooled some mustangs, and camaros, and alot of ricers tonight, it was fun.
More updates to come. And possibly some questions. EDIT:Oh, I also became a member of the pull cable club.(pump ATE the plunger)
Thanks
Aaron

 

Dang, you've been getting alot done!! Don't you love the whistle?

How is the suncoast converter? I was thinking about going hughes converter with a suncoast valve body, but I'm tempted to save some money and just get a shift kit. Do you think a shift kit is fine for us guys running this kind of power or would a purpose built valve body be better? $80 is a lot easier to swallow than $400 for a suncoast body.

 

Yep the whistle is awesome!!!
I have been coming home from work early the past two days to work on it.
So far the convertor is pretty good. I like it but it doesn't seem to be what i expected it to be. But it is way, way, way better than stock.
On the valve body thing, i am going to get a vb from them soon, cause this tranny is still slipping some, and it still shifts kinda soft for my liking. But it is still a plausible upgrade from stock, i just went with the trans go cause i was running low on cash , but i'll order one soon.
It just depends on what u wanna do with the truck, for daily driving i'll say that the shiftkit is your best bet, but it's just really a personal preference.IMO
Aaron

 

I just wanna be able to get the power to the ground. Nothing sucks more than having the power just sitting there but turning into heat in the tranny . Still don't know what to do, but I've got some time.

 

Have you considered converting to a nv4500? Or even a getrag? I know that's what i would do, having the 4 wheel drive and all, but i know that i wouldn't be able stay off of the sled if i did so.....
But o know that this convertor does run cooler though. My gauge never went over 180* the whole night tonight. And i was stretching her legs pretty good tonight too.
Aaron

 

Sounds like you've been busy! Have you played with the TV cable adjustment, if that's not right the shifts will be sloppy.

 

I think I am going to stick with my auto. I like rolling thru the gears, but it's just not as fast as as auto.

And like wanna said, check the TV cable. Papecat adjusted mine when he helped me with my 3200 spring and wow, so much better!

 

I set the cable up with it in idle and a used a piece of 3/16" keystock to measure the gap between the cable and throttle rod. I have doublechecked it several times, but it still shifts the same. I was hoping that maybe it just needs a breakin period, and it would get better.
Aaron

 

That's because it's set stock. Set it up with less gap. You will have to play with it a little to get the feel you want.

 

The main problem with getting power down with the auto is the inefficient torque converter. However, if you upgrade the TC so you get the power through, the rest of the trans is likely to start slipping (if not already). A shift kit or valvebody should help that. In other words, a shift kit or valvebody won't really put much more power down, it just keeps the tranny from slipping and firms up shifts. A shift kit and upgraded TC should be an excellent combo for little money.