Is it really new?

[wonderer]

Yes it's the guy with the engine that revs, who thought he had a bad tranny,, (not used to v6 auto). Thanks guys, for all the help on this slippery subject lol.

It's a major concern to me because of the load I intend to pull, (24ft Jayco Camper).

There was one more thing that I forgot to mention and that is the tranny was supposedly replaced/rebuilt last year,, no proof of the job tho... Is there a way to tell if the tranny has been recently worked on, beside the usual new gasket gunk and clean surfaces?

Also, just to mention, I replaced those auto hubs yesterday with Warn manuals, (it's about time, Ive owned the vehicle for 3 weeks already).

I also intend on adding a torque converter lock-up switch, to limit the slip time in the torque converter. It should help to keep the heat issue at bay ,, no slip , no heat build up... OH and by the way no slip means no waist,, all that good gas being converted into heat!

I've wired up a couple other vehicles, a 91' Plymouth Sundance and a 95' Plym Voyager, to do the same. Those were wired to only alow lockup in drive,(so the wife or whomever wouldn't be killing it at stop lights like the manual tranny it acks like. This one for the Ex, will probably be wired to go into lockup in any gear. There a possibility I'll wire a switch to force overdrive also..

I know your gonna ask why I did this so...

I started investigating ways to improve fuel economy, like slow excelleration and slow deceleration (8-15% savings), lower cruise speed (1%/2mph under 65) and ofcourse the lock-up switch (not sure yet maybe as much as 10%). Depends on how many miles you drive under about 40 mph, (the tranny doesn't normally alow lockup below that speed). You can basically "idle" across town @ 25mph, otherwise with no lock, the engine needs to turn approximately twice as fast at the same speed requiring some gas pedal just to turn it over that much faster. Now with all that said, I ask, wouldn't you like to save 25% at the fuel pumps ???

 

[Opera House]

Except that..........

Second really needs the torque converter to boost torque. That is the reason the 5 speed is so much better splitting between 1 and 2. Think this would really lug the engine and tear up the tranny. A manual lockup in manual 1 has its applications.

 

[410Fortune]

This has been discussed a few times.
The lock up converter on the A4LD is hydraulic and even with the solenoid wired to a switch you will probably still only be able to lock it up in 3 and OD.

Now I dont know this for sure and wiring the switch is easty enough (1 wire) so sometime on the future I want to try. What I am saying is if you wire this up please post your results here.

 

[wonderer]

I'm gonna remind you guys that these are only ideas I'm throwing around, argument for the purpose of retaliation lol.

You have got a point Opera.. But say I'm in OD , and here comes this hill @ 55 mph.. Pretty sure the Ex would respond to more pedal by slipping into 3rd, (I may attempt a "force OD switch later also), and for even more power it would release the torque converter for multiplication, putting rpms way up there ,, my question , at this point, now going about 45 mph, wouldn't it be running at about the same rpms in 2nd with a locked torque converter?? Oh and no more heat build up from that point on.

Far as abuse to tranny goes you'd have to be careful when you use lockup. An engine under extreme load is not the time to lock it up , (same goes for a manual clutch). The way I've been playing with it so far is to let up on the gas before I engage, this releases that huge amount of torque and it also matches engine speed.

This idea came about by thinking along the lines of saving fuel and light pedal , not flooring it lol, I may have to re-think this...

I believe the best use for this idea is in large V-8s not 6's, and under light load conditions, where they are wasting fuel by turning over twice as fast as they need to, like level travel, no trailer behind, and cold starts, (the computers often don't let lockup occur when they are cold, so you drive around for 10-15 minutes without lockup and pushing that cold vehicle down the road @ 65 takes even more fuel, not to mention I hate a cold shuddering engine that's using all it's horses just to turn over that fast).

410, I hope your wrong lol, would be great to have that manual feel in all gears, and save all that heat build, but if it only locks in 3rd and OD it will still serve my purpose, (to answer this question and kill some time ).

I will let everyone know here how it turns out,, thinking every company different for wiring.

The circuit used is typically an "open collector" transistor output stage. For those with knowledge of semiconductors , picture 1 side of coil going to "+" and the other being tied to the collector of a transistor ,, with the emitter grounded, and when dc signal from ECU pulls the base up, (approx. .7 volts), it causes the collector to pull to near ground (.7 volts) thus dropping 12 volts across the coil.

I leave the original wiring there (so far) , but insert a diode between the bottom end of coil and transistor's collector , just in case its a class B push-pull type driver stage , if you didn't do this , you'd fry the output stage because you forced it to ground while it was trying to stay at "hot" potential. That way, I can pull that coil to ground myself or still have automatic operation. this style of wiring has 1 drawback, the computer still controls absolutely, when it will allow lockup , your still gonna freewheel down hills.

I plan to try something a little different this time which involves 2 diodes and complete control over the solenoid, (but still have auto mode when you let go of the button). This way, serious engine braking can be achieved also. Once again I'm not sure what effects this will have on the tranny like: are those bands and clutches going to have equal gripping power with opposite torque? (from decelerating instead of accelerating).

An added note:

There is a 2nd motive to putting on manual hubs, other than the obvious reason, (to be able to smash them into tiny bits with a mall and still be able to drive away lol). You can put it in low range , leave the hubs out, and crawl around on DRY pavement or gravel without have to worry about windup damaging something. Will prove useful I bet, when trying to maneuver that big trailer into a camping spot .

Ok, back to a question I asked earlier:

Does anyone here know how to tell if a tranny has been replaced , and if it has, do I need to worry about what fluid to stick in it? I've heard that if a tranny is rebuilt with newer parts, you need to use a newer fluid?

Thanks fur all the good discussions here and looking forward to future replies..

Mike

 

[wonderer]

Updated Info: Installed Lock up switch

I installed a lock up switch I have posted it under a new link so that all will find it.

Do a search under "wonderer" or goto the following post:http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=76722

 

[SteveVB]

I hope you plan to add a really big cooler also. Towing with the a4ld is going to reduce the lifespan no doubt, a cooler will help big time- I would also get yourself a tranny temp gauge to monitor the trans.

Good Luck.