AODE/4R70W valve body question

stonegod85 said:

i am looking to get a performance valve body for my 97 AODE. I found a guy who is selling a Lentech strip terminator vbody (w/ brake full manual)...first of all will a vbody for a 4R70W work on an AODE. and would this be a good addition to my DAILY DRIVER (once a month strip) STANG. Also i was looking into stall converters and not sure what size or stall to get and if it should be non-lock or not. HELP ME OUT FELLAS!!!

thanks,
Gus

Click to expand...

Since you have a 97 GT, you pretty much have the 4r70w automatic in your car. So yes, a 4r70w valve body would work in your transmission. You would simply have to swap solenoids in order for it to work. Whether or not you would want to use that specific lentech valve body, I'm not sure as I do not know all the specs for it. I see it uses a transbrake mod, which means you would have to install a relay switch into your console in order to make full use of it. I guess that is really up to you. Also, it appears to be a "full manual" valve body. I'm guessing that means you have to do all the shifting yourself. So, if you don't want to do all the shifting during your daily driving, you might want to look into something else. I for one recommend the J-mod. I'll explain more on that in a minute.

Now, there there is a "potential problem" with any valve body/shifting upgrade you perform. The potential problems lies in your stock accumulator pistons. The 96 and 97 4r70w transmissions did not have rubber bonded accumulator pistons like the 98-04 models do. You need to upgrade to these to avoid damaging your accumulator pistons. They are pretty easy to install, as when you drop the valve body out of the transmission, the accumulator pistons are pretty much staring you right in the face. In fact, the 2-3 accumulator piston may very well fall out on you. The 1-2 accumulator piston is secured by a bottom cap and snap ring, which is a PITA to remove. Anyhow, you can buy these newer accumulator pistons from any Ford dealer.

Contact Randy Stinchcomb and tell him you need to upgrade to the rubber bonded accumulator pistons found in the late model 4r70w automatic transmission. Randy Stinchcomb is a great guy to deal with, and since he is a Ford parts dealer, he'll get you the parts for a decent price.

Contact him at www.modulardepot.com Click on the "forums" tab, register(if you are already a memeber there, no need to register), go to the "Ford parts" section of the forums, and make a post explaining you need the parts the newer rubber bonded accumulator pistons for a 97 4r70w transmission. He'll know what you're talking about.

In addition to upgrading your accumulator pistons, I think now would be a good time to invest in a transmission cooler if you do not already have one. A transmission cooler works by reducing the heat of the transmission fluid. Heat is the number 1 kill of automatic transmissions, so avoid excessive heat as much as possible. I use the transmission cooler from Steeda and it works fine. B&M is also a good company to go with. My brother uses a Flex-A-Lite cooler on his and it works great. Any cooler you get, just be sure it uses a "fin" design, as these are more efficient in cooling than the standard tube design.

Now, as for the "Jerry mod" which I mentioned above. It is a simple shift kit modification that can be performed to your stock valve body. All it involves is replacing and removing some springs and enlarging the holes of your seperator plate, which is the part that ultimately controls fluid flow through the valve body.

To better explain this procedure in detail, you might want to read these tech articles written by Jerry Wroblewski over at TCCOA. They supply great information on the 4r70w automatic transmission.

Here is an article that will help explain the basics and differences in 4r70w transmissions:

http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/transmission/index.shtml

The aritcle for the shift kit specifications:

http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/transmission/shiftybusiness.shtml

Another article to explain the shift kit installation/modification procedure:

http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/transmission/shiftybusiness.shtml

If you decide to do the Jerry mod, you'll need to get the new 1-2 upper accumulator spring recommended in the article. It is a blue spring. Part #F75Z-7F284-AA.

You will also need a couple of gaskets. These gaskets are the seperator plate gaskets. You will two of them. You can buy these direct from any Ford dealership, or from Randy Stinchcomb who I suggested above. Just tell him you're looking to do the Jerry mod, and he'll know what you're reffering to.

In addition to this information, I'll give you some useful tips.

1. If you are not mechanically minded at all, or are afraid you will mess this operation up, do not attempt it. Remember, this is your transmission we're talking about. You mess it up, its not a simple 10 dollar fix.

2. If you decide to have someone do this for you, be sure they are familiar with transmissions, preferabley your type of transmission. Any good transmission shop should be able to do this for you. Just print the articles off, give them the parts, and they should be able to figure out where to go from there.

3. If you decide to do this yourself, then be sure to follow Jerry's instructions. When installing the new Accumulator pistons, be sure to use plenty of transmission fluid to lube them up, and if needed, you can use some petroleum jelly to slide the 1-2 accumulator piston back into place. After all, it is a tight fit.

4. Be sure to drill the seperator plate holes as evenly as possible and accordingly to Jerry's specs. Do NOT drill crooked or go with too large of a hole(s), or you will need a new seperator plate. I'm not sure if they are making seperator plates individually now, but I remember they used not to. I remember screwing up on this once and having to buy a whole new valve body. Needless to say, learn from my mistake.

5. When re-assembling everything, make sure all bolts are tightened and everything is installed as it should be. The last thing you want it to have spare parts lying around after you've finished. Be sure when re-installing the valve body, that all the solenoids are connected and the lead mold frame is connected to them all as it should be. Another thing to make sure of is that the drive pin is being engaged by the pin on the rooster comb spring. If not, you will not have access to all gears.

6. When re-installing the pan, be sure you bolt it down correctly and make sure it's not loose anywhere. Last thing you want is to do a refill of the fluid and have fluid running everywhere.

7. Finally, be sure to use Mercon V or better transmission fluid. The 4r70w transmission is suppost to run off Mercon V or better, so use it. Most 4r70w automatic transmissions hold around 12qts. If you put in a transmission cooler, it might hold another 1qt or so. After you've filled the transmission up with the fluid, its time to start the car. Jerry should give excellent tips for this in his "how to articles". When starting up the car, be sure to shift through all the gears before taking it for a drive. Make sure all gears are able to be engaged. After the motor has ran for a few minutes and every gear is engaging as it should, then you can take it for a test drive. Go easy on it the first couple of minutes and let the fluid reach normal operating temperature. If you feel any strange shifting patters, or notice the o/d light flashing on the dash panel, turn around and go back cause something isn't operating right. If you get the o/d light, it generally indicates a code has been thrown in the transmission computer system. The only way to diagnose it is with a scan tool. Hopefully, you will do everything correctly and won't have to worry about this problem.

Let me know if you have any other questions.