Jefe's 700R4 swap

[Jefe]

I got tired of the computer deciding when my 5R55E transmission should shift, since it hadn't a clue with all the mods I've done so I decided It was time for a change. The two choices were a manual, or a 700R4 for a lower crawl ratio. I love having an auto in LA traffic (and Its grown on me wheeling) so I figured I'd be the first to put a 700R4 in a 2nd gen.

All my pics are here, and I'll link the important ones to the thread.

I grabbed the two Advance Adapters parts (4.0 to 700R4, 700R4 to t-case) back in Feb for a great deal, and waited for some more cash to come around to buy the 700R4. I got the 700R4 (Level II) from Bowtie Overdrives, along with their TV system, 1800 rpm stall torque converter, dip stick, and install kit.

The trans arrives:


A few weeks before I put the trans in i decided to install the TV linkage. Somewhere between '91-'94 and 2000 the throttle body linkage changed size, so I got to modify it to fit Bowtie's TV setup. I figured since was modifying anyway I mine as well upgrade and so I threw in a BBK TB.

You can see where i ground the linkage down:


On another weekend I hacked up my center console and installed the B&M Hammer shifter. It sat a little low sitting on the floor, so I welded up a sub-frame for it out of 1" sq. tube. I plan to glass the cover in with the center console so it looks factory. (anyone want to show me how to glass?)

Part way installed:


The next step was to throw in the transmission in a weekend and hope everything else went smoothly since this is still my daily driver.

Friday night (5 hrs):
The first job was to get the control arms from the SFA out of the way, along with its bracketry:



Next, getting ready to take the t-case and transmission out:



Saturday (15 hrs):
With help, and a very tall floor jack (or a bunch of bricks ) remove t-case and transmission. Compare transmisions (AA tailshaft housing was installed previously, and the 700R4 was built with the AA output shaft):


Bolt AA adapter to engine:


Bolt adapter to torque converter and install:
I had to grind down the three bolts in order to get them flush w/ the adapter. Not sure if AA dropped the ball or what.


Bolt up trans:


Bolt up t-case:


Connect TV linkage:


Reroute cooler lines. I used rubber for now. I plan to replace with either braided stainless or hard lines. I had ordered the Bowtie overdrives lines, but they aren't long enough to reach the drivers side tank of the stock radiator, nor are they the right fittings for the radiator.

Sunday (10 hrs):
Wire up shifter. I brought the wires that went to the shift position switch on the 5R through the same hole as the shift cable. By rewraping the wire harness correctly, i didn't have to extend any wires, which was nice.
Wire up torque converter harness. I got bowties harness w/ manual lockup switch, and replaced my shifter handle with one that has a switch. so now I can lock the converter up when i'm climbing in 3rd gear. It works great.

Connect shifter, fill trans and start engine w/o exhaust Y-pipe to get neighbors attention

Modify exhaust. I had to crush the pre-cat on the passenger side in order to get the Y-pipe to fit. The O2 sensor on that side is fine. The O2 sensor on the other side clears the adapter plate by a 1/32", so others may need to grind the adapter to get it to fit. I figured I'd then drive it to an exhaust shop and have them remake my Y-pipe to fit better. However I found out that for such a new vehicle the O2 sensors and pre-cats have to be exact stock distances down the pipe to follow guidlines so no one wanted to help me there. I even talked with the local guy for a good 30 mins coming up with crazy ideas to get it to work, like remoting the oil filter and taking the exhaust around the outside of the frame rail. I ended up just using the tube that AA suplies to extend the Y-pipe so that the cats would bolt up sqaure and clear the trans. I may get to have fun when I need to smog this thing

exhaust pics:




I know I've left out many details, so if anyone has any questions, ask away.

[Savage Wolf]

good looking swap, y-pipe fit reminds me of my truck
should hold up better then the darn stock trannys ford curses our trucks with

[Premier]

Yay!

[Rick]

Very nice! Good choice. I really like the way DWDs truck drove with that tranny

One suggestion. Get some of that heat shield material that has a ceramic fiber inside surrounded by foil on the outside and place it between your exhaust and your bellhousing so the TC fluid doesn't get baked.

[Rick]

I may get to have fun when I need to smog this thing

Hopefully the extention will be as rusty as the rest by then and they won't even notice

Down here they stick a mirror under the truck and if the cat is there you're good to go. We supposedly have the same advanced testing CA does. I have passed every time even though my truck originally came with two cats and I now only have 1 high flow unit.

[Jefe]

Originally Posted by Rick

Hopefully the extention will be as rusty as the rest by then and they won't even notice

Down here they stick a mirror under the truck and if the cat is there you're good to go. We supposedly have the same advanced testing CA does. I have passed every time even though my truck originally came with two cats and I now only have 1 high flow unit.

Thats what I'm hopeing for. . .I'm not too worried about it.

[fury]

Great stuff. i to hope to someday do a swap like this. Might even come sooner than later as my recently rebuilt tranny started to slip in and out of nuetral today as i was driving my ex to work. and instead of getting another ford transmission and have the same problems happen might as well go with a transmission that can handle some abuse.

also jefe i was wondering if u had the advance adapters part #'s for the adapters u used to swap in the 700R4?
and if u wouldn't mind sharing with us how much all the parts u got cost?
just wondering.
keep up the good work.
thanks

[Hokie]

Originally Posted by Rick

Down here they stick a mirror under the truck and if the cat is there you're good to go.

I bet they can darn near stand under your or Rick's truck during an inspection... lol

I'd love to see the look on their faces when those bad boys come in

[Jefe]

Originally Posted by fury

also jefe i was wondering if u had the advance adapters part #'s for the adapters u used to swap in the 700R4?
and if u wouldn't mind sharing with us how much all the parts u got cost?
just wondering.
keep up the good work.
thanks

According to AA's website:
4.0L to 700R4: 712592
700R4 to Ford t-case: 50-8410
I think I got the two adapters for less than $600, but I can't remember.

[fury]

thanks for the part #'s jefe.

[410Fortune]

Damn dude.........You dont know how to glass? hahahahaha

KICKS BUTT! How does it drive now?
How much total?

[Jefe]

Originally Posted by 410Fortune

Damn dude.........You dont know how to glass? hahahahaha

I've read all about doing it. I just need a project to practice on and I'm sure I could glass like a pro. :p

KICKS BUTT! How does it drive now?
How much total?

I drives great. My 5R55E always short-shifted. unless i floored it it wouldn't ever go above 2500 rpm. The 700R4 like its setup now won't shift before 2500 unless I let off the gas. Arount town and on the freeway its always in the 2-3000 rpm range. Its a big change which has been hard to get used to, but if it were a manual I would be shifting right about where it wants to, so its all good When I floor it it shifts about 4800 rpm. until now I didn't even know my engine could spin that fast. The 5R55E would shift long before that. The higher OD also helps, so I've gained a few mph increase (73 mph vs 70) at 2500 rpm, so hopefully my long distance gas mileage will improve.
And with the Atlas in Low it shifts just like it was in high, whereas the 5R55E was always searching gears. At idle I crawl along at 1.1 mph according to the GPS. I got out to walk next to it and I was walking too fast.

The Grand total comes to about $2800 for everything.

[jasonb]

$2800.. that's not to shabby. i'll consider this for sure when my trans goes...

as usual.. great writeup!

[Jefe]

One note to anyone doing this. Others had mentioned getting a TV cable from Bowtie Overdrives that was too short, and then called and were sent the right cable. I figured Bowtie would have figured it out by the time I got mine, but no. Luckily I checked the cable before I started tearing everything apart. So, if your cable doesn't have a white sticker with "Ford 4.0" on it, make sure its long enough. The short one is right about 36" and the right one is near 40".

[Ronin8002]

you probably will want to do something to shield the tranny from the exhaust heat...I'm redoing my exhaust soon with larger tubing and I'm going to route it further away from the pan, move the cat further back and wrap the y pipe and pre-cat piping with header wrap and then seal it with spray on high temp silicone. Right now the trans gets a little too warm for my peace of mind, sometimes approaching 200 deg in bumper to bumper traffic, even using the in-radiator cooler and a huge aftermarket one.

[Jefe]

And for anyone wondering, the computer throws a few codes w/o the stock transmission hooked up:
P0708 TRSACHI -Transmission Range Sensor A Circuit High Input
P0743 TCCSCE -Torque Converter Clutch Solenoid Circuit Electrical
P0755 SSB -Shift Solenoid B
P0760 SSC -Shift Solenoid C
P0765 SSD -Shift Solenoid D

[Hokie]

Originally Posted by Jefe

And for anyone wondering, the computer throws a few codes w/o the stock transmission hooked up:
P0708 TRSACHI -Transmission Range Sensor A Circuit High Input
P0743 TCCSCE -Torque Converter Clutch Solenoid Circuit Electrical
P0755 SSB -Shift Solenoid B
P0760 SSC -Shift Solenoid C
P0765 SSD -Shift Solenoid D

I believe if you remove the solenoids from the tranny and plug them back up to the harnesses you'll get rid of a few of those codes. Thats what BonesDT is doing post his 5R >> M5 swap

[Jefe]

Originally Posted by Hokie

I believe if you remove the solenoids from the tranny and plug them back up to the harnesses you'll get rid of a few of those codes. Thats what BonesDT is doing post his 5R >> M5 swap

But if it doesn't get rid of all the codes then whats the point?

[Jefe]

Originally Posted by MaximumViolence

you probably will want to do something to shield the tranny from the exhaust heat...I'm redoing my exhaust soon with larger tubing and I'm going to route it further away from the pan, move the cat further back and wrap the y pipe and pre-cat piping with header wrap and then seal it with spray on high temp silicone. Right now the trans gets a little too warm for my peace of mind, sometimes approaching 200 deg in bumper to bumper traffic, even using the in-radiator cooler and a huge aftermarket one.

I do want to move the Cats back, but right now the hottest I've gotten it is 180* and thats with an ambient temp of 102* so I'm not too worried. I did throw the stock heat sheild from the 5R onto the 700R4, so that may be helping enough.

[DB_1]

How do you expect compression braking to be with the 700r4 to be offroading?