4R70W Swap Complete - lots of pics

Today I finished the retrofit of the 4R70W in place of the FMX. I couldn't find anything on the web about this specific swap, so thought I'd go ahead and document it. We've been treated to some pretty first-rate project write-ups lately, and this ain't one of em, but here's how a hack got the job done. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I went with the 4R70W because I wanted an overdrive, and the 4R70W is a bit beefier than the AOD, has the wide ratio gearset already installed (2.84:1 first gear vs. 2.46:1 standard), and the Baumann controller allows me to control shift points and TC lockup by speed, load, and RPM, which was pretty appealing for a street setup. I got the transmission out of a totalled 1999 E-150 with about 18,000 miles on it, and most of the parts about a year ago, but never got around to doing the swap because my car was in a body shop for about a year. Finally got it back, drove it and enjoyed it for about a month, and then tackled the project.


So, here's more or less what it took.

First, a look at the spotless working conditions I prefer to operate in - I try to be neat, but typically I wind up with something like this:


Here's the FMX (blue) next to the 4R70W - they're very similar in outer dimensions, but the 4R70W is about 1 3/4" longer to the mount, and 1 3/8" longer overall:



With the electronic controls, I can run a little more stall and still be streetable due to the programmable TC lock up - I opted for the Precision Industries 9" "Stallion," rated at about 3,200 RPM. Very nice with a billet front plate, and gotta love the color [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_ghey.gif[/img] :


Here's the Baumann repro kit, controller, and harness:






About this time I dislocated my shoulder at my son's baseball game, so everything sat a while, then finally got a buddy to help me load it up. My friend is a former professional bicycle racer - I should have called a bodybuilder, as his pencil arms didn't offer much help. My shoulder was a mess again after putting it in, so everything sat again . . .




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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 69convert on 8/2/05 3:47pm ]</font>

Once I got back to it, the first thing to do was to either fabricate a new x-member or modify the one I had. The FMX x-member is very wide and kind of cradles the whole tailshaft, and ran square into the pan on the new transmission. I don't have a picture of it before I started cutting into it, but here is a pic of a similar one from a catalog:


Here it is was after removing a few inches of material from the back,and tacking on some tabs to allow the transmission to sit just a bit lower so that the vent tube on the top didn't hit the tunnel:



Here it is in place. I have the pan off in this picture because I was also working on the shifter cable and lever, and wanted to visually verify that it was working. Plus, I'd been so careful and clean when I did the reprogramming kit that I figured I had karma on my side at this point. I got a little concerned when I found a couple stray cat's mating under there, but I think I got most of the hair out [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]



The next issue was the shifter and linkage. I wanted to run a B&amp;M Megashifter because I was tired of overshifting, plus I had one in my old hotrod as a kid and kind of missed it. There's no bracket kit for an AODE/4R70W, so again I had to make do with what I had. First I shortened the shifter lever about an 1" or so to get the proper travel for the B&amp;M, and then drilled a new hole for the cable mount. This thing was made of kryptonite or something, and after wearing out a few cobalt bits and not even scratching it, I wound up in the back room of a local tool store using their carbide bits on a press to make the hole:



I also just adapted the cable bracket that came with the transmission by drilling this small hole below the original (large) one.



Here's the bracket and cable in place - I was a bit surprised when everything worked flawlessly the first time:






<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 69convert on 8/2/05 4:03pm ]</font>

The next issue was the driveline, which was about 1 3/8" too long. I was able to find exactly the one I needed in an old Grenada or something (can't remember) along with the dipstick assy (E-150 van) and cover plate for the flexplate. Total cost was around $30. I used a spicer conversion U-joint to match up to the larger yoke, and that was that:





At this point the car sat another 3 weeks while I waited for Baumann to send me the correct harness for my car (I'd gotten one for the older version of the transmission), so I did some odds and ends in interior of the car, including installing a carpet kit and door panels I'd had around for over a year, along with new sound deadener (also sitting around for about a year).




Once the harness got here I just had to plug it in, then do some pretty simple wiring to set it up. I also had to set up the throttle position sensor. I had bought exactly the one they recommended which had a nice shape for adapting to a carburetor, but broke it when I dropped it on the floor while drilling it. So, back to the junkyard - I found a decent substitute in an Oldsmobile (I think) something, and was able to mount it to my throttle cable bracket. I drilled a small hole in the lever, ran an extension spring through that, and a beaded chain to the carburetor arm, more or less as instructed on the Baumann site. The beaded chain is nice because you can adjust the base values pretty slowly by shortening the chain one bead at a time, and the spring allows it to reach full voltage before WOT, without damaging the lever on the TPS. I'm not thrilled with the spring I used, but I had it on hand, and, being a hack, made do with it [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]:





<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 69convert on 8/2/05 3:59pm ]</font>

Here's a shot of the B&amp;M in place. That little switch on the lower left of the chrome plate turns the OD on and off, and I'll either be adding a switchedknob or adding another switch on the right to control a second set of shift parameters. The Baumann TPS allows you to set up two different personalities for the transmission - I'll leave one as it is with fairly modest shift points and line pressure, and another kind of "sport mode" for when I want to spill my passengers' drinks.



That was about it - I drove it tonight, and it was absolutely great - even with the 3.89s, I'm cruising on the highway at about 2,500 RPMs vs. 3,600 before the swap, and that lower first gear is a hoot. I also installed a huge B&amp;M cooler with new solid lines, and the fluid stays nice and cool around 160*. I couldn't be happier with the results on this! Now I need to figure out why the car STILL lays down above around 4,500 RPMs . . . [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img]

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 69convert on 8/2/05 4:09pm ]</font>

Ya done good! The 4R70W is my favorite OD trans. Keep us posted on how it works long run [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img]
[addsig]

Nice work man and also nice job explaining what you had to do.
[addsig]

nice work [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img]
[addsig]

Excellent Composition and work! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img]
[addsig]

is that trans much stronger than an aod? your garage looks just like mine[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
[addsig]

Thanks for the positive comments guys - it was a fun project and a lot of late nights!

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2005-08-02 14:58, fordguy wrote:
is that trans much stronger than an aod?
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

They are quite a bit beefier - they've got a larger 2" Overdrive band, larger OD servo, much stronger input shaft, and use an electronically controlled clutch in the TC vs a gear driven clutch in the AOD. Except for the TC clutch, most of the above can be done to an AOD, but it's easier and made more sense to me to go with the 4R70W since I wanted the controller function.




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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 69convert on 8/3/05 3:30am ]</font>