700R4 going into my Explorer and Shifter Questions

[Dignan]

Now I just wish I wasn't at work. Instead of talking about, I need to just go do it. At least it is a slow enough day in court to sit and talk to you guys.

 

[Dignan]

So, I've driven it around a few times. The guy seemed to do a good job, but he was obviously frustrated and didn't finish it off nicely. He didn't attach the shift boot or plastic shroud. There is a leak in the cooling lines, and I still haven't done the lockup. Luckily I moved to a place right across the street from my wife's work, so I can leave the Explorer and take my wife's Powerstroke to work.

The shifter is pretty sweet. It has two tracks, so I can just put it in drive or whatever like a normal gate shifter or I can use it like a ratchet shifter. I like that. I like the way the 700R4 shifts and I like the first gear. The only down side is that I do not have OD. What is wrong? How can I get my OD? That is why I went with the 700R4.

 

[Maniak]

The big question is.. are you really missing OD. 3rd to OD w/out the lockup isn't much of a jump in rpms (not like lockup).. Lockup drops the rpms about 1k.. OD was only a few hundred RPMs (it really depends on how hard you are on the throttle).

There isn't anything external on the transmission that tells it to go into OD (4th).. Only the OD is controlle externally. Even if the TV cable was setup incorrectly, it would still go into OD, just later than it should..

Under light throttle it should go into OD (and lockup, once you hook that up) somewhere around 45mph.

~Mark

 

[Dignan]

Oh, ok. I just assumed that since the RPMs were high that my OD wasn't there, but I guess it is just the lockup. Thanks for the input.

 

[FROADER]

so I can leave the Explorer and take my wife's Powerstroke

That's awesome!!

Good luck on getting it all dialed in.

 

[BKennedy]

So, any updates? Did you get the OD thing figured out? My shifter came with the wrong indicator for the 700R4 OD transmission. It only showed 3 gears, with no "D". I called the company and they sent me the correct gear indicator plate.

 

[Dignan]

I do have the wrong plate as well, so I'll have to get in touch with hurst, but I haven't even got it all together yet. I've been building a deck that has been eating away all of my time, but hopefully it will be done on Friday leaving me some time to work on it Saturday. I'd better get it done so I can move onto a lift.

 

[Dignan]

So, it has sat for a while. This cold weather is not very inviting, but I need to get it all dialed in so that I can go to Moab this spring. So The past couple of weekends I have been trying to get it all in order. I think the mechanic did all of the pressure tests, but he didn't give me any numbers, so I redid those tests to make sure everything was in order. For those of you who have done this, what numbers did you come up with?

I also got the console installed. Hurst didn't do a very good job with the design. It took me forever to finally get the darn thing bolted down to the shifter. It probably would have been worth it to just tap the holes in the shifter so that the bolts would go right in, but I finally got the darn nuts on. I couldn't get the lock washers on so it will probably rattle loose after a while, but I'll just tap the holes and do it right at that time.

I wired up the tc lockup. It was very easy and strait-forward. It locks up and drops the rpms like it is supposed to now, so I don't have any problems with OD. Thanks for the input on that one Maniak.

I only have two problems left. I still have a leak in the cooling lines, but I don't think that will be a big problem, I just haven't gotten to it yet. I just keep a very close eye on the tranny fluid to make sure that it doesn't get too low. The other problem is the front drive shaft. It has been off since the first mechanic looked at it several months ago. The last mechanic said that he test fit it and it fits, but he left it off to do the exhaust work and never put it back on. I wasn't too worried about it because I figured a few bolts on each end, no big deal to reinstall it. But I was reading my haynes manual to make sure I didn't overlook anything and it talks a lot about marks to line up the driveshaft to make sure it is balanced. I haven't looked at it yet, but if there are no marks on the driveshafts to line it up, how do I install it correctly to make sure it is balanced?

 

[Maniak]

Balancing isn't as important on the front driveshaft as it is on the rear. You want it "in phase" so as you drive at speed that it doesn't cause a vibration. Your front drive shaft most likely won't be turning at high speeds. If you lock in the hubs or have in in 4x4 (even with the hubs disconnected) then the drive shaft will be turning. If it will have it turning when your not wheeling, then you need to get it phased correctly, but I'm not sure how you would do that.

As for the pressure numbers... I'd have to dig out my test sheets, but I remember what I got in drive...

Drive was about 100psi at idle and with the TV cable pulled it was about 150ish (was 160-180 before I had bowtie lower my pressures)

I can find out tonigh roughtly what I have in the other gears since I run a pressure gauge and a temp gauge (that way I'll know if I loose a TV cable before I kill the transmission, plus its neat to see the pressure move around).

~Mark

 

[Dignan]

So since I'll be in 2-wheel drive at those speeds it doesn't matter? Sounds reasonable to me. Hopefully he marked it and it wont be an issue anyway, but thanks for the input.

 

[Jefe]

As long as the driveshaft came out as a unit (slip joint didn't separate) then its already in phase, you just need to bolt it up.

 

[Maniak]

I got some pressure readings for ya. With the trans cool (not cold) I get the following readings.

park: 100
reverse: 180
neutral, od, drive: 100
2 and 1 : 180+ (it could be between 180 and 225L. its hard to read on my gauge.

those are with the tv cable connected.

~Mark

 

[Dignan]

What is the optimum temperature?

 

[Maniak]

If you mean when testing.. Just idle it for a few minutes.

If you mean from running, thats another can of worms. Our 700r4 runs about 70F above abient temp on the freeway and about 80F above Ambient temp around town. This means when its 110F out the trans temp can hit 200F in the pan.

I did modify the temp sending unit which is in the pan so I may start to get better readings. The sending unit wasn't reaching into the pan. The tip of it was still in the drain plug kit. Now it sits about 1/4 " into the pan.

What is the optimum temperature?

 

[Dignan]

I appreciate everybody's help getting this thing dialed in. It is awesome to have my explorer back. It has been out for a long time now. I would definitely recommend the 700R4 conversion to anyone. I obviously don't know the longevity of it, but I expect it to last a long, long time. The lower first gear is great. I haven't tried it off-road yet, but on road it is great. My RPMs at higher speeds is lower. I haven't figured out the gas-mileage yet, but it seems obvious that it will be better, and gas is about 50 cents cheaper than diesel per gallon, so its nice to have it back. The Hurst V-matic is a great shifter. Even though the console was a bad design, once I finally got that on securely, it looks good and performs great. It has a track for gate shifting and a separate track for ratchet shifting, so I get the best of both worlds. The shift points are firm, which I expected with a high-performance transmission, but other than that, it rides and shifts great. I think Ford would have done well to put the 700R4 in the Explorers in the first place. (Obviously a stretch of reality). Many of the mechanics thought that I was crazy to put a GM transmission in a Ford, I should take it around to their shops and show them that they shouldn't doubt the experts from the Serious Explorations website.

Now if I can just figure out how to get a lift, lockers, more skid protection, and an electric fan for less than $1000 before Moab in May, I'll be set.