Tanner's 4R70W Conversion

[US-1]

Houston Drivetrain does damn good work. I'm really in awe of how much room is available with this swap. Interesting.

 

[Natural1]

Houston Drivetrain does damn good work. I'm really in awe of how much room is available with this swap. Interesting.

Yes they do! I ordered the driveshaft, 47-1/2 inches center to center, at just after 9:30a and Gary called at 3p and told me it was ready. Fantastic! We were really surprised with all the room as well. We did trim a couple of the cast ears off of the trans and we removed two threaded bosses that would interfere with the tunnel. I really like the fact that the factory SN95 dipstick is going to work. I'm really excited!

 

[ZmanM3]

Looking good so far.

 

[joedls]

Looking good, Tanner!!!

 

[Natural1]

Well I am glad I am a member of such a great site! I found all the answers for the connection questions I have, as they relate to the Optishift. The first one below for power point description/available firewall grommet and the other, showing a TPS diagram for the reference voltage I need.

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=96084#post96084
http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18634&highlight=wot+tps

Looking good so far.

Looking good, Tanner!!!

Thanks guys!!

 

[Hawgman]

is it done yet?
is it done yet?
is it done yet?
is it done yet?
is it done yet?
is it done yet?
is it done yet?

 

[SirKnightTG]

I like that shifter!

So even though you have that module thingy to make it shift like a "normal" auto, can you still over-ride that and shift manually if you ever get the urge for the fun of it?

 

[Rypper1]

Looks good Tanner! Can't wait to see it all finished. Keep posting all the pics.

 

[Natural1]

Ok well here is today’s progress. We kinda “dove” into the wiring and it is really not all that bad. We spent more time researching the factory harness and trying to determine how to easily integrate the controller to the car, while leaving the factory wiring alone as much as possible. While my main goal is to have this look really quality, my other two goals are to definitely try not to molest the factory harness much and make all of my connections in the cabin.

Here’s what held us up last night, it’s the shift lever/spool piece I spoke of earlier. The piece I received in the B&M kit was about 1/3 the size of this one we machined today. When we were ready to hook the shift cable up to the lever, we didn't have to look twice, it was not going to work. Damn, it’s nice to have a machine shop at your disposal!

Pictured is a stock ’99 dipstick, it’s not glamorous and that’s what I like about it.

Here are some clearance shots of the dipstick.

This is the point where the wiring started. Me? I’m smiling because I know what’s next and I don’t give a shit.

Josh has his hands full.

Here is the initial layout of the wiring. I know it looks intimidating but it’s really not all that bad.

Manual lever position sensor and connected harness.

Here’s where shit got interesting. We had to split the trans/O2 portion of the factory harness to run it inside the car. The reverse lights will be relay activated via the OptiShift’s 12V signal generated by the MLPS on the side of the trans. This is the best way I have found to do it. I will also be actuating the starter (in park and neutral) the same way, using a relay and the car’s clutch pedal switch wiring. We could have used the switches on the shifter but we both agreed that they were cheesy micro switches that would be unreliable at best. I don’t want to mess with this again, so opening the harness and rerouting a few wires was the only option.

Tomorrow, I pick up the driveshaft and trans cooler fittings. I will also, have to remove the factory 1/4” flare cooler fittings and replace them with JIC adapters/hose fittings and some decent Goodridge hose. I may even get creative, with a combination of tubing and hose, I'm not sure at this point.

is it done yet?

We're sure trying, I'll tell ya!

I like that shifter!

Thanks!!

So even though you have that module thingy to make it shift like a "normal" auto, can you still over-ride that and shift manually if you ever get the urge for the fun of it?

You don't know the half of it, I can also shift it with the +/- cruse contriol buttons on the steering wheel and it's called manutronic, kinda like the Porsche's tiptronic. To answer your question, yes... I can choose it to hold speed in any gear and then shift automatically in (D) range. There are 2 different "selectable tunes" for the controller that can be stored and toggled between with a momentary switch, like sport and race modes. This is a top notch, standalone, laptop tunable unit, the sky's the limit.

Looks good Tanner! Can't wait to see it all finished. Keep posting all the pics.

Thanks Randy! Your pics are posted!

 

[WarFords]

Keep'em coming! I need all the pics and info I can get!

 

[ZmanM3]

Is it done yet?

 

[Natural1]

Is it done yet?

Frickin' A! Yes! Tomorrow we install the cooler, cooler lines, exhaust and fill with fluid. Here's what we accomplished today... Lots of pics!

Wire routing out of the firewall. This location was the best decision there was and I believe it made the install, what it is.

Placing loom on the wiring after we laid it out on the installed trans and taped it up.

My new driveshaft. As I said, I am very impressed with Houston Drivetrain, they did a fantastic job!

Yokes installed.

Shaft installed.

Side view to the rear..

There were two, individual splices into the factory wiring that had to be made and both were soldered, sealed with sealant and then covered with heat shrink tubing. I didn't want any problems down the road and rule #2 on this project was for all connections to be made in the cabin, we didn't have a choice on these.

We had to cut the excess out of the supplied wiring harness and loom it, once we had routed and loomed everything outside.

Cleaning up and looming the wires.

Pictured in the next 2, is the harness running through the firewall.

The white wires pictured are connected to the Optishift and are part of a circuit that closes then the vehicle is in park or neutral. These will be spliced to the clutch pedal (start) switch.

Trans connectors in place and O2 connectors re-routed and loomed.

We cut the factory harness open, so there was no reason not to position the O2 sensors exactly where we wanted them.

Here is where we had to tie into the 5V feed from the TPS sensor. We decided to make the connection in the loom this connection is the second one that I mentioned, that was made out of the cabin.

Soldered, sealed and shrink tubing installed.

Can you tell where the loom was opened in this one? It took me a second to figure out what the picture was showing and I took it.

Here, I was hooking up the main ground for the OptiShift unit. It was wire, soldered to a loop connector, covered in shrink tubing and fastened to a stud below the SJB. (shown in next picture)

Quality work was very important on this project.

 

[GrnBullitt08]

I hate wiring lol. That doesnt look like fun to me.

 

[Natural1]

I hate wiring lol. That doesnt look like fun to me.

Yeah, well all that shit is finally over. You hit the key, the starter (not installed yet) kicks over in only Park and Neutral, just like it's supposed to! Yea! Now to go find a 5/16" tubing bender, goddamned, bastard sized cooler lines. I have every other sized bender but that one, bullshit I tell ya...



Here are pics and me blabbing about the rest of yesterday's progress..

Here's what the firewall looked like after we secured the exterior harness and reinstalled the rubber "vent flap" in its original location. You can barely see the wires.

Josh, installing the battery tray and battery.

The initial power-up of the OptiShift.

Here are the two wires I spoke of earlier, that close a circuit to allow the car to start.. They are intended to run to the ignition and to the coil on something like a street rod but we spliced them into the clutch (start) switch for this application. All they do is complete a circuit.

The clutch switch cut off... Screw factory wiring, nothing is sacred.

All sealed up..

Another quality splice!

 

[ZmanM3]

Is it done yet?

Fuckin' A! Yes! Tomorrow we install the cooler, cooler lines, exhaust and fill with fluid. Pics and related commentary to come!!

If you can't drive it your not done.

 

[Natural1]

I agree but it is very close. A few more hours.

 

[ZmanM3]

That install looks good at any rate, even if your NOT done yet. Almost makes me want one, but I think I'll stick with my T56 for now.

 

[94tbird]

Nice damned job so far Tanner!

 

[Natural1]

I ran into a small snag, which I will explain later but the lines are being run now and it won't be much longer.

That install looks good at any rate, even if your NOT done yet. Almost makes me want one, but I think I'll stick with my T56 for now.

The install is even cleaner than it looks in pictures. I guarantee the dealership would be scratching their heads, wondering why a 5R55S trans filter doesn't fit.

Nice damned job so far Tanner!

Thank you, we have worked very hard to get to this point so quickly and here are the final pics...

To top it off, we installed the dust cover under the previously installed seperator plate that I got from Leland, over at Forward Performance. He had this piece left over and I snatched it up.

Here Josh is waiting for the "Shiftware" to install. We selected a generic program to start with.

Here is what made it all the better! I love the look of the shifter! I plan to change the ball out for a black one but this will do for now. Next is the test drive!

 

[Natural1]

Well..... First and second shifted fantastic and reverse was great but I must have nicked a direct clutch, solid teflon sealing ring because 3rd just kinda slipped in. Oh well, it will come back out and I will fix the problem tomorrow, rinse and repeat. All in all, I am still happy with the way everything worked out and the quality of our work, despite the fact that there is a bit of a setback. In all honesty, I expected some sort of a hiccup and the labor required at this point is pale in comparison to the labor it took to get to where we are. I will post pics of the rest of the install and then give an overview of the repairs I make.