GT back on the street - 1st impressions

[David Schwarz]

To get her street worthy again, I had to remove the MkVIII fan and replace it with a Flex-a-lite Model 210 low-profile twin 12" set-up (which required rewiring). I also had to rewire the line-loc, the 2-step, and connect the OD delete for the new LenTech. After getting the old clutch pedal out and bypassing the clutch neutral safety switch, I discovered that further fabrication of the console was necessary to get the shifter to fit. So this project, which I thought would take part time work over the weekend stretched into the full weekend, as well 3 hours of work yesterday and this evening. But my part is done, and I finally got to take the car on a real test-drive tonight. Here are my impressions:

1) The valve body on the Lentech is definitely screwed, I don't care what the rebuilders said. First gear (by manual shifting) works great, and I can tell the car is going to be a torque monster when everything is up and running. But second gear is completely useless when manual shifting. The car is slow to enter second gear, and the moment you let off the gas, you cannot re-engage the gear. To continue moving, you have to shift into drive. As for drive itself; that all works, and you can get in and out of the gas at any speed (and gear, including second) without a problem. But...the car is a SLUG when using drive. I can mash down on the gas from a very slow roll and it feels like I'm in a 2-ton Buick - no power at all. It's almost as though I was starting in second gear if I was driving a 5-speed. Maybe this is proper operation, and I don't have a problem with it for street driving. But is this normal? I expected a lot more power when letting the tranny row all the gears for me.

Also, on the freeway I tried activating the OD delete. Nothing happened - but I was only turning about 2400 rpm at ~70mph. Can someone tell me what should happen so that I know whether or not this device is functioning properly?

2) Cooling....Well, the fan works (I control it manually now), but on a relatively cool evening I had to run it continuously while on the street to keep the temp around 180F. The freeway - as expected - was better, and once below 180F, I could turn the fan off and stay around 180F. Now I know this engine runs hot, and it was a challenge for the MkVIII to keep it cool. But I'm not sure how well the fan is going to cool things off when it's 90F outside. I'll just have to wait and see the next hot day we have (but I'll be staying close to home, I can tell you that). Good thing she'll be seeing mostly strip duty.

It's worth mentioning that when I was burping the cooling system this evening ( I had to remove the radiator to install the fan), I noticed that the thermostat opened around 160F as measured by my electric Autometer guage. So I'm guessing I have a 160F thermostat. Would switching up to a 180F help to keep the car a little cooler, or only make matters worse?

Tomorrow morning I'm going to call the tranny builder and see what he's willing to do to make things right. I'll let you know how that goes. If it doesn't go well, I promise I'll let you know the name of the company he works for. But I'm going to remain youthfully optimistic for the moment.

P.S. I like the facelift for the forum - very nice.

[mheinjr]

Good to hear you got it back on the strret, but that sucks about the transmission!

[fanglemeister]

Hi Dave, congrats on the rebirth.
Are you sure you (they?) have the TV cable adjusted properly? Sounds like it is out of spec, causing low line pressure. Something fairly simple to look for anyway, before pulling it apart again. I feel your pain.

Last night I finally gave this vertically-challenged Pro5.0 shifter arm a flotation test, replaced it with a Steeda triax arm. No more reaching into next time zone for 3rd & 5th, and more importantly no more hitting a F-ing brick wall going into 3rd gear. The Pro5.0 feels like a new shifter with a simple arm swap.

Good luck with the slushbox, and don't beat on it until you get the line pressure checked with a proper gauge.

[root]

The trans is not working properly at all. If you had the shifter in D and leaned on the gas hard it should kick down and pull like a monster. The TV cable may be off, check that for sure.

For the OD delete have someone flip the switch while you stay under the car. When the switch is flipped you should hear a click. If you do not hear it, then your switch is wired incorrectly, the ground in the tranny is bad, wire is burnt, ect..

Ian

[blown1989saleen]

so in what way did the Mk8 fan make it less streetable than with the flexalite fan???


Scott

[David Schwarz]

so in what way did the Mk8 fan make it less streetable than with the flexalite fan???


Scott

Mk8 fan (trimmed) was 4 1/8". Distance from radiator to 10-rib YS-trim crank pulley = 4 1/8". Net result = no clearance.

Flex-a-lite slimline fan = 2 1/2". Clearance returned makes for a happy camper :D

[atrimterror]

The trans is not working properly at all. If you had the shifter in D and leaned on the gas hard it should kick down and pull like a monster. The TV cable may be off, check that for sure.

For the OD delete have someone flip the switch while you stay under the car. When the switch is flipped you should hear a click. If you do not hear it, then your switch is wired incorrectly, the ground in the tranny is bad, wire is burnt, ect..

Ian

Mustan5069 and I both have lentech's. When either one of us turn the overdrive off, it makes a loud clunk and you can feel kick out. Good luck with your tranny. Remember over drive is always on, you use the switch to turn overdrive off. If I jump on my car and click it into second and if I didn't turn off the overdrive, it will kick it into neutral and just rev up. So make sure your button is hooked up right.

[David Schwarz]

Mustan5069 and I both have lentech's. When either one of us turn the overdrive off, it makes a loud clunk and you can feel kick out. Good luck with your tranny. Remember over drive is always on, you use the switch to turn overdrive off. If I jump on my car and click it into second and if I didn't turn off the overdrive, it will kick it into neutral and just rev up. So make sure your button is hooked up right.

I'm thinking more and more that the main problem may actually be OD delete. When I was on the freeway and turned the delete on, nothing happened when I should have felt a downshift to third. If the OD delete isn't working correctly, then this might explain the behavior of second. But there is something else wrong too, because the car should be more responsive when in drive (I cannot get it to downshift when I bury the pedal).

[mheinjr]

Is there a KickDown type of cable?

I remember on a older chevy truck I had to adjust the kickdown cable, because it wasn't shifting properly!

[David Schwarz]

Is there a KickDown type of cable?

I remember on a older chevy truck I had to adjust the kickdown cable, because it wasn't shifting properly!

Not that I'm aware of. I do have much to learn though, so I could be wrong.

[root]

Yes there is, it is the TV cable.

Ian

[fanglemeister]

The TV cable isn't exactly analogous to the kickdown rod, it adjusts the hydraulic line pressure which determines when AND how firmly the tranny shifts. If you have a misadjusted TV cable the tranny will partially self destruct within a few miles - I suggest you get that adjusted properly ASAP! There's a ballpark measurement using min/max marks under the rubber grommet, Google for ford AOD TV cable adjustment, but the proper way is to set it using a line pressure gauge.

[atrimterror]

David, check your pm

[David Schwarz]

The TV cable isn't exactly analogous to the kickdown rod, it adjusts the hydraulic line pressure which determines when AND how firmly the tranny shifts. If you have a misadjusted TV cable the tranny will partially self destruct within a few miles - I suggest you get that adjusted properly ASAP! There's a ballpark measurement using min/max marks under the rubber grommet, Google for ford AOD TV cable adjustment, but the proper way is to set it using a line pressure gauge.

Thanks Chris - but I'm quite confident that at least the line pressure was set correctly for the TV cable. I can say this because when the tranny was first taken in, there was no line pressure I plan to post the solution to my problem in a moment.

[atrimterror]

Thanks Chris - but I'm quite confident that at least the line pressure was set correctly for the TV cable. I can say this because when the tranny was first taken in, there was no line pressure I plan to post the solution to my problem in a moment.

You got me thinking know. :D