Tranny update...Lentech VB

[silver_pilate]

Well, last week was a long, drawn out saga for the Mustang.

If you don't recall my earlier post about a long weekend, I'll refresh your memory in an abreviated form.

I installed the Lentech valve body on my AOD weekend before last. I ran into problems with a busted torque wrench and resulting broken VB bolt and stripped out bolt hole in the case. Fun fun. That all occurred over an entire Saturday which included running from a couple of tornados, talking to storm spotters, and sinking the suburban in a ditch running brim-full of water. Lucky it's a straight no-bones work suburban with all vinyl interior and floor, because the water came up to the seat on the driver's side.

Anyway, when it had dried out Sunday, I go to get my car. I walk into the barn to see all the tranny fluid on the ground. Fun fun. I pull the pan and find a kink in the gasket. Fix that and it's all good to go. Drove 90 miles to Amarillo, around town a bit, and parked it. Noticed 30 minutes later a spreading pool of fresh red fluid. Fun fun. Crawled under and cranked the pan bolts again...stopped the leak.

As I have no way of getting under the car at my appartment, and they won't let you work on it in the parking area there anyway, I topped off the fluid and drove to a tranny shop. They put it up, checked everything out...couldn't find anything. So I drive it back and around town...checking under the car everytime I stop. No problem. Back to the appartment to park in my spot. Noticed 1 hour later a spreading pool of fresh red fluid. Fun fun.

Back to the tranny shop next day. They pull the pan and find some kinks in the pan lip which they straighten out and put a new gasket on. Drove around all day...checking under the car everytime I stop. No problem. Back to the appartment to park in my spot. Noticed 1 hour later a spreading pool of fresh red fluid. Fun fun.

Back to the tranny shop next day. The car won't freaking leak anywhere other than my parking spot. I leave the car there all day, telling them that I think the leak is coming from the hole drilled in the tranny for the OD delete wire, and that it must not be sealing properly. They figure out that it is leaking there, and also from the front seal. That's really my fault, as I didn't change the front seal after pulling and reinstalling the motor. They want to pull the transmission. I say fine, go for it as I have no way of working on it up here, and I had to get home for work on the weekend.

$500. Yippie!. One thing they do with all transmissions they pull is tear them down completely and check everything while the tranny is out. If nothing's wrong, they put it back together and charge nothing. Well, they found a couple of burnt clutch packs, a wasted thrust washer, and some other things. I say fine, go ahead and rebuild the damned thing.

Tack on another $500 to the previous charge. At least they seem to have done a good job. They sent the converter off and checked it to see if it was square, polished the hub, etc. So I've basically got a brand new tranny. And I bought a three year-50,000 mile warranty to boot.

I've finally been able to try out the Lentech for a while, and I LOVE it. No more 1-D-1 shuffle crap to hold second. Simply flip the switch on, and no more hitting OD in town, period. When left to shift by itself, the tranny shifts very politely. Rather soft when not at WOT, but still very quick. When manually shifting at WOT, it hit's like a ton of bricks. Very nice. The tranny, being all fresh now, seems to get the car off the line more quickly, and it actually feels faster in the seat of the pants. We'll have to see what happens at the track.

It's great not having to anticipate shifts or wonder what the tranny will do every time. In the past, sometimes the tranny would decide to hold a gear for the heck of it and you would hit the limiter. Also, you'd throw the shifter and kinda wonder when the tranny would decide to shift. Now, when you push the shifter forward, you know EXACTLY when it's goint to hit. It is EXTREMELY consistant. This valve body would be great for bracket racing. And I can hold third gear past 100 mph without the tranny going into OD like it did before.

I'm enjoying the new drive feel, despite all the money I had to drop into it.

If it leaks a drop of transmission fluid onto my parking spot at the appartments again, I'm selling the Mustang, buying an equivalent amound of Napalm, and I'm taking out that parking spot.

Just a little FYI.

--nathan