[SHOoff]

A topic similar to this is being discussed over in the SHOforum.
A 96 Windstar AX4S has a final drive of 3.98, while our cars have 3.77.
I would like to put the Windstar tranny in my car.
Can anyone give me a good reason why I Shouldn't or can't?

 

[j0rd4n]

Originally posted by SHOoff@Sep 13 2004, 10:04 PM
A topic similar to this is being discussed over in the SHOforum.
A 96 Windstar AX4S has a final drive of 3.98, while our cars have 3.77.
I would like to put the Windstar tranny in my car.
Can anyone give me a good reason why I Shouldn't or can't?

because if you're going to do a tranny swap, at least make it mtx plz!

but really, do the math...is that final drive diff worth the money you're going to pay in parts/labor/fabrication?

 

[jason8225]

Why not? It'd be interesting to see how much of a difference it makes. Maybe you could get 1/4 mile ET's before and after?? If the Windstar one breaks or something, then you have a spare... Does the Windstar tranny bolt up? They had that on the 3.8 in the Windstar, right?

 

[SHOoff]

Originally posted by j0rd4n+Sep 13 2004, 10:22 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (j0rd4n @ Sep 13 2004, 10:22 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-SHOoff@Sep 13 2004, 10:04 PM
A topic similar to this is being discussed over in the SHOforum.
A 96 Windstar AX4S has a final drive of 3.98, while our cars have 3.77.
I would like to put the Windstar tranny in my car.
Can anyone give me a good reason why I Shouldn't or can't?

because if you're going to do a tranny swap, at least make it mtx plz!

but really, do the math...is that final drive diff worth the money you're going to pay in parts/labor/fabrication?[/b][/quote]
I do all my own work and, what fabrication? it should be a direct bolt-in. The only thing I would pay for is a rebuild and shift kit.
And of course a used tranny.
I like MTXs' but want to keep the ATX

 

[joe5.0]

.22 is barely worth anything in the 1/4 mile. You'd be better off getting 1" smaller diameter tires if you're looking for an increase in gearing.

 

[SHOoff]

Every little bit helps. I bet it would lower my 60 foot time.

 

[baby sho]

Just because its an AX4N, does not mean the bell housing is the same.

Not saying its diffrent in this case, but i highly doubt its the same.

 

[mikehawk]

I'm pretty sure Paul Nimz did the gear swap on his gen3 SHO. I can't remember all the details of the swap; I think he had a few bugs to work out with the PCM, but other than that it seemed to work.

 

[Racer X]

Nimz did this swap, from what I understand. There were PCM issues in relation to the new final drive ratio, but I'm sure American Autosports could provide a chip or a flash to correct the ratio fault codes the PCM is bound to throw.

 

[sixfofalcon]

Originally posted by mikehawk@Sep 14 2004, 12:54 PM
I'm pretty sure Paul Nimz did the gear swap on his gen3 SHO.  I can't remember all the details of the swap; I think he had a few bugs to work out with the PCM, but other than that it seemed to work.

SLOs already have the 3.99 gears, so this is kinda irrelevant to 95% of the people here.


Novel idea, huh?
OLD, OLD, OLD info on www.v8sho.com


Yes, Paul (SHOZ123) had 3.99 gears in his SHO. I'll let him fill in the details. It required an aftermarket chip (no biggie) but I believe the consensus was that it wasn't worth much more than running shorter tires (good call jtkz13!) At well over $1000 cost to do the swap (parts, labor, and PCM tweaking), I don't see a whole lot of people getting really excited about this.

 

[MrBooMY]

SLOs, well at least my vulcan powered one, have 3.73 gears, not 3.93. Maybe the Duratec has a 3.93.

 

[SHOoff]

OK, say I did the final drive swap, and reprogram, what would be the disadvantages besides a small amount of gas milage? I already have smaller tires, and remember this is for a 95 ATX SHO with mods

Nothing cost related please.

 

[joe5.0]

I know for a fact that my 2k Duratec had 3.98 gears, and it also had a slightly higher stall speed converter than the Vulcan (of the same gen) also.

edit: And I dont think there is a ton of downside if you get the computer to run correctly. The thing is that there isnt a whole lot of upside to the mod.

 

[pimpin90GL]

what would be the disadvantages besides a small amount of gas milage?

you would loose a bit of top speed, but that's all i can think of.

 

[SHOoff]

Originally posted by pimpin90GL@Sep 14 2004, 07:16 PM

what would be the disadvantages besides a small amount of gas milage?

you would loose a bit of top speed, but that's all i can think of.

Top speed is really not an issue with a conversion like this, more of getting out of the hole a little quicker.
I think this would work well with my stock 3.0 cam swap, with the torque at a more usable range.

 

[pimpin90GL]

since you are going to rebuild the tranny, how about throwing in a high stall converter in there???

 

[SHOoff]

Because I drive the car almost every day, the stock one works well enough. I would consider 100-200 higher but never really thought about looking into it.

 

[godspunk32]

I'm a noob with transmissions...but...can't you just change the gear ratios in the trans, rather than replacing the whole stinkin' thing?

JR

 

[pimpin90GL]

well i know you wanted to keep the ATX, but an MTX swap would help your 60' times alot, between the launch and less drivetrain loss. and having that extra gear in there would help bring your 1/4 times down a bit too.

 

[shoz123]

I did do this and I did just change the final drive gears and chain. It is a bigger change than going to 1" shorter tires. I also run shorter tires and the final drive ratio changes to 4.05 with the 3.98 gears if my math is correct.

The Gen 2-3 SHOs have a final drive of 3.77. I don't think there would be many problems using a '96 AX4S tranny as the GEN 2 SHO also uses the AX4S tranny IIRC. Put a shift kit in it.

My rpms in 4th with the TC locked up are about 400 higher. Getting the TC to lock up above 75 mph was the problem that and the TC slippage was around 50% when it did lock up instead of the 1-2% it should be when locked.

FPS was the place that got the programming done right. Ford chip and Apten chip tried but failed.