Thank you for the kind words!
Nothing is insurmountable. And I’ve gone WAY too far to turn back now.
Biggest issue is the transmission is VERY NOT HAPPY. I know less than nothing about automatic transmissions, but I have this gut feeling that my torque converter isn’t doing what it’s supposed to. Unfortunately I’ve run out of time to play around with this thing and it’s the weekend, so no ones answering the phones on any tech support...
A short cruise across town gets the transmission VERY HOT. I’ve gotten the over-temperature warning both times I’ve gone more than 10-15 miles. Beyond that anything more than the slightest application of throttle kicks the transmission into a much lower gear than required. I got on the interstate for less than a mile and had to get off as I think I was stuck in second gear. I can feel the shifts to higher gears once I’m off the gas, but the slightest amount of throttle brings a downshift... like nothing. I literally cannot accelerate in at least third or overdrive and as I can’t keep it in OD, I also cannot say if the torque converter is locking or not.
The tranny is the stock 4L80e, stock converter, using the F.A.S.T. transmission controller. Hopefully a call to them tomorrow will yield some solutions. As this transmission had almost 200k, I had planned on likely needing to rebuild or replace it, but I was hoping to get a few miles on the truck before doing so.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Despite really having to baby the thing along, I did drive it home last night:
The Ford and the Volkswagen are my girlfriends. We joke that this is the antisocial or scumbag corner. The suburban hasn’t been parked there since January, but when it and the Ford were there earlier this year it was hysterical to see the neighbors avoid this corner like the PLAGUE
If we leave both trucks idling long enough we can probably burn a hole in the ozone directly over the complex. The condo is Megan’s, and it’s in Decatur, GA, or dick-hater in the parlance. Subaru’s and Prius’ are very well represented with our neighbors and I got some really dirty looks driving in yesterday.
The transmission and it’s issues will keep me from driving the truck too much, but other stuff to resolve:
Oil pressure gauge is... erratic. Dakota Digital gauge-pack and their sender... I’m thinking the sender is flaky. They’ll get a call this week as well.
On the subject of the Dakota Digital, I also haven’t gotten the speedo calibration right.
I need an alignment really badly. The truck tracks true, but doesn’t steer like I think it should, plus even visually you can tell the camber is different from wheel to wheel. Caster is likely wrong as well. I’ve never aligned a car before, so I’m weighing learning to do so or paying someone.
A/C is bone dry. Thankfully the temperature has dropped, even here in Georgia, so it’s doubtful I’ll NEED A/C this year, but that’s definitely one I’ll use a pro for.
And the combination of new door seals and strikers means you have to close the doors like you HATE them... so much so I either broke or slammed loose, the rod from the exterior, drivers side door button. Easy enough fix, but I’ll have to remove the door panel.
Oh! And most of all, a hood scoop!!! Thank God I was having ignition problems Friday! I’m pretty sure that not having spark SAVED my engine. I went to start the engine and “DUNK”. Locked up hard. Yeah... the hole in the hood and the shaker pan I made just funneled water into the intake, past any partially open valves and into the cylinders. I pulled the plugs and water RAN out of several cylinders.
I *think* I dodged the bullet here. No funny noises, and good oil pressure when the gauge stabilizes. (Back to the oil pressure sender, I think my engine makes more pressure than the sender can read, throwing it off) Cold and under acceleration sends the gauge off the scale to the high side and then drops off to the low side. Cruising and light-throttle application it reads 30-45 psi.
In some ways the engine I built is a prime candidate to bend a rod from the hydrolock... high-torque starter, longer rods, high compression and barely any valve overlap. But it’s also a forged crank and rods. Again, THANK God I didn’t have spark to try and push those waterlogged cylinders THROUGH the water. Thank God I wasn’t stubborn and realized the problem quickly. I’m certain it’s possible to bend a rod on the starter, but I’m fairly confident I dodged the bullet this time. Time will tell...
I’m sure there’ll be other issues that will rear their heads, but overall I’m pretty happy. The issues I have, aside from the transmission, aren’t major and should be easy to fix. The truck does turn heads... and has already picked up two offers for stoplight drags... one from a friend and the second from some guy driving an Infiniti yesterday.
Be safe and stay healthy
Jeremy
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