Could Ford be Fixing the Issues?

[Marc s]

Manufacturers using transmissions with torque ratings less than the engine output is nothing new.

Lets go back to 1970 for a second;

1970 Chevrolet LS6-500ft lbs of torque.
1970 Buick Stage 1- 510ft lbs of torque.
M20 wide ratio had a torque rating of 375 ft lbs
M21 close ratio had a torque rating of 400 ft lbs
M22 had a torque rating of 420 ft lbs.

428CJ-440 ft lbs of torque
429CJ-450 ft lbs of torque.
Boss 429-450 ft lbs of torque.
Top Loader had a torque rating of 430 ft lbs.

426 Hemi-490ft lbs.
440 6-pack-490ft lbs.
A833 had a torque rating of 450 ft lbs.

 

[JDM74]

You guys worried about the torque rating of the transmission are looking at it the wrong way. A transmission is a free spinning device that's only resistance is moving the car. Think of it this way, when you torque your lug nuts you do it with the car on the ground so the tire doesn't spin. It's pretty easy to exert 100 ft lbs of torque on that stationary lug right? Try it with the wheel in the air and the e-brake off. All you do is spin the tire and never reach the 100 ft lb setting on the toque wrench. The harder you push the faster the tire spins. That is what the car sees. Couple that with the fact that the rating for the transmission is typically in the weakest gear (usually overdrive) and it is very hard to exert the full torque of the motor on the trans without either a) the car starting to accelerate or b) the tires spinning.

I'm not defending the trans, it does have shifting issues between 1-2 and sometimes 2-3 especially when it is cold (mine included) but I haven't seen any posts of them just failing because of too much power.

 

[mpf]

Ford (and GM and Chrysler) lost a lot of their vendors/suppliers for parts. A lot of suppliers went under. Now, even though production is seemingly back up, those suppliers never made it back.

How the ripple effect can wipe out an entire nation....Did the seaports where all the foreign stuff come in "go under"? They are laughing at us right now.