You may think you're screwing Ford, but what I'm suggesting is that if you get them to rebuild it with the oem parts you are in fact screwing yourself because those are going to fail, too, at least if you drive it hard with a chip in it. The Lightning project was almost aborted because the Ford engineers could not find a tranny that would hold the torque of the blown motor, until they came up with the half-a$$ solution of cutting the power during the 1-2 shift. I could probably get Ford to rebuild my tranny, but I would rather do it right and have it rebuilt with some quality parts so I can keep the chip in it without worrying about blowing it up again.

 

jl the code on it is perfcux1jl3h

when i bought the truck jeff said he had it redone verytime a new prog came out ill have to call him and ask him

 

Alpha,

This topic is of much concern to me and I admit what I did is probably my fault and not Ford's, although a part of me feels it isn't.

That said, I can probably rebuild this thing myself. Do you have any part #'s for the aftermarket clutch packs?

Thanks.

------------------
Jim
Black '00
#1,757 built 3/30/00
Clear corners
JDM street program
JDM 2# blower pulley (ordered)
J.L. Stage II ram-air
FRPP Oval throttle body
90mm MAF
MagnaFlow Exhaust

 

The real problem with the transmision is that it is not designed to handle the power that the truck puts out. We have the same problem with our f 450 super duty diesel powered shop truck, transmision on its third rebuild. Ford needs to build a transmision to handle 600 rear wheel horsepower and avoid all kinds of warranty costs that it now incurs. Ford's President recently commented that its warranty related costs amount to BILLIONS of dollars per year. Fixing this mess is a key corporate objective. If Ford finds that it can not handle the transmision problem I would suggest that they contact Mercedes Benz, they make a real nice 5 speed automatic and mate it to a V-12 engine. I am sure an arrangement could be worked out.

 

ok well for those that arent Argueing or bickering, i talked to Jl and worked it out.

he pointed me in the right direction. Good guy to talk to also.

Thanks jl for the time on the phone, very friendly and definetly a people person.

 

Mine shifts hard enough to break it loose since the JDM street chip was installed, on a scale with #1 being soft and #10 being harsh I would say it's a 8.5 or 9.
I find myself waiting till 62 or 63 before going WOT (unless there is good cause)a little worried about trashing the tranny too soon.

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2001 Red Lightning Born 02/24/01
Mods:
JDM Street Chip, JDM 12" Big Mouth Filter, Cervini’s Ram Air Hood, A.R.E. LSII With Led Wing & Carpet, Valentine One Radar Detector, Bed Rug, Haig Industries MBZ-Velour floor mats, Colquitt Machine Hitch Cover, G-Tech/Pro, Very Cherry Wet Wax.

 

No, Gforce, but I'll get them for you.

 

Mine is pretty similar. My 1-2 is softer then my 2-3. I think it was done this way on purpose, but what do I know?

 

Hey Alphadoggy, I am friends with Pat Barrett at Level 10 transmissions and was there this morning talking to him about what is happening to these tranny's. you are exactly correct what you have said so far and Pat gave me a real education this morning about the trans in our lightnings. as you know the stock clutch packs cannot handle the power put out by the L. Pat tells me that the stock clutch disc's from ford have material on both sides and are affected greatly by the heat produced on them. the new ones that he is making are material on only one side and are not affected the same by the generated heat like the stock disc. he did not get specific but said they will handle high horsepower in the lightnings. Also he said that he did not want to start any problems with the chip makers but clearly explained to me why that is a problem. it makes perfect sense. over time most of these trannys will go south. Like you said if the tranny needs rebuilding why have the same cheap ford parts put back in so it will happen again. His work is class A but does come with a cost. you can get the updated trans out the door for around $2400 or have it done at his shop in NJ for around $500 bucks more. it is a big difference from what the stock unit does. PAT is always happy to help with anyone's tranny concerns. CALL him at 973-827-1000 if anyone has questions or visit the site at www.levelten.com do the shop tour on the site and you will see my red 2000L on one of the lifts. later 95rcobra.

 

Thanks, cobra, I feel vindicated.