The 98GT - 4.6L to 460 (and a turbo!)

[BBR]

It's what we do.

[DanStokes]

Sounds boring (a little drill humor rich there......)

[BBR]

Since I included Red 95 stuff in this thread I'll update it a little.


The 347 has never ran right since Jake bought it. We tried everything we could think of and along the way, corrected a lot of previous owner issues. I dove into it today and found a few errors related to timing. Mainly it had way way way too much initial and the distributor cap was smashed on wrong. I don't know how that happened, but whatever. It will spin those 315's easy now and also revs out nice.

[BBR]

Well, that is an unexpected setback. I never thought the flexplate bolts would interfere with the converter. A 460 has a much larger bolt circle than a 4.6L so the bolts hit the raised section of the converter.

I put the transmission all up in there and it just wasn't pulling together like it should. I really really really did not want to pull the transmission back out, but I did and the problem was quickly obvious.

Not sure how I'm going to overcome this setback just yet, but I am looking at flexplate bolts with heads that are not as thick. These are pretty tall with the weirdo castles. I'm going to do some measuring tomorrow and see just how much room I have.

[Russell]

Grind the bolts down, washer on the converter studs? I guess it really depends of how close it is.

[DanStokes]

Well, that is an unexpected setback. I never thought the flexplate bolts would interfere with the converter. A 460 has a much larger bolt circle than a 4.6L so the bolts hit the raised section of the converter.

I put the transmission all up in there and it just wasn't pulling together like it should. I really really really did not want to pull the transmission back out, but I did and the problem was quickly obvious.

Not sure how I'm going to overcome this setback just yet, but I am looking at flexplate bolts with heads that are not as thick. These are pretty tall with the weirdo castles. I'm going to do some measuring tomorrow and see just how much room I have.

Well, phooey. No doubt you'll find a solution.

[Captain]

A Warsawky's "Adapter Kit" .......
only if they were still in business...

[BBR]

Grind the bolts down, washer on the converter studs? I guess it really depends of how close it is.

Pretty much.

I picked up some flexplate bolts that are not only thinner, but the heads are smaller in diameter. (SB Chevy bolts) If my measuring is correct, I have about 1/8" of interference (front-rear) with the stock bolts, so I don't have a whole lot I need to lose.

The heads of the stock bolts are flush with the flexplate offset.
The pads on the converter are 1/8" below the surface of the converter "bulge".

So if I can lose 1/8" with the combo of bolt heads and maybe a grade 8 washer on the pads, I should be good.

[Beagle]

my ARP flexplate bolts were pretty thin compared to stock, maybe they have the spec available?

[BBR]

Well the 4r70w is in. I still had to use the angle grinder to make them even thinner. Then I chucked them up in the drill press and hit the edges with a flapper wheel to round off the corners. I also put one hardened washer on each converter stud.

I wiggled the trans up into place and it seems to fit ok, so I guess I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Oh yeah, loudest noises in the world:
1. Atomic detonation
2. Volcanic eruption
3. Flexplate falling off and landing on the shop floor.

Oof.

A trick I learned a while back was to put tie down straps under the trans (f&r) so if it were to slip off the jack it won't fall on the floor.

[BBR]

Worked on the transmission crossmember today. Not real happy with it yet. I should have offset it to the rear more. Gonna think on it some more before I chop it up any more.

[DanStokes]

Worked on the transmission crossmember today. Not real happy with it yet. I should have offset it to the rear more. Gonna think on it some more before I chop it up any more.

Gee, why would anyone chop up a crossmember??!!

[BBR]

Sometimes things just fall in place. Yesterday I monkeyed with a stock transmission crossmember trying to make it work. After cutting and offsetting it to the rear 3/4", it sorta fit, but I was not happy with it.

Today I pulled out the crossmember I made for the E4OD just to give it a looky. I was blown away to discover the subframe already had holes for the brackets in the right place and the height in the chassis was perfect. Bolt it in, done. That neeeevvvvver happens.

I read a forum post where a guy had trouble with his 4R70w swap because the converter snout was too short to properly index into the crank. I took some measurements and I think I am going to be in the same boat. Fortunately, there is a fix in the form of a bushing that fits in the larger bore intended for a manual transmission pilot bearing. Sooo, that means it has to come out again..... Pics: 4R snout length, E4 snout length.

[BBR]

Greenbean:

Transmission is back out. I took some careful measurements did some maths and concluded the snout only "engaged" the crank by 1/16". I put engaged in quotes because the snout on the converter has a chamfer that's bigger than 1/16". So the converter really wasn't actually touching the crankshaft.

My bronze bushing material (you didn't really think I was going to pay $50+ for a little bushing did you? ) will be here tomorrow. It will need a little "machining" on the OD to fit in the crank just right. Like around 0.025". Crank bore is 1.85", bushing material is 1.875". I have 4" of material to work with, so I have plenty of chances if I screw up.


Red 95:

I am still fiddling with this car. I swapped the original MAF back into it and it idles great now. I removed a totally hacked-in Ford alarm and I think that fixed my mystery battery draw.

Jake had a set of mechanical gauges for it, so I started installing them today. Oil pressure and water temp are hooked up and everything seems to be good.

It has been leaking oil (and ps fluid, bleech) so I set about trying to determine the origin. So far, I think it was the dipstick. This aftermarket pan uses a weird setup and the previous owner just jammed a rubber hose on it. Well the hose got cooked by a header and was also loose at the fitting. I found an old dipstick tube and I fixed it correctly. We will have to mark the dipstick when we change the oil so it will be correct with the new tube.

[BBR]

When you are working on your son's '95 SN95 and realize the oil pressure sending unit socket it too long to fit.... You chop a 1/2" out it with the bandsaw and tack it back together. Haha.