Solved 700R4 Trans and D300 T-Case Swap?

[FROADER]

Wow, who knew the S-10 had such a decent drivetrain

Total guess but it's probably the ZR2 trucks and blazers. 31s or 32s (don't remember) A/Ts with a small lift from the factory.

 

[BKennedy]

Jason said it was mid 80's and some of the parts are already discontinued, like the shift knob.

 

[RockRanger]

You dont need no stinken shifter. It will be just like an electrec BW1354 when it fails crawl under the truck and shift it in and out of gear.

 

[BKennedy]

You dont need no stinken shifter. It will be just like an electrec BW1354 when it fails crawl under the truck and shift it in and out of gear.

I thought about that, but Jason wants to finish it so I don't have to bring it back for awhile.

 

[tdavis]

I've got your shifter right here..

 

[410Fortune]

Why not just take the Vortec 4.3L too? I personally think those engines are well suited for an Explorer, will fit too!!

 

[Creager]

Why not just take the Vortec 4.3L too? I personally think those engines are well suited for an Explorer, will fit too!!

not to mention plenty of aftermarket support.

the 4.3 is in everything!

 

[BKennedy]

Very funny Tom.
I went by the shop today and there is no way its going to be finished by Friday. I am thinking more like towards the end of next week. Too much stuff still to be done. Needs new exhaust, the T-case shifter linkage has not arrived yet, need to figure out the speedo cable hookups, need to do all the adjusting of the TV, etc..
I should be coming out anyway with the kid, and maybe the wife, on Thursday evening or Friday morning. If we can't fit in as passengers in someone's rig, we will just hang out for the weekend. A weekend in the desert without the 4X4 is better than a weekend at home anyday.

 

[Brother_of_Jefe]

I'm sure Jefe and I will have open seats (just remember to keep at least one kid in your vehicle at all times!)

 

[BKennedy]

I'm sure Jefe and I will have open seats (just remember to keep at least one kid in your vehicle at all times!)

Sarah thinks it would be fun to roll Its fun when you don't have to pay for all the damage you cause, and as long as no one gets hurt.
I think we should stick with the "one kid in each vehicle rule".

 

[RockRanger]

Sarah thinks it would be fun to roll Its fun when you don't have to pay for all the damage you cause, and as long as no one gets hurt.
I think we should stick with the "one kid in each vehicle rule".

I still remember Sara's face on that one down hill a few years ago when you just about stood your explorer up on the front two wheels. One of the biggest grins Ive ever seen on a kids face.

 

[BKennedy]

Yep, she really likes the thrill rides.

 

[BKennedy]

Okay, Jay had it all figured out and got all the linkages working. The pressures on the transmission were fine, the t-case worked. He backs it out of the shop to trailer it over to get the new exhaust work done, and when he puts it in drive, it won't go forward. Turns out the transmission is faulty and needs to be sent back to Bowtie. I am still negotiating with Bowtie about all the labor to take it out and install it twice. Bowtie admitted to me they have no way of testing this transmission before it ships, due to the metric bell housing. Can you believe that S*&t!!?? I would not recommend this company to anyone anymore, since they ship untested transmissions and expect the customer to pick up the labor charges when it doesn't work.

 

[FROADER]

Wow, that's lame! sucks to hear Brian. How long until you get another one shipped to you?

 

[BKennedy]

The tranny should be out by Monday morning, they should have a truck there to ship it back to Bowtie same day. Then they need to find out what the problem is and fix the transmission, then ship it back. I'm thinking at least one week.

 

[BKennedy]

Okay, now Bowtie is saying that the spring in the TV system was too short. Turns out, they sent the wrong "TV made easy" system for my 4.0 that was actually for a Dodge Ramjet, including the spring that the included instructions say to replace. The cable was even labeled with the part number for a 4.0 system. "Made easy" my rear! :fire: According to Bowtie, this would not allow the foward gears to engage properly. Jason (the tech that is doing the install work) says either way its their fault, and the pressures should not have been right if the spring was too short and that was the only problem. What a pain in the a%$. I can't wait to call up and see what they say next. :thumbdwn:

 

[Maniak]

That sounds familiar..

The first trans I got from them said 4.0 on the cable they sent.. but it was way too long.. (we got it to work).. But when the trans went (broke the input drum) and we got the 2nd trans I checked the spring first.. and it had the wrong spring in it (supposed to be the red one)...

When I drove out to them (trans didn't feel right).. I broke the xfercase chain (not their fault.. maybe.. since it was shifting harder than it should of).. They swapped out the transfer case with one from a yard (near them... I bought the xfer case).. Turns out the torque converter snout was cracked.. and part of it went into the pump.. They rebuilt the trans for free.. I paid for a new converter and we all put it in together...

So far, the new trans is working well.. EXCEPT, the stall is still higher than I want.. Its hard to find a converter that will drop the stall down to 2000 rpms since our 4.0 has as much torque as a chevy 305 (much more than the chevy v6 this trans was first put behind).

~Mark

 

[410Fortune]

welcome to the wonderful world or transmission swaps/conversions and trusting your rebuilder!



More like a nightmare.
I am HOPING I dont have to touch this 4r70w for AT LEAST 150K miles hahaha wouldnt that be so nice?

 

[BKennedy]

Maniak, when you called Bowtie with problems, did you talk to Chris at service? He seems to get real defensive when you start talking about problems with their products. Like the fact that they cannot test this transmission before they send it out...which I have never heard of before. I think they are having problems with their stocking and manufacturing, not the service people. The service people take all the crap when something goes wrong. They should be bending over backwards to take care of this, instead they are playing the blame game. Chris even said to me "you think this isn't costing me money too??" Like I care, since the reason I am spending more money is entirely their fault.

 

[Maniak]

Chris is who I dealt with.. He is more than just a service guy.. He's kinda up there... As I understand it (I spent 4 days at their offices) He reports to the owner and is kinda in charge of most things.. But he is mechanically inclined, not a customer service person.. which is a shame.. I know he means well (he even picked me up and dropped me off from the hotel I was staying at in town.. and even loaned me a couple $ when I got my xfer case from the yard), I just don't think taking customer complaints is his forte.

They are a smallish company.. When I was there.. there were only 2 service people (including Chris) since they just lost a service tech a short while before I got there.. But from what I could tell, the service people are also the ones that actually do the r&r of the built transmissions in their test mules (one out of the 2 was up and running when I was there).. which is if I remember correctly was an el camino (the one that was working) and a chevy 1/2 ton pickup (both were 2wd)..

They also do installs at their shop of customer machines (there was a lumped Jaguar in for a leak when I was there)..

From the time I spent with them (4 days).. they are nice people, mean well, and try to make things right and are in a tough spot. They build tranmissions, and they can be installed incorrectly (e.g. use the converter bolts to pull the converter to the flexplate), but I also think the not having a way to test the 60 degree trans is hurting them.. Also, building is done assembly line wise (one person does valve body, someone else puts the gears/drum together, someone else does final assembly).. and they don't do many 60 degree trans, and even less to put behind a ford 4.0 which is why the spring gets missed..

I personally think when a 700r4 is ordered and requires special parts that it is red flagged so that the transmission gets another set of checks to make sure it was put together with the right parts (e.g. the red spring)..

ok.. enough rambling.. I think they are a good company, but have a few things to iron out.. If they had a 60 degree test mule (even a dyno test, if not a vehicle) and added an extra check when its is something special they would be much better.

~Mark