4r70w In a fox?

[umbertorock04]

Anybody have any experience with this? Thinking swapping out the aod and using a baumann controller for it. Should i expect any big gains at the track in the 1/8th? I know the 4r70w is a bit heavier but Im running 4.10s and gt40ps with bolt ons on some nitto drag radials. Thanks for any input!

[greenbullitt]

ive done it. Lots of capability with that setup. Theyre very easy to program too.

[umbertorock04]

What gears did you run? I know the widegear set in the 4r70w will make my 4.10s even taller.

[TEAMJACOB]

ive done it. Lots of capability with that setup. Theyre very easy to program too.

How much can it handle? Is it bolt and go or fab work needed?

[greenbullitt]

How much can it handle? Is it bolt and go or fab work needed?

bolt in, just electronics and a trans mount. approx 500 in stock form in my experience.

[greenbullitt]

What gears did you run? I know the widegear set in the 4r70w will make my 4.10s even taller.

the W has a 2.84 first vs the non W 2.40

I personally only had a 3.55

[dville_gt]

How much can it handle? Is it bolt and go or fab work needed?

In a nutshell, the 4R70W is wide ratio version of the AODE. Therefore it falls firmly in the AOD family, and in fact most 4R70W parts can be installed in either an AOD or AODE case. The 4R70W was continuously upgraded throughout the 1990’s until (let’s say 1998) it arrived at a durability and design point that is highly desirable for anyone looking at using an OD automatic behind a high performance engine. For the high performance 4.6/5.4 and 5.0/5.8 folks, it is easily the best choice auto for most applications. And with a few modifications, it can be taken to Very Serious Levels.

For the older pushrod folks, the only economical way to get into one of these “good” 4R70W transmissions (i.e., 1998 or newer) is to buy one based on either: (1) a 3.8 V6 Mustang or (2) a 4.2 V6 F150. This is because they still have the same exact bell housing and starter motor setup as the 5.0/5.8 motors. These transmissions will bolt on directly with no modification. The 4.6/5.4 4R70W’s have a different bell housing pattern and are not compatible for this reason.

There are three (3) distinct problems with going the 4R70W route over an AOD, on an older pushrod car:

1. The transmissions are fully electronically controlled. You need to convert it to having a fully-manual valve body, in order to bypass the need for electronic control, or you need to purchase an aftermarket control like the Baumann Optishift. The 1994-95 Mustang guys can adapt their AODE electronics over to the 4R70W and retain the factory Ford contro.

2. The F150 trannys have a one (1) inch longer output shaft and extension housing. This necessitates a shorter driveshaft and probably modifications to the crossmember as well.

3. Starting about 2002 (and possibly earlier in some cases), the 4R70W stopped coming with output shafts that have the speedometer-drive-gear splines. These transmissions are not compatible with the older gear-drive speedometer control that fox and SN95 cars use. If you don’t care about the factory speedometer, this is likely no concern. These trannys may be moddable by replacing the output shaft with an older one, but I’m not clear on this.

Getting back to my original post, it should be clear that there is some work to do to get a 4R70W fully working on an older pushrod car. And it brings up the subject of torque converters. The problem, in a nutshell, is that torque convertors are expensive. At least the good ones are. And the 4R70W seems to be especially expensive when it comes to the aftermarket.

Which makes the factory 3.8 converter tempting, as they are plentiful and cheap. If you do enough reading on the net, you will find many folks claim the factory converter in 3.8 Mustangs is actually a good choice for the high performance 5.0 crowd. The reasoning is that it is already starting with a higher stall speed, since the 3.8’s torque band was higher up the RPM scale, and this is likely what you want behind a 5.0 that’s had some hipo stuff done to it.

google

[umbertorock04]

I was thinking of the 3.55's as well for highway reasons. Was your car previously an aod? The main reason im considering the switch to 4r70w is because of how the converter locks up in 3rd gear and the car looses power. Im just trying to see what kind of numbers i can see at the track after a 4r70w. Best it ran was 8.70 with 2.0 60ft but that was before a pro m meter, msd box and longtubes.

[greenbullitt]

I was thinking of the 3.55's as well for highway reasons. Was your car previously an aod? The main reason im considering the switch to 4r70w is because of how the converter locks up in 3rd gear and the car looses power. Im just trying to see what kind of numbers i can see at the track after a 4r70w. Best it ran was 8.70 with 2.0 60ft but that was before a pro m meter, msd box and longtubes.

with the baumann, the converter locks when you program it to lock. I initially put my car together with one of these, it had no previous trans.

[TEAMJACOB]

google

Thanks man. So a v6 tranny should be ny first choice? Also how expensive are those controllers?

[umbertorock04]

I believe they run about $500-700 with the harness that you have to get as well.

[dville_gt]

my vote, no controller needed (besides yourself)

[Sleeper]

my vote, no controller needed (besides yourself)

And easy as hell to work on yourself.

[slow84lx]

Thanks man. So a v6 tranny should be ny first choice? Also how expensive are those controllers?

A V6 4R70W is your only choice if you are bolting it to a 5.0 / 5.8 engine due to the bellhousing & bolt pattern.

The V6 4R70W uses 1 less clutch plate than the V8 4R70W and it is recommended to add it to the V6 trans if you are putting it behind a stout V8.

[greenbullitt]

Thanks man. So a v6 tranny should be ny first choice? Also how expensive are those controllers?

controllers are around 500, 150ish for their harness, if you dont use a stock harness (i did) If you run a manual vb, you dont get all the cool functions,nor would it be auto. a 99-04 mustang 3.8 unit is what id recommend