4r70w for 400hp mark viii
- Thread starter gbradleyb
- Start date
Start with a 2001-2002 (or 2003 if you can verify it has the VSS teeth), that has better case, OWC, frictions, stub shaft, retainer. Then add better frictions, more clutch plates, JMod, forced lube tailshaft, better torque converter, I think there is an even better spiral retainer that can be used.
Jamesvinar
New member
Thats borderline for stock. Its not hard at all to upgrade it and make it handle that as if it was a normal load. Its been a while since ive done tranny work but i believe you can add more clutches to help it last longer (i gotta read again and get back to you on the exact thing). Then the jmod and a big cooler.
If you want a transmission and are ever in the area i have one out of a 04 crown vic you can have and play around with
If you want a transmission and are ever in the area i have one out of a 04 crown vic you can have and play around with
Jamesvinar
New member
I mean they both have their advantages, supposedly the 97 is better though
94 or 97 is a toss up, there isn't enough different between them to make one more desireable than the other.
97 is slightly better, better case (fluid flow) and better valve body, but not much else.
98 (and up to 2000 for most cars that still had this transmission) is much better stock, with mechanical diode, better frictions.
2001->2003 new valve body design, different OD circuit, needs JMod for use in earlier car, watch 03 for VSS teeth.
2004+ different OSS signal, so need an add on method to correct it (it sends either 4 times the count, or 1/4 the count, forget which).
97 is slightly better, better case (fluid flow) and better valve body, but not much else.
98 (and up to 2000 for most cars that still had this transmission) is much better stock, with mechanical diode, better frictions.
2001->2003 new valve body design, different OD circuit, needs JMod for use in earlier car, watch 03 for VSS teeth.
2004+ different OSS signal, so need an add on method to correct it (it sends either 4 times the count, or 1/4 the count, forget which).
PalmettoMarkVIII
New member
96 and up have the dimpled pan for better pickup during hard cornering. The 94 can be retrofitted.
Wow, just found this site...very in depth info. http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/transmission/index.shtml
KStromberg
Vortech kicked in yo
I have an original 96k mile transmission with a jmod in my 97. The car has been 400hp with that transmission for YEARS. I now make 450rwhp and it is fine. I plan to be 500+rwhp this year on the same transmission. The primary things I would want is very firm clutch engagement(jmod) and keeping the ttansmission cool. If you ever put a converter in a stock trans as well you want a single disc not a triple.
BlackIceLSC
New member
there are far more 98+ transmission cases out there to be had cheap.
why not just start with a golden egg rather than spend the money building a trans that has known flaws?
there is a reason Ford implemented the internal upgrades. it's not like there were any 400hp production cars that used a 4R70W during the time.
get a Mustang GT trans from 98-01, have it build up with a JMOD, or buy a pre-drilled plate from Blue Oval Chips, get better internals, already has a improved OWC, then if budget permits, get a Marauder/Mach 1 TC and add a trans cooler.
In the end, you might be out $300-$500 more, but you'll never have to worry....even if you put a 500hp engine up to it.
I damaged a 94 transmission with a cooler and JMOD at 103k just by doing a WOT 3-1 downshift....stock engine, and the improved transmission with cooler still failed. I spent less than $700 and had a bullet-proof trans installed with a Mach 1 TC that would handle anything I wanted.
since you aren't dead in the water and have a car to drive, take your time and scour the internet at the forums over at TCCOA where you got Jerry's link from. I had no car when I broke mine, so I was on a mission to find the best of the best as quickly as I could and got lucky.
I STILL to this day thank Jeremi for helping me find the converter! Thanks Jeremi!!!
why not just start with a golden egg rather than spend the money building a trans that has known flaws?
there is a reason Ford implemented the internal upgrades. it's not like there were any 400hp production cars that used a 4R70W during the time.
get a Mustang GT trans from 98-01, have it build up with a JMOD, or buy a pre-drilled plate from Blue Oval Chips, get better internals, already has a improved OWC, then if budget permits, get a Marauder/Mach 1 TC and add a trans cooler.
In the end, you might be out $300-$500 more, but you'll never have to worry....even if you put a 500hp engine up to it.
I damaged a 94 transmission with a cooler and JMOD at 103k just by doing a WOT 3-1 downshift....stock engine, and the improved transmission with cooler still failed. I spent less than $700 and had a bullet-proof trans installed with a Mach 1 TC that would handle anything I wanted.
since you aren't dead in the water and have a car to drive, take your time and scour the internet at the forums over at TCCOA where you got Jerry's link from. I had no car when I broke mine, so I was on a mission to find the best of the best as quickly as I could and got lucky.
I STILL to this day thank Jeremi for helping me find the converter! Thanks Jeremi!!!
KStromberg
Vortech kicked in yo
You went 3-1. That's your fault not the transmission's.
Would this trans be a direct swap?
http://www.americanmuscle.com/pa-4r...icFitmentV1&year=1998&T5_Var3=blue&GID=100815
http://www.americanmuscle.com/pa-4r...icFitmentV1&year=1998&T5_Var3=blue&GID=100815
BlackIceLSC
New member
true...BUT...I am not the first or only one to do that....Can you honestly say that you have NEVER been going 45 mph and stomped the go pedal and it found 1st gear? ...a stock transmission *should* be able to handle that...we BOTH know that I am not the first one to romp on the throttle in a car at 45 mph and the transmission found 1st gear...especially in a wide-ratio trans.
my point, and you know this, is that the 93-94 4R70W is not exactly a "prime candidate for a transmission if any horsepower is added to a stock engine".
The proof is in the evolution of the 4R70W...there's a reason they "improved" upon them.
...but thanks Kirk, for pointing out the mistake I made in 2004 - that I should have researched the TCCOA article written by Jerry W prior to driving my 94 Mark VIII and I should have known to NEVER let the transmission downshift from DRIVE to 1st gear in a passing situation. I just hope I am able to warn the OP and anyone else reading this topic discussion before it is too late for them. It was a lesson-learned, and I learned it the hard way....through my wallet.
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BlackIceLSC
New member
quoted from their site:
"
Please Note. In 1997, Ford changed their transmission from AODE to the 4R70W. To ensure which transmission came in your GT, you will need to check your tail shaft housing. If you have a "W" cast into the housing, you have the 4R70W transmission. If you do not, you have the AODE transmission."
while technically correct, the AOD-E is the "family" of transmission, BUT the 4R70W transmission came STOCK in ALL Mark VIII's, starting in 1993.
for that money, you could have a transmission built, a rear differential built, AND installed...that's a ton of coin for a tranny, without a whole lot of particulars of the guts.
I've seen transmission built for half that which can handle 500+...seems over-kill to spend that much, IMHO
KStromberg
Vortech kicked in yo
Nope. Neither one of my transmissions did that. And why does it matter if the tranny can handle it? When you force 1st in a 3rd gear situarion you will immediately smack the rev limiter so it really doesn't matter if it is a 1 million dollar transmission if the engine can't spin 9000 rpms. It only forced to first if I was in second gear or if I placed the shifter into 1st. My 97 trans is not even the improved one either with a bigger band or anything. Very much similar to a Gen1 trans. So this 3-1 talk is all chinese to me. It sounds to me like the transmission was already broken. If the computer even allowed it to force 1st out of 3rd gear, that's pretty fu**ed up in my opinion. If my car did that I would have busted my sh** a long time ago. I don't think a person could possibly abuse a transmission more than I have....well, short of neutral drops. I don't do those. LOL.
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KStromberg
Vortech kicked in yo
Well I'm glad my car has enough common sense not to do that. If I do it right? You mean if I myself slam the shifter into 1st when I'm going 45+ mph? Because my pcm sure as heck doesn't allow that to even happen in my car. Why on earth would a person even do that?