Solved - 700R4 Trans and D300 T-Case Swap? | Page 7 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Solved 700R4 Trans and D300 T-Case Swap?

Prefix for threads that contain problems that have been resolved, and there is an answer within the thread.
I used to have a mechanical pressure gauge.. It was the normal test gauge you hook up when your installing it.. I had it zip tied to the winshield wiper..
Since then I have installed the electric gauge (industrial gauge).. When cool (e.g. not over 120F) I get about 100 or so psi at idle in park.. Reverse is about 160. And it moves about the instant I hit the throttle.. At 70mph (2250 rpms) It sits at about 160 psi..

When warm (120F or so) the pressures drop at idle to close to 80 and the 160 cruise on the freeway drops to about 150..
edit: Actually, those pressures don't drop until the temp is a little higher.. closer to 130-140

I can dig up my test sheet form when I installed it if you need the exact numbers I got. My new electric gauge doesn't have enough marks on it to get exact (e.g. 100psi is between 80 and 120psi).

Also, my temp gauge isn't mechanical.. Its electrical, but a 270 degree sweep marine gauge that uses an amplifier. The temp sender is in the pan.
I do have 2 coolers, a plate style first (15k gvwr) and a tube/fin style (20kgvwr I think). I don't run it through the radiator heat exchanger. It doesn't get cold enough here in Southern Az.

I have a pusher fan I'm going to be installing in the next couple of weeks that will run when the converter is not locked to see if I can get the temps down some.

~Mark
 



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Got the pressure and temp gauges, sending units and the "A" pillar pod yesterday. Should have that mounted up in the next few weeks (I have been real busy with the house and work).
And the best news...............IT PASSED SMOG! I was kind of worried with the single high flow cat, but I compared this test with the last test results and this one has less emmisions.
 






BKennedy said:
And the best news...............IT PASSED SMOG! I was kind of worried with the single high flow cat, but I compared this test with the last test results and this one has less emmisions.
Gotta love that! How many miles on it?
 












What brand and where did you get your high flow cat?
 






DB_1 said:
What brand and where did you get your high flow cat?
I had a place in Oceanside do the exhaust system when the transmission was changed. There are no markings on the cat, so I don't know the brand, but the shop that did the work is "Warner's Muffler" They did a great job. It is also the place that modified my tow bar so I could bolt it right up to the D-ring shackle mounts on my front bumper.
 






Were there prices pretty reasonable? I need to do some rerouting of my exhaust. I am trying to decide if I want to try and do the exhaust myself or not.
 






I know that they are very geared towards the offroad community...
 






Sorry, did not look at this thread for a few days. The owners and most of the employee's of Warner's are Glamis types. They are very good and reasonably priced. I am thinking of having that Banks system installed by them in the RV, get another 35 horses out of it! They were recommended by my buddy Marc at TAG Motorsports. He has been in the off road business locally for a long time and I trust his judgement, mainly because he has never let me down. Eventually TAG is going to do my SAS.
 






Finally drove it around town with the trans pressure and temp gauges installed. Seems to run between 100 and 170 psi and 100 to 200F. Does this seem about right?
 






My highest pressure reading on our 7004 is about 170psi (when its 55F outside and I've only driven a couple miles). When the fluid is hot (e.g. if was 85F yesterday and I was in stop/go traffic) idle pressure drops to about 80ish..

Temp in the pan was showing about 160F when I got the 80ish psi at idle.. But I'm still not sure about the temps.. I "think" the temp sender isn't getting into the pan enough so it is reading the temp of the pan itself, not the fluid. When it was 160 I could grab the tranny line going to the coolers and it wasn't "hot".. it was warm, but not hot.. I'm going to get a Derale pan (one with tubes in it) and will make sure my temp sensor goes through the hole and really into the fluid.

Those temps you reported were taken from where? If it fluctuates alot, you are on the output off the converter which will jump all over the place.. which is why I put mine in the pan so I can see what the temp the fluid is right before it goes into the pump. The temp itself doesn't really matter, its more about what is normal for your truck, where you have it installed (I've seen 195F pan temps in stop/go traffic with 105F+ outside temps)

~Mark
 






Thanks, Maniak. The fluid temp sender is in the pan using the drain plug. It is a longer sender and reaches a little bit into the fluid so the readings are pretty accurate. As long as the gauge is accurate, which I guess I just have to trust since its a new VDO gauge.
 






Update;
Went up to the local mountains a few weeks ago. It was hot outside and the tranny temp went over 240 going up a long grade, and stayed that way until I stopped for 15 minutes to let it cool down with the engine off (stopped with the engine running did nothing to cool it down). It always ran a little hot, but not like this. Ordered a Flex-a-lite 7.5X15X1/4" (model 1418) transmission cooler from Summit. Installed it last night and noticed transmission temps were down quite a bit (about 40 degrees from before). I kept the original cooler and put this one behind it against the condenser/radiator. So, if you are planning on doing this transmission conversion, you need the biggest transmission cooler you can fit in front of your radiator to keep it cool.
 






Are you in 4th gear w/ lockup when you go up that hill or are you in 3rd gear?

If your in 3rd gear, you can add a "tow" switch (as bowtie calls it) so you can lock the converter in 2nd or 3rd gear. That alone will drastically lower your temp.

Also, when does your fan turn on? Do you have it temp controlled and if so, where does it read the temp and at what temp?

I have my fan set to turn on 5 seconds after the converter unlocks so it is always running when I'm tooling around town (until I get to about 45-50mph when I go into 4th gear/lockup)

~Mark
 






Update on swap

Okay, got tired of the harsh shifting transmission. Took it to Poway Transmission several months ago, who builds racing transmission for dragsters and 4X4 applications. Head guy there says he has fixed problem transmissions from Bowtie before and he gets a lot of business from their mistakes. When I purchased the trans from Bowtie, I told them I wanted it to shift smooth. Even with all the adjusting of the TV cable, it still shifted like a dragster, not good. It turns out it had a high rev shift kit installed, which I specifically told Bowtie not to do. It was also way overfilled to get the pressure required by Bowtie. Kit was taken out and thrown away, a few new parts replaced where holes were drilled by Bowtie, and it shifts super smooth now, which should help the t-case last a long time. Poway Transmission said that this type of trans to overheats when overfilled because the fluid gets churned up and frothy. They also said the pressures required by Bowtie are way too high. Now it runs cool (never over 150) and the pressure rarely gets over 100 psi. Also has 100% Mobile One, which helps keep it cool. Am taking it back in a few days, since I got the cage all installed (rig was in pieces all over the garage for awhile), so they can adjust the TV cable because it doesn't want to downshift after going into overdrive. Poway says its an adjustment issue and should not be a problem.

I really enjoy the floor shifter and torque of this transmission when in the dirt. Having that 2lo is nice too when in real tight sharp turns.

All total, I spent nearly $6,000.00 on this swap, but over $1,500.00 was due to fixing Bowtie's work. A tremendous amount of cash could be saved if you are brave enough to do the labor yourself.
 






I'm glad you got it figured out..

When I had my last one build from bowtie I had them put it in (I helped).. Once in, I had them make some changes.. one biggie was to lower the PSI internally, they were too high. At cool idle I'm at about 100psi. the highest I see it go now it about 160 (when cool) and I think thats in reverse.

I will double check my fluid level and make sure I'm not running high...

If I were to do this again, I would definately do the 700r4 swap, but I wouldn't use bowtie to build it.. I'd use a local good shop to build it.

(btw.. 60k miles on my 700r4 swap... so far so good.. knock on wood)

~Mark
 






If I were to do this again, I would definately do the 700r4 swap, but I wouldn't use bowtie to build it.. I'd use a local good shop to build it.~Mark

Ditto!

(btw.. 60k miles on my 700r4 swap... so far so good.. knock on wood)~Mark

That is good news, I only drive my Ex about twice a month, and tow it to the trails, so mine should last years and years...
 






Hey BKennedy,

That is a sweet center console you built, and i was also wanting to make one like yours, but i was wonderin where you found the vinyl or what kind of it is and just stuff like that... my explorer is the same color and leather like yours.

Thanks
 



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I am not real familiar with explorers as all of my experience is with B2's and rangers but wouldn't a Dana 20 have also been a good choice for that truck? I know when I built my last ranger (sorry, no pics, didn't think anybody cared to see it back then) I SAS'd it and used a 4.0/700R4/Dana 20 combo and it worked like a charm, never gave me a bit of trouble, but then again I'm sure the explorer weighs more than a half fiberglass Ranger. Also. does the ex front TTB (I really don't like calling any TTB an axle) drop on the same side as a B2/Ranger?
 






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