Lentech O/D Delete switch idea

Scott Long

Registered User
I am just wondering how some of you guys sealed up the trans pan where you drilled the hole to run the wire for the overdrive solenoid. I drilled a 1/8" hole and then chamferred it enough to get my 12 ga. positive wire to go through. Its a tight fit, but it will leak no doubt. I am wondering if a dab of permatex black on the outside of the pan will be good enough to keep it from leaking when I fill the pan?

Also since I don't have fog lights anymore, I was thinking about using my fog light switch to control the O/D delete. Since it will light up when the O/D is locked out, I can keep the console looking stock and sort of sneaky. I did rewire the switch straight to the battery a long time ago when I had aftermarket fogs on the car so I know there is 12v + at the switch. I can just run a wire down along the top of the trans, and put a connector on it to hook it to the wire I have coming out of the trans pan. All should be good. I kind of want to put it on its own switch, but I don't think I feel comfortable trying to cut a square out of my console to make the red rectangular toggle switch snap into place. At least not yet. When I get the car painted I might get a new set of fogs and then I'd have to reconnect the switch to the relay for the fog lights. But for now I can keep everything nice and clean looking by using the fog light switch. Or maybe I'll switch it over to the Firm Ride switch when I get my new shocks and lower the car since I won't be using the ARC anymore, and the Firm Ride light on the dash will let me know that O/D is locked out.

Can't wait to put the engine back together tomorrow, and possibly take it to the track tomorrow night.

I have to swap a set of lifters and pushrods from my spare longblock, and then put the engine back together. I'm getting another set of wires and an intake manifold gasket set in the morning. And I will be working on the car all afternoon.
 
Scott Long said:
I am just wondering how some of you guys sealed up the trans pan where you drilled the hole to run the wire for the overdrive solenoid. I drilled a 1/8" hole and then chamferred it enough to get my 12 ga. positive wire to go through. Its a tight fit, but it will leak no doubt. I am wondering if a dab of permatex black on the outside of the pan will be good enough to keep it from leaking when I fill the pan?

Scott,

You wern't supposed to drill the hole in your pan...it should be drilled thru the top of the transmission case then sealed with a dab of RTV. The drilling can be done from under the car with the pan removed.

I used a rocker switch on mine that lights up whenever the solenoid on the valve body gets power to delete OD. It's located on the console near the shifter.

David
 
Well I was already in the drilling mood since I drilled a hole in the pan at the back left side to install the B&M drain plug kit.

Hopefully the RTV will seal it up since I cleaned the pan the best I could with brake parts cleaner and I sanded it down with sand paper where I drilled the hole.

I guess when I get a deep pan, I will then drill through the side of the transmission because I guess if I had to change the filter again I'd have to somehow cut this wire or cut the rtv with a razor so the wire would slide back out.

I didn't get any instructions with my valve body, but I have installed 2 of these in my friends sc's and we used RTV on one and JB Weld stick on the other. Both Ryan and Mike had the wires coming out of the pan.
 
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Any idea how much trans fluid it will take to fill this thing? On Ryan's I remember we went through about 8 qts. I read that a filter change takes 4-5 qts.

I think more than that came out though, since I almost filled a big black 15 qt. drain pan.
 
why not try to do the fog light switch thing and try to wire up the light up panel on the dash... the one on the corner that says O/D OFF or something like that so u can know better instead of looking down most of the time.
 
darkstar_one said:
why not try to do the fog light switch thing and try to wire up the light up panel on the dash... the one on the corner that says O/D OFF or something like that so u can know better instead of looking down most of the time.

The only time you need to confirm that the OD is deleted is when your getting ready to race (on the starting line at track) or when doing a dyno pull. Any other time your going to know if OD is deleted because it won't shift into OD and the rpms will be much higher. If somehow you have accidentially deleted OD you just lift off the throttle and flip the switch on the fly to allow the shift.

In the day it not so noticable, but at night there will be no missing the light that comes off the console mounted rocker switch..it's very bright.

David
 
That is an interesting though. Maybe if I could find a 194 socket to fit in there with two wire leads coming off, then I could wire it up to a switch and have both the dash light and the switch light up.

I just want to get it going, hopefully drive it tonight or tomorrow but I have a lot of work to do still.

I put in a new accumulator for my ABS, I just got back from A/Z with my new intake manifold gaskets. Still need to pick up a set of plug wires since I broke the metal tabs off 4 of them pulling them off the plugs (will use dielectric grease this time), and I need to fill the trans, run it through the gears and check it for proper level, and wire up a switch for O/D delete.
 
Here's a pic of how lentech runs the wire out. You can seal the hole with some JB weld or RTV. I used my fog light switch for the OD delete since I didn't have fog lights either.
 

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Wow they run the wire way up high.

I just got my new plug wires and am about to start putting the car back together so hopefully all goes well.

I am going to put some RTV on it and let it dry till I get done putting the engine back toghether, then fill the trans, lower the car off the jack stands, start it up and let it warm up, run it through the gears, and then top off the trans fluid. Hopefully this is all accomplished this evening.
 
The original kit Lentech supplied a brass fitting that was a 1/4" pipe thread and had the wire epoxied in the center of it. We drilled and tapped the tranny according to the instructions and put the fitting in with teflon tape. Much like the picture Wayne posted, It was done with the pan off the tranny while the tranny was in the car.

It's hard to see in the pic, but it is the red wire on the left:

ltvbodd1.jpg


I would be be awake at night if I knew all my hot transmission fluid was only held in the pan by just a plug of silicon!!!!! They do sell the part I described under their wiring kits for $12.
 
Since I removed my fog lights for ventilation, I used the switch and a relay for the OD delete. I really like having it right there at my fingertips on the console.
 
Yes, I have the fitting too, but thats probably because I got the wiring kit with mine. Be careful though, I put the VB in my stock rebuilt tranny, and a couple months later the hollow input shaft snapped off inside the TC.

Chris
 
Well so far so good. I just drove the car about 40 miles. It was getting rubber going into 3rd gear if I got on it hard. I think I'll take it easy on this since it is a stock trans, but I want to be able to hold the gears for the few occasions it might go down the 1/4.
 
I got about 2 tenths faster in the 1/4 mile with the VB. then I broke the input shaft. So I bought the Art Carr solid 1 piece input shaft, then I got the non lockup TC. And honestly am almost a full second quicker.
 
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