AOD Upgrading

fturner

Registered User
I'm looking at some tranny options for my car, and I've settled on getting a Lentech Street Terminator with calibration 2. I'll be going with a 9.5" lockup TC with a 2400 stall me thinks (DirtyDog, hopefully this isn't a big challenge ;) ). I'm sticking with the 3.27 gears as I'll focus on having the motor make more power.

The thinking here is to keep the car good for cruising around comfort wise so my beautifull wife can enjoy the ride and even fall asleep on the long hauls, and have the fun factor at the track for the ugly beast that is me :D .

Now I have a 4r70w tranny from a 94 LX 3.8 TBird that I can break apart, and I've read some stories about swapping parts into an AOD to get the wider gear ratio the 4r70w has...... Is this a worth while pursuit? Does it give me some gains for my car? All comments on this would be appreciated. I'll be doing all the work myself as usual.

Frit
 
Be prepared for harsher shifts ,more driveline clunks,and a 3-4 part throttle upshift at 95-100 km/hr.


The driveability is a lot more crude versus the stock set up.Ask toms-sc.
 
Going with the non locking version will soften the shifts into 3rd & OD...and it will be quicker too. I would also increase the stall.

David
 
The Lentech valvebody is the only way to go. You will love it!

I would also suggest a higher stall if you are going with a locking converter. I'd think something in the 3200 range would suit you much better. I wish I had gone bigger on my two cars. :(

Thomas
 
I would also suggest more stall, however to make it live in an AOD car you are going to need more rear gear. Your cruise RPM needs to be at or above your stall RPM or you are going to create excessive heat in your transmission. Actually since you seem to like all things electronic you should consider swaping to a 4R70W with an aftermarket control and then you could use as much stall as you like without the heat issues.

Charles
 
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Frit,
Anthony Arnold and I build our transmissions too and we still go with the lock up converters. That makes for a nice cruise in third and fourth with no slip or heat.
Mine is a stock replacement for now but I plan a talk with Dirtydog about that too...Anthony has a 2500 stall in his and loves it. He has been pulling some pretty consistant 1.6x 60ft times at the shootouts. We start with a transmission out of a truck/van because it has a five clutch pack for both the direct drive and forward clutch packs cars have five and four or four and four or less for V6's.
We normally have the backing plate for the direct pack machined so we can put in a sixth friction and steel....the mechanical diode is a must as well as the 2" overdrive band. The truck/van transmissions come with the A servo like the SC's do for overdrive but the aftermarket has an A+ thats even larger. The Lentech valvebody is just too sweet...gotta have it....................Dan
 
Now I have a 4r70w tranny from a 94 LX 3.8 TBird that I can break apart, and I've read some stories about swapping parts into an AOD to get the wider gear ratio the 4r70w has...... Is this a worth while pursuit? Does it give me some gains for my car? All comments on this would be appreciated. I'll be doing all the work myself as usual.

Frit

Yeah you can use the planetary and sun gear from the 4r70w, but I wouldnt use it from a 94/95 car, they have aluminum bushings = no good. Use one from a 96 or later. I think there is some more information on the clickclick racing website about upgrading to the 4r70w parts - definately worth reading into. It is a worthwhile modification if you plan on rebuilding your AOD.

- Dan
 
Frit,

Your a smart guy. I'd do what 92bird did. Get DirtyDog to build you a 4R70W and get a stand a lone control unit for it. There is no reason to stay AOD any longer.
 
Swapping out to a 4r70w has been going through my head to, and I haven't ruled that option out yet ;).

Frit
 
I have done the 4R swap in a MarkVII, it was too cool, however did take more tune work than I wanted.

I have a 351 in my M7, and I plan on slapping a wide ratio AOD in for now.
 
I'm the noob of all noobs when it comes to autos in the SCs but my red car came with some kind of Lentech something or other with a 3X00 converter

getting rubber going into 3rd at the track with slicks is nice.....I can't say anything bad about the tranny.....

the only bad thing is if I ever have problems I have no idea where to turn :confused:
 
I'm the noob of all noobs when it comes to autos in the SCs but my red car came with some kind of Lentech something or other with a 3X00 converter

getting rubber going into 3rd at the track with slicks is nice.....I can't say anything bad about the tranny.....

the only bad thing is if I ever have problems I have no idea where to turn :confused:

Curtis,

It's an AOD...pretty much any trans shop can work on it. The transmission in my 91 was built by Mark Twain transmissions in Bridgeton using the Lentech stuff that I supplied along with a bunch of other stuff they supplied.

I wouldn't worry about finding someone to work on it...it's a very common transmission.

David
 
Curtis,

It's an AOD...pretty much any trans shop can work on it. The transmission in my 91 was built by Mark Twain transmissions in Bridgeton using the Lentech stuff that I supplied along with a bunch of other stuff they supplied.

I wouldn't worry about finding someone to work on it...it's a very common transmission.

David

David,

Thanks for the info, Its nice to have this forum LOL I swear without the local people and SCU I would have shot myself (again) so many times it not even funny.

I was told that I have the OD lock out and there is a switch that keeps the car from shifting into OD, I asked Tim about it at one point and he said never use OD or the trans will blow up :eek:

To the OP please let us know how the gears work for you because the 3.73s that I am running rev the engine to hard on the top end....but every setup is different (I'm running a 26 inch tire)
 
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