Completed Project 5.0 swap - w/ 4406

[CDW6212R]

I'm glad to hear that. Doing the J-mod to a truck VB is a hit or miss deal, many times not good. I have a VB that should be from a car, I'll see if it is soon.

 

[ahodges]

If you ever get into doing one I'll share 1 thing that I found different about my seperator plate vs. the ones I saw on the forums. My 97 seperator plate didn't have a hole that is labled #5. #4 & #5 are for the direct drive clutches I believe and the seperator plate gaskets have a hole there where it could or should be. So I decided to go ahead and make a hole there the same size as #4 (per the directions). I'm very happy with it and it has even slightly helped the O/D down shift flare some.

I followed a lot of the parts guidlines that correlated with the 5.4l transmissions when I read that they had those parts in them (certain springs and the pressure solenoid).

 

[CDW6212R]

That's good to know. I also have the higher pressure EPC to install, and the 5.4 wave plate etc. I haven't decided whether to leave out the one wave plate to gain a friction in the forward clutch drum, that can be harsh they say.

I want to use the car VB and do the J-mod, then I can use the called for new springs for the accumulators. Lots of Thunderbird or Mark VII owners have documented which of those springs work best with the J-mod. Hopefully I can make contact with Alan of Dirty Dog and get those from him.

 

[ahodges]

That's good to know. I also have the higher pressure EPC to install, and the 5.4 wave plate etc. I haven't decided whether to leave out the one wave plate to gain a friction in the forward clutch drum, that can be harsh they say.

I want to use the car VB and do the J-mod, then I can use the called for new springs for the accumulators. Lots of Thunderbird or Mark VII owners have documented which of those springs work best with the J-mod. Hopefully I can make contact with Alan of Dirty Dog and get those from him.

I was afraid the whole time of getting the shifts too hard but They aren't hard at all, just nice and quick. I used the stiffest spring available on top of the 1-2 accumulator and no springs anywhere else on the accumulators. Here is a parts list if what I used:

(Disclaimer is that I gathered my parts list for a 97 4R70W, I'm not sure if there are changes for later years)

2.7" OD Servo - F75Z-7H188-AA
OD Servo Return Spring - F2VY-7F201-A
Pressure Control Solenoid - XL3Z-7G383-AA
1-2 Accumulator - F7AZ-7F251-AA
1-2 Accumulator Cover - F4AZ-7F247-A
2-3 Accumulator - F7AZ-7H292-AA
Reverse Servo - E0AZ-7D189-A (this is for less forward drag, in my case not noticable)
Top 1-2 Accumulator Spring - F78Z-7F284-AA
Seperator Plate Gasket 1 - XW7Z-7D100-AA
Seperator Plate Gasket 2 - F7AZ-7C155-AA

Like I said earlier, I didn't use a spring in the bottom of the 1-2 accumulator or in the 2-3 accumulator. I also drilled the holes out to the max recommended excepet for the hole that increases the rate in which in goes into reverse, I only went half way on that and wouldn't have wanted it any larger.

I forgot to get the electronic parts that bolt to the bottom of the VB (are they the control servos?) but mine work fine anyhow and you don't have to drop the VB again to replace them. Total cost was $200 for parts and $75 for the oil.

I wish I would have know about the 5.4l wave plate before I had my tranny built because now I really wish I had it in there. On light (half throttle) OD down shifts mine still flares really bad and from what I've read only the 5.4l wave plate will help with that. I would deffinately go with the wave plate especially if you are going to stroke your engine!

 

[CDW6212R]

That's a good list of parts, thanks for posting it. I have quite a few notes from researching what is available for upgrades, and I should organize that and post it also, to help others.

 

[ahodges]

I had the rest of my rust fixed over the last 2 months so I finally got her back! I've also been fighting some minor problems I'm having with m exhaust dumps. Ever since summer I've had both dumps leaking, one worse than the other. I keep sending them in for repair but not getting anywhere so far. First they tell me I have them installed wrong, so I sent them pictures and a video; they decided that wasn't the problem. Now they want to say that my cam is to violent for them to hold back the pressure and my exhaust is too restrictive.. (no cats and dual 2.5" into a 3" straight through muffler) I think not, especially at idle.

But anyhow I did get another video of it idling and pictures of the entire exhaust system, so I thought I would share them.

let me know if you have trouble viewing the video, Photobucket isn't the greatest for video's. I may have to break down and make a youtube account!

 

[CDW6212R]

Excellent, that looks great. It's tough to do much with the large surface area of the bottom of the truck. It took a lot of work to treat that, and it looks like it's done right.


BTW, have you compared the data logs of pulls with and without the exhaust dumped? I wonder if the change has any notable affect on the tune results.

 

[Turdle]

You went to a lot of work to get the dump pipes in there. Man that looks good, and mean. I really hope you get it to work out.

All the exhaust shops around here would not touch any kind of dump. "None of em work as good as on TV". They said for a show car which is only run with the dumps open they are good, but the heat, expansion of metals and exhaust gas soot all combine to break down the seals quickly.

Dang I want this to work. They should build them with a customer serviceable silicone ( or something) seal.

I wonder it the dumps were "pre cat" they would run cooler. That would be a tough fit though.

Looks real good under there.

 

[ahodges]

Thanks guys! I have done datalog pulls both ways to compare. When I had it dynoed I asked the tuner if he would do a pull with the dumps open to compare horse power and tune, he said he has done it before and that he has never seen a difference and I could tell he didn't want to do it so I didn't push the subject. My wideband doesn't match up with what his wideband was reading so I haven't even datalogged since the dyno. I feel like I may need a whole new wideband setup but don't feel like spending the money on it.. Mine seems to read all over the place and when I do step on it, it reads leaner than I like and leaner than what the dynojet one said. Then again, I have no previous experience with wideband sensors or datalogging.

Jon, I don't have cats on mine so I'm sure that may actually increase the temperature at the dumps. The ones I have are made by Pypes Performance and do not utilize rubber seals, they have 1/8" stainless butterflies that close against a lip in the aluminum of the main body. I'm waiting on them to get back to me again. These dumps have a life time warrenty but they are telling me they don't know why they are leaking and aren't giving suggestions on what to do next.. Thanks for the complements, I wish the underside was still as clean as the day I finished it!

 

[Turdle]

Have you "reset" the wideband sensor?

I think you have to pull it out, and let it breathe clean air, then power it up while it is in clean air.

Once it is in the pipe, it is very important not to hit the reset button again.

 

[ahodges]

Well this is a AEM wideband and everything I've read on their website says that they are precalibrated and can't be "zeroed". I have been debating buying a different brand. What are your guys experience with them?

 

[CDW6212R]

Have you "reset" the wideband sensor?

I think you have to pull it out, and let it breathe clean air, then power it up while it is in clean air.

Once it is in the pipe, it is very important not to hit the reset button again.

I've read that a few times, that sounds like fun to do. I wonder if a person with cut outs could cram a long hose inside the outlet past the sensor, and by air compressor displace it with outside air. I wonder if that would be the same thing.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

all i have to say is wideband 02 sensors get hot.......DAMN hot when left on for a min or two......
and yea, hats off to your exhaust shop. i dont even want to know how much time that took them.

 

[CDW6212R]

I meant to say thanks too, for the picture there showing the rear double cardon joint next to the gas tank. I'm worried about the clearance I will have with my plastic 1993 tank, but not quite as worried as before. The steel tanks are more slender, longer and the middle seam sticks out a lot. The plastic tanks are the same outer dimensions as the seams of the steel tanks, nice and squared on all sides. That's how the plastic 22 gallon tank is the same length as the steel 17 gallon tank.

 

[ford99_1979]

Good job on everything Ahodge! I have an innovative LC1 wideband that I don't need anymore with a brand new Bosch sensor. Let me know if you want it. Worked perfectly from day 1. i got a new sensor after my intake gasket failed and took out all my O2 sensors but never put the new wideband back on. Bought it from Henson when I was in the datalogging and tuning phase.

 

[ahodges]

all i have to say is wideband 02 sensors get hot.......DAMN hot when left on for a min or two......
and yea, hats off to your exhaust shop. i dont even want to know how much time that took them.

I saw in your thread that you had some experience with an O2 sensor! I'm personal friends with the owner of that exhaust shop, Heavy Duty Muffler. He hooked me up

 

[ahodges]

I installed a new LC-1 wideband. With the sensor in the driver's side band it is showing around 12.4 - 12.5 A/F at WOT. I'm not sure how accurate this was though because right when I took it for a test drive the alternator crapped out. I'll test it again now that I have a new alternator once the weather gets better again.

When it was tuned on the dyno from the passenger side bank it would hit about 12.3 A/F at max RPMs (tuner said it was running out of fuel but it would be ok). I'm not sure if I should be concerned about that or not. To correct it I would either need to install larger fuel rails or an inline fuel pump I think? I guess the 255 walbro is maxed out. This is frustrating because I have had the A/F ratio in the back of my mind a long time and on paper the 255 should be plenty to feed my engine.. or not?

In other news, Pypes Performance pulled through for me and sent me a brand new set of dumps free of charge. They couldn't understand why the ones I had were leaking but they gave me a new set of "hand picked" butterflies. On my first run they seem 100% better and don't rattle. Time will tell if they stay nice a tight!!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

for your wideband, when i am cruising it reads 14.5. same for idling. when i get on it, it will drop in the 10's for a split second, then read 11.3.

 

[ahodges]

Yeah mine reads right around 14.5 -14.7 when idling and cruising. The tuner said that because I have such low compression and forged pistons that he wasn't concerned to tune it like it is N/A. Is the ideal A/F ratio for N/A around 12.3ish?

 

[CDW6212R]

I have read lots of times that best power is nearer to 13:1 or a little more, but that is also right on the edge of creating detonation of a lean condition, and it should stay farther away from that. So the 11.5:1 to 12:1 is the typical preferred range you hear of, for WOT, on any engine.

The 255lt/hr pump should be plenty, but the lines from it to the injectors can cause too much restriction.

Do you have anything but the stock fuel lines and rail? I'd consider upgrading the main fuel line first, as the weakest link.

I plan to wire in a 2nd 255 pump, next to the main one, and have it run only at WOT. Finding these pumps on short notice, or say on a trip, is not a reliable idea. I hope to have it wired with a switch and relays, to swap the pumps' jobs.