Well after putting in my shift kit, and taking it to the tranny shop,they came to the conclusion that the shift kit in conjunction with an already weak OD band, led to OD just blowing itself. They said OD in these trucks was very bad, and you were lucky if you got 80k out of them, well I got 76k. I already knew that OD was the weak part of these trannies, so I really dont care that I need a rebuild. So this is what I am going to do, I found the best tranny shop in my area, and they build most of the trannys for the performance cars in my area. So I think I am going ot get them to make it bullet proof, he said it would handle 500hp, and he said I can either get a Ford Factory Torque Converter, get an aftermarket one, or have one custom built for my truck, the last option sounds really good, but I have no idea how much it is going to cost. I was looking at the B&M Holeshot 2400RPM Stall converter, I have heard that they arent as precisce with the stall RPM as if I got one custom built, but for ~$230, it doesnt seem bad, what do yall think about them, and does 2400RPMs sound good, it says it wont affect my driveability, but just what exactly does a 2400 RPM stall mean, I really dont understand Torque Converter, thanks for the help guys

Oh BTW, they said if I am going to change my torque converter, I should get a better tranny coller than the factory one, which I heard isnt that great, but they want like $150, so I am just going to change it myself, but which one should I get, which size?? http://www.derale.com/transcoolers.shtml and to hook it up to my current cooler, will I need a whole kit? or just the cooler itself, I mean will the hoses and stuff connect? And should I go with Derale, FAL, Perma Cool, ... I want to do it right the first time, sorry for all the questions

 

A torque converter transmits motion from the engine to the transmission through a fluid coupling. At low revs the engine turns substantially faster than the tranny and the coupling multiplies the available torque, trading RPM for torque and generating a lot of heat i the process.

As RPMs rise the torque converter brings the tranny up to speed gradually losing the torque multiplication as the speeds come closer. The speed at which the input (engine) and output (tranny) speeds of the torque converter match and the torque multiplication becomes 1 to 1 is called the stall speed. By using a higher stalll speed converter, you will be able to launch harder but will generate more heat in doing it, therefore the larger cooler.

One word of warning. If your aftermarket converter has a mechanical lockup like the factory OEM converter (and most do) you aren't buying yourself any problems at all bt making the switch. If it doesn't have the mechanical lockup make very sure that your stall RPM is at least 200 RPM higher than your highway cruise RPM in OD

 

I went to the transmission shop todoay, and for $315, they can get me a custom built 2200 RPM stall converter with the lockup function WHOO WHOO

Also I went looking for the stock tranny cooler today, and I saw a cooler in front of the radiator on the pass side, is this it?, or is it an oil cooler? I dont know what came with the tow package on the older trucks. It has 2 small metal lines going in an out of it, very similar to the ones coming out of the tranny, I think it is it, I just want to make sure.

 

Beastie,
Which tranny do you have? The reason I'm asking is that Ford raised the stall speed on the converters for the AOD-E from the conventional 1800RPM found on the E4OD and the older AOD. A stock AOD-E converter already stalls at about 2400 on a Mustang. If they used the same converter on a truck it might stall at 2200. Before you put down your money, so a little more research.

Check out:
http://www.baumannengineering.com/tconvinf.htm They have some good tech on their site and:
http://www.converter.com/faqs.htm They seem to know their stuff about converters and lean heavily towards Fords.

Give them a call and talk to them, it's cheaper than buying the wrong converter

 

Its the 4R70W, I always heard that the stall speed on this converter was 1800rpms, I really dont know, but that is what I always heard. I thik the guy at the tranny shop said stock converters are usually 1800. I also thought that in 95 the mustangs still had an AOD in them. Is there any way for me to tell what my stall speed is?

EDIT: This is from converters.com, btw thanks for the insfo Strange, you always know you stuff ... " An alternative method of measurement is to launch at wide open throttle and observe engine RPM reached at launch. This is flash stall." I tried this today, and it jumps to about 1800, and then I go, so I guess I have an 1800 stall.

 

The 4R70W and the AOD-E are the same tranny. Some of the early Es may not have has the wide ratio gearsets, not sure about that. By 95 the Mustangs had converted from the AOD to the AOD-E/4R70W.