Yep, you're right. I believe the stock tranny handles 1000 ft-lbs (post converter), which is why it's 90% to capacity with 450 ft-lbs stock (the converter is around a 2x multiplier).

If it can take 1200 ftlbs post converter, then that would be very sweet for my needs...

--rip

 

There's a very long formula for figuring clutch surface area to input torque to RPM, it's way to long ot post here, I programmed a Lotus 123 spreadsheet for it years ago and it took about an hour to get it in that. Thies rebuild kit wil prolly be okay out to 600 lb/ft on the flywheel, not a big deal. This is a mild upgrade of clutch surface area, but no hard parts get replaced, the seals and gaskets do. The bearings and most of the thrust wahers don't need to be replaced, but there are a few places where you have a thrust washer that can be replaced with a bearing, this involves machining and isn't practical for most people. The pressure plate in the forward clutch is actually just a bottom flange plate installed up side down on top of the clutch, it lets you get anywhere from 5-7 frictions in depending on a few things, you can almost always get 6 in using blue plates, but there are different brands of plates that when you use .078 steels (stock are .090) you can get 7 or sometimes even 8 plates in that way. For this kit you can get 6 or sometimes 7 direct clutch plates in, I use a differnet set on the Monster Box that lets me get 7 or sometimes 8 in there. The 45 element sprag is a very good idea, but for the last few years it's been pretty standard, the only ones I klnow still using the 34 element sprag is Ford itself. If you cut the OD pressure plate down to .125 it'll hold 4 plates instead of 3 (not 2 as someone else said), and by changing the reverse pressure plate to the model used on diesels, you get 6 instead of 5 there. I think the other kit uses a cut pressure plate in the coast clutch, but there's no real need for that, the ball bearing coast clutch uses 3 frictions witht he standard pressure plate and it's not a clutch that ever wears out anyhow, I've never seen one bad that didn't have other problems, mostly a popped snap ring. Teh BLue Plate specials in the intermediate are a very good idea, but I have and optional single sided stack up that uses 9 plates instead of three, (these are single sides, so you don't actually get 3X the clutch surface, but you do get a lot more).
I'm not terribly enthusiastic about this kit, it's not user friendly, pretty much has to be professionally installed and I think if you're gonna go through the trouble you might as well go all the way for a few hundred more, but people seem to want something for about half as much, so here it is. It's a decent kit, it works, but we can do a lot better, to be honest.

G

 

Sounds like a great deal !

 

Gregg,

I am getting up there in boost (18+), and would like to not worry about trashing the trannie. With that in mind, what would you recommend I get from you to beef it up. I think we decided getting a monster box here would cost an arm and a leg.

Thanks,
Mark
Valdez, Ak.

 

No offense taken. I can do an engine overhaul though. Weld and fabricate, etc, etc. I have never done an automatic overhaul though. The way i figure, might as well give it a shot. Given enough time, and talking to the right people im sure it can be done. You got to start somewhere.


QUOTE]Originally posted by Silver_2000_!
[B]So does it come with an illustrated manual on how to remove, rebuild and reinstall my transmission ? Perhaps a DVD ?

Yeah, I should have been more clear. I was assuming you guys knew R&R was a given. I was looking more for information on how to set it up, adjustments,ft lbs on bolts etc, etc..

Do it yourself = true hotroding = big smile

 

So I take it the answer to my question is no it does not include the bushings, washers, and machined pressure plates>??? If that is true it is not the same kit for $100 cheaper. You fellas aren't mad that now there is some friendly competition(sp) are ya>??? -Mat-

 

Here is a link on NLOC talking about these kits.

http://www.nloc.net/forum/showthread.php?threadid=47829

 

I am writing this to clarify a couple things about the 4R100 rebuild kits.

Let me start by saying that both (Art Carr and Factory Tech) kits are very good kits. We are not newcomers in the automatic transmission world and neither is Greg. But, these kits are different than each other as there is more than one way to skin a cat!

We use custom modified pressure plates to allow an extra clutch to fit in the forward clutch pack and also an extra clutch in the overdrive clutch pack.

Also, our steel plates are Means instead of Kolene. We used the Kolene steels for many years but recently (about a year ago) we switched to the Means steel. The reason is simple. Kolene is a chemical process to treat and strenghten the steel. This process is effective but with a negative side effect. It coats the surface, adding thickness to the steel. As this steel begins to wear with use, the black surface treatment quickly wears off causing the steel plate to get thinner. As it gets thinner, the overall clutch pack clearance in the transmission becomes higher. As any transmission builder knows, clutch pack clearance is critical and you certainly wouldn't want a clutch pack to gain a fair amount of clearance in a short amount of time. This can lead to premature clutch pack failure. The Means steel is made using a different process that keeps the steel plate flatter and doesn't add thickness to the plate. By doing so, you keep the integrity of the clutch pack clearance and therefore should see longer clutch pack life. For more information on Means steels you can go to http://www.meansindustries.com/clutchplts.html

If anyone has any further questions, please feel free to contact me via email at dan@artcarr.com or via phone at 888-526-5868.

Thanks!

Dan Berg
Art Carr Sales Manager
dan@artcarr.com

 

Now, if only you guys could get your POS torque converters to work as good as your tranny kits...

Art Carr torque converter lasted me about 2 weeks.

PI torque converter has lasted over 10K miles so far.

 

In all fairness Len, Art Carr has the most experience in GM trannies. When they used to be here in Fountain Valley, they tranny's for auto 5.0's stangs werent that great. They have more experience in GM's then fords.

 

Glad to hear your new converter is working well.

Dan

 

I would agree that we did primarily GM transmissions until the late 90's. From '99 to present, we have actually done more Ford transmissions than GM.

 

Did you guys end up relocating back to CA? I heard from someone you have a shop in Huntington Beach. Wondering if its true.

 

No, we didn't move. We have two locations - our sales office is in Reno, NV. Our production facility is in Abilene, TX. There was a company in Huntington Beach calling themselves Art Carr Transmission Company. They had no affilition to us and they didn't have the rights to use the name. As of 6 months ago, they were forced to change their name since they didn't have the rights to use it.

Thanks,
Dan

 

Thanks for the clarification Dan.