5R55S Tranny Overhaul

[GoFaster06]

I swapped from my 3650 over to a Level 10 5R55 and Circle D converter. Love it!!

RH

What rpm Circle D?

 

[timfoster405]

I went with TCI's super street fighter tranny upon the recommendation of JDM... this is the tranny that Jim Sr. and Jr. have used in their mid 9 second S197's for years. So far so good. I have about 5k miles... alot of street blasts and only 1 pass so far...no issues as of yet. I asked Jim Sr. to set it up of r very mild shifts to emulate regular street driving...I need to get him to make it shift a little more harder...

 

[Brezick]

OP if you're going to stay with the 5R I would recommend getting the built one from PA. http://www.performanceautomatic.com...5r55-transmissions/5r55-s-w-transmission.html I have the TCI stuff in mine because they were the only one making kits for the 5R back then. I have heard too many bad thing about Level 10 to ever deal with them.


Earl

Do you have the specs on what they put in theirs? I have what Level 3 would put in one for 4k, would be nice to compare.

Edit - PA's is only 2600 after $400 core charge. So comparison would be nice to see why an extra 1400 from level 10.

http://www.cjponyparts.com/performa...n-super-streeter-4-6l-gt-2005-2010/p/TRANS37/

 

[retfr8flyr]

When I talked to Level 10 about a 5R they didn't impress me at all. Most of what they offered was smoke and mirrors. They wouldn't tell me what was in the trans, I had to use their converter and they required me to use their trans tune, at $400, for any warranty. I would have had to send them the MTF file of my tune, they would modify it with their trans tune and then the tune would be locked. It may be different now, as this was a few years ago but I didn't want to deal with their requirements.

As far as PA goes I don't know what is in theirs but I would go with them on reputation alone over TCI or Level 10. I have read that their input shaft is actually billet and not just hardened like the TCI but I can't confirm that.


Earl

 

[Memphis 05]

i had the circle d convertor and it is amazing...Kinda is to pretty to install since it is all billet!

good luck with the auto. i with the others about it not holding up to power for any lengh of time, especially of you drive it alot....true track cars are different....JMO

this is why I switched to the TR6060. If i was going to shift, then i wanted a stick....I know the 4R70W is a great tranny but my wife also drives the car and i wasn't going to teach her the manual shift auto.

good luck

 

[808muscle]

My trans is holding strong as the day I bought the car. PA deep pan, catch can and fluid swaps every year. Of course the OP is a second faster than me.......thats fast dude! I have an aeroforce gauge so I can monitor the trans temp too. With the brenspeed tune the highest I have seen it is 185`

 

[GoFaster06]

My trans is holding strong as the day I bought the car. PA deep pan, catch can and fluid swaps every year. Of course the OP is a second faster than me.......thats fast dude! I have an aeroforce gauge so I can monitor the trans temp too. With the brenspeed tune the highest I have seen it is 185`

Mine has lasted this long with spirited street use & 147 1/4 miles passes. Can't complain, these autos can take a lot.

 

[808muscle]

I am stoked at how overall this car holds up to all the track use I have done. Three years of racing and the only part to wear out was the rear end clutches. Not too shabby.

 

[Mustang30212]

What rpm Circle D?

3K.

RH

 

[Mustang30212]

When I talked to Level 10 about a 5R they didn't impress me at all. Most of what they offered was smoke and mirrors. They wouldn't tell me what was in the trans, I had to use their converter and they required me to use their trans tune, at $400, for any warranty. I would have had to send them the MTF file of my tune, they would modify it with their trans tune and then the tune would be locked. It may be different now, as this was a few years ago but I didn't want to deal with their requirements.

As far as PA goes I don't know what is in theirs but I would go with them on reputation alone over TCI or Level 10. I have read that their input shaft is actually billet and not just hardened like the TCI but I can't confirm that.


Earl

I spoke with the owner of Level 10 about the programming aspect. He said if I felt comfortable with my current tuner that they could certainly tune it. I did buy the trans second hand so there wasn't a warranty issue involved.

RH

 

[ChiDiddy]

when i talked to circle D a while back, they told me all the bands and internals of the 5r are the same from whatever company you buy from. I can't remember the name of the bands but just know they are equal. I don't know about the tcp inout shaft but mine is holding up well. Im pretty sure most know that the tune is the most important issue when keeping these 5rs alive.

 

[8306gt]

when i talked to circle D a while back, they told me all the bands and internals of the 5r are the same from whatever company you buy from. I can't remember the name of the bands but just know they are equal. I don't know about the tcp inout shaft but mine is holding up well. Im pretty sure most know that the tune is the most important issue when keeping these 5rs alive.

They are all using Alto Red Eagle clutches, Kolene steels, and either Alto or Ford bands. As for the input shafts I suspect all the billet one are made by the same company because I am fairly confident neither TCI nor PA have a machine shop to do any real manufacturing.

 

[my06GT]

They are all using Alto Red Eagle clutches, Kolene steels, and either Alto or Ford bands. As for the input shafts I suspect all the billet one are made by the same company because I am fairly confident neither TCI nor PA have a machine shop to do any real manufacturing.

This guy is correct. I just pieced the tci superstreet fighter parts together for mine and they are just alto red eagle clutches, kolene steels, and an alto band. I also have the tci servos and input shaft. If you decide to go this route I would recommend buying thru a vendor or summit/jegs because tci's customer service sucks. I ordered my parts on a monday morning and was told they would ship tues at latest, it was fri before they shipped. I called 3 different times over the week I was waiting and got a bs story as to why they hadnt shipped everytime.

 

[crownaviation]

This guy is correct. I just pieced the tci superstreet fighter parts together for mine and they are just alto red eagle clutches, kolene steels, and an alto band. I also have the tci servos and input shaft. If you decide to go this route I would recommend buying thru a vendor or summit/jegs because tci's customer service sucks. I ordered my parts on a monday morning and was told they would ship tues at latest, it was fri before they shipped. I called 3 different times over the week I was waiting and got a bs story as to why they hadnt shipped everytime.

Only bought the hardened input shaft and servos from TCI but I did have a very good customer service experience. Maybe it all depends on who you talk to. I also had a great experience working with the folks at Precision Industries (PI converter)

 

[Brezick]

I was able to get response back from all three, TCI, PA, and Level 10. PA rates theirs at 500 crank, TCI at 650 crank and Level 10 at 800 crank. I really wanna know what is so different that they can claim such different power levels unless they really are blowing smoke.

I do know Level 10 modifies the pump, valvebody and solenoid in addition to the clutch packs. TCI's looks to be only the clutch/bands and servos and PA just the clucht packs and bands.

Could be wrong, but thats just what i observed from their responses.

 

[8306gt]

I was able to get response back from all three, TCI, PA, and Level 10. PA rates theirs at 500 crank, TCI at 650 crank and Level 10 at 800 crank. I really wanna know what is so different that they can claim such different power levels unless they really are blowing smoke.

I do know Level 10 modifies the pump, valvebody and solenoid in addition to the clutch packs. TCI's looks to be only the clutch/bands and servos and PA just the clucht packs and bands.

Could be wrong, but thats just what i observed from their responses.

Level Ten claims to modify the pump, however I purchased one from them and it was nothing more than a stock Ford pump. When I called them to say I wanted to return it as there was nothing Super about the pump, they gave me the run around for almost two weeks before finally agreeing to refund my money. I wouldn't buy anything from them after my experience.

 

[Brezick]

Level Ten claims to modify the pump, however I purchased one from them and it was nothing more than a stock Ford pump. When I called them to say I wanted to return it as there was nothing Super about the pump, they gave me the run around for almost two weeks before finally agreeing to refund my money. I wouldn't buy anything from them after my experience.

I am not defending them in any way but they did have different stages before and only the stage 3 was said to have the upgraded pump. They way they explained it to me was that is the only one they make now. They only recently put the 800 HP rating on their website.

 

[my06GT]

Level Ten claims to modify the pump, however I purchased one from them and it was nothing more than a stock Ford pump. When I called them to say I wanted to return it as there was nothing Super about the pump, they gave me the run around for almost two weeks before finally agreeing to refund my money. I wouldn't buy anything from them after my experience.

I also read about "modified" pumps and valvebodies. The guy that rebuilt my trans has worked for ford on transmissions since 1984 and he told me there was really nothing they could do to the pump. Also said he wasnt sure what people were claiming to do to valvebodies either. As far as solenoid pack goes what is there that they could do there?

 

[ChiDiddy]

In my experience tci was pleasant to deal with. Just buy the overhaul kit from level 10( cheapest of the 3 and are the same thing), servos from tci, and input shaft from any 3 companies and find a reputable local guy to rebuild yours.

 

[GoFaster06]

Leaning toward buying an already built 5R55S from Circle D or Performance Automatic & having existing tranny taken out then new installed so car is down for a minimum amount of time. Since car will be at shop I'll also be doing my final mods = JDM transmission catch can, Circle D converter & Shaftmaster Driveshaft & loop. Looking to get consistent high 10's in 1/4 then I'm done modding this car!