It's all about converter efficiency, and spending the coin for a good one. Forum junkies bench race too much. They need to get out and do the damn thing instead of spreading rumors. Glad it worked out for ya, diving into the non-lock OD soon. :angel12:
I just found the add on's to this thread tonight. Interesting about the governor and the speedo gears. I wonder how far mine will be off with the 3.91's. The builder said mine should shift at 5400 to 5800 rpm with the governor he installed at wide open throttle. Otherwise it will shift like a normal trans with light throttle pressure. Also on my lock-up converter, it only engages in 4th and automatically turns off if you forget to flip the 12 volt switch and slow down enough for it to drop into 3rd or lower. It's all internally hydraulically controlled, and only uses one 12v wire to engage/disengage the lock-up clutches in 4th. I wonder how that will work with a 3000 stall converter. It has 3 discs, so the added weight of a lock-up converter is not desirable if you are planning on doing a lot of 1/4 or 1/8 mile drag racing.I used an extension for my speedometer cable, which I think I saw on your post Treblig. It fits great.
If you get a quality cut-to-fit converter, you can cruise well below the rated stall speed. I have a 3500 stall 9.5" non-lock, and it cruises nice and cool at 2100. Shorter gears in back help out too.Don't loose any sleep over it, I asked the converter manufacturer directly and they weren't worried at all. I paid $515 shipped. Very happy.
JBC, I wondered about all that stuff a lot when I was planning my swap. To solve the problem I went with the non-lockup converter. I didn't know and wasn't sure when the trans would try and shift into 4th gear because it would probably depend on rear end gear ratio and tire size. And since I wasn't sure what gear ratio I was going to be happy with I couldn't take the chance. If your converter doesn't lock up until 3000 RPM your not going to be able to take full advantage of the overdrive. I'm running 3.73 right now with 26.5 tall tires and my RPM is around 2300 at 60 MPH (in forth gear). Using my car as an example, if I had your converter, it would never stop slipping unless I drove 80-90 miles an hour (or whatever MPH you get when you go 3000 RPM). My converter locks at 1800 RPM so at 60 MPH (2300 RPM) I know it's locked in. With your lock up switch you can lock your converter anytime but your stall speed will keep the converter slipping until you reach 3000 RPM. This creates some extra heat when cruising but your extra cooler should take care of that (I think). Even with a stall of 1800 like mine I worried about heat at lower speed (35-55 MPH) and that's why I installed a trans temp heat gage. As it turned out the tranny stays real cool at all speeds but my converter doesn't slip as much as your does??
I recently got some bigger rims 15 X 12 and even taller tires (29 inch). This will put me at an even lower RPM at cruising speeds so that makes me really glad that I went with a 1800 stall non-lock up converter. I might have to go with a lower gear but I still wouldn't have to worry about any high stall.
Hope this helps.....
Treblig
No, no Treblig. When I flip the switch in 4th gear it locks up 100% right then and there. The stall speed is not a factor once the converter is in lock-up mode in 4th gear. However, once the rpm's get so low that it down shifts into 3rd (and I have no idea what speed or rpm that is yet) it will automatically un-lock the clucthes in the converter. It will only lock up in 4th, even when there is 12v going to the transmission. Again, at light or full throttle on the highway, as long as it is in 4th gear, with 12v switched on the converter will stay locked-up and provide 100% direct drive, even as low as 1400 rpm (If the transmission doesn't downshift to 3rd). If I switch it off and cruise in 4th gear it will add a few hundred rpm at cruising speed, but once the throttle is wide open it will flash to 3000 rpm and climb with a very low slippage and high efficiency from there. Just as it would in any gear.Treblig, at what speed and RPM does your transmission downshift out of 4th when you are at very light throttle on the road? I got my converter from Precision Torque Converters of New Hampton. It is a Mopar style 4-bolt attaching converter with a GM hub that fits into the 200R4. The hard part was getting it to the correct thickness without the parts on hand to give an accurate measurement. Once I got that. Precision took care of the rest. It is one of their highest quality converters with the same lock-up clutch system they use for diesel trucks that pull heavy trailers. They assured me it is a very efficient converter even when not locked up only allowing a few hundred rpm slippage at light to moderate throttle, but once the throttle is wide open it will flash to 3000 rpm if it's not already past that rpm. In other words, if I am cruising in 4th gear at 2000 RPM with the converter clutches locked up, the lock-up clutches will stop it from flashing to 3000 rpm and acting just like a direct drive manual clutch that is fully engaged.
That's what I also heard, "get a good quality converter" as they are more efficient. I'm sure JBC bought a real good one and he also has a large cooler with larger lines. I don't think he will have a heat problem. The main thrust of my comments was that you're not going to get the gas mileage that you planned on at highway speeds if your converter's stall speed is way above your cruising RPM. I wonder if the high stall converter manufacturers can tell you how much slippage you'll get at a particular RPM (below stall speed but at cruising speed). But of course for many people "it really doesn't matter"!! If you want to race the car then you need the high stall. Too bad they don't make a converter with a lock up feature on the stall...LOL!!
Treblig
Some do it for cost savings, parts availability and performance improvements. Everyone has there own reasons for doing it or not, but Dana Corp makes parts for all of the big three. I draw the line at engines, rear ends and anything visible with the hood open. Others go farther, and that's fine. Some drag folks have been running 2 speed powerglides in their Mopars and have been for decades with little grief over it being a "GM" part.; Some folks still look for 40 year old heater hoses to put on their cars to make them look like they were never touched from the factory on day one. It's all BS! I hated the way my cars ran, handled and drove in stock form. To each his own, but I do hate seeing Chevy motors in anything, but a chevy. I do have a lot of respect for their performance though, Ford too!Most people now days, with the exception of some people on this board and a few others boards would never know the difference anyway.Some Mopars are amongst some of the best looking cars ever made, and look what some folks have doe to ruin that with paint jobs, ugly oversized rims and the list goes on.
I used the 2004R because it fit in my Barracuda with only minor modification. If you use a Mopar overdrive you have to really cut up your car. To me cutting up your car is just as disrespectful as putting a GM transmission in it. So I took the lesser of two evils. My car is a "survivor" and I didn't want to butcher it, it was just too nice!! The transmission was almost freeand I got a very good deal on the overhaul. The labor was free and I only spend about $1700 total to get a very nice overdrive while still retaining my beautiful console shifter. Now I get extremely good gas mileage and it's not too bad off the line either!! TrebligYeah I see your points and agree with you. Was curious and had to inquire, thanks!
Treblig, The views in this thread does speak to your high level of documentation, and great info about this swap. The PICS sure are nice too. I know you have me pinching my pennies I bet settling into OD on a cruise is awesome. Nice work. JOE