Mustang 4r70w manual valvebody conversion

I go through the Transgo AODE-3 full manual shift kit. I didn’t get to do a full on tutorial just because I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose my concentration to where I was at the installation. I would recommend making sure your measurements are spot on for the drilling of the transmission case. I explain in the video why!!

[@NawarAlAlawi]

Man your boys smile worth every drop of sweat and every penny spent..

[@forcefedhatch]

Oh absolutely!! The kid loves his cars, and anything to do with them!

[@Kaptin77]

Great video man, looks like it's running good, sounds good too!👍🏻

[@forcefedhatch]

It’s getting there, Hopefully be finished soon and actually see how it runs! I appreciate it!

[@Shogoat1304]

Sounds good man! I wanna do this for my 94gt aode sucks and this would make it a lot better !

[@forcefedhatch]

Thanks!! And yes it wakes them up! I would recommend making sure the vacuum line is hooked up, I lost 3rd gear in mine and I’m thinking it’s contributed to exactly that.. gears hit hard though!

[@ProCharged7.3Godzilla]

I actually prefer having manual valve body in an aod. She sounds good! 👍🏻

[@forcefedhatch]

Yeah, I’m starting to really enjoy it!! And thank you, it’s truly appreciated!!

[@abdulhassan1107]

Thanks for the nice video, Oslo 😉

[@forcefedhatch]

Yw!

[@fabiolopez5558]

Hello, I would like you to instruct me on the video or the procedure that you did since I need to convert an electronic 4R70We to full manual and I saw that you did a good job with it

[@sdragnut]

Any updates? Hows it holding up? Did you get the high stall converter in? Thanks!!

[@forcefedhatch]

Everything is still great!! The stall hasn’t been installed yet sadly, I’m doing that install after our first cars and coffee with the new wrap and look of the car.

[@dihlonbecker3965]

Did you ever hook up the vacuum modulator to vacuum reference? My Silver Fox Racing manual valve body did not come with a vacuum modulator like yours did. Evidently the EPC solenoid stays in place, but the circuit board that goes to it is cut off. I’m kind of confused on this one.

[@forcefedhatch]

Yes I did, but didn’t get to go crazy with it because a few pulls later I lost 3rd gear sadly I think I drove too long without it and may have caused the failure. Currently swapping in a 5 speed..

[@howieewalt1322]

Is this safer than just manually shifting the 4r70w? (96 Tbird LX, 73k miles) It definitely seems faster shift-wise, but I worry about the wear from forcing the gears into place.

[@forcefedhatch]

It truly depends on the application, if you race it or do a lot of spirited driving then yes this is the way to go for faster firmer shifts. If you like the transmission shifting for you then this is not the way to go. This makes the transmission full manual.

[@coryman4245]

Awesome. Going to have to do the same to my aode. Do you still have od?

[@forcefedhatch]

Sure do! All on a switch, sadly I was out being a fool and killed 3rd gear lol. To be expected with 165,000 miles on it, swapping a 5 speed in the car currently.

[@coryman4245]

​@@forcefedhatch well dang! I wonder should I just swap in my built c4 lol mine has over 100k miles on it too

[@coryman4245]

@@forcefedhatch is the switch included in the transgo kit?

[@forcefedhatch]

@@coryman4245 no, but any basic 12v toggle switch will work for it.

[@Bob-Pye]

Hey got mine all in hits like this vid. Except iam at 30psi line pressure set up by gauge my concern is do you think it’s hard on the u joint I feel as if I need to put new one in might just kill these is there stronger aftermarket ones thanks

[@forcefedhatch]

Honestly I don’t think I would worry about the U-joints unless they are worn. Strange, and spicer make strong units I believe.

[@sdragnut]

is it correct that if the vacuum modulator is not hooked up, you just have full pressure all the time? Were you able to get your vacuum connected? And if one had a high stall converter, would it even matter?

[@forcefedhatch]

Sorry, just saw this! Yes it will have full pressure all the time. Did get it hooked up and it helped a ton, the stall will help a ton as well. Sadly I lost 3rd gear playing too hard with it and now I’m swapping In a 5 speed.

[@sdragnut]

Thanks. I love mine. I rebuilt my trans prior to the mvb kit. Also have 3200 stall. Fun fun. Manual sounds fun too👊

[@forcefedhatch]

@@sdragnut that’s awesome, Glad you like it!! Yeah hopefully mine will be fun again soon lol.

[@sdragnut]

Did you leave the ecu/trans electrical plug, plugged in? Or left unplugged? Thanks!!

[@forcefedhatch]

I left it plugged in so I can still monitor trans temp on my SCT gauge, just unhooked the solenoids and electronics pressure control.

[@sdragnut]

Sounds good. Basically cut the wires that go to soleniods, left the rest atrached?

[@forcefedhatch]

@@sdragnut yup, that’s what I did..

[@johngreen5714]

I put the same kit in mine it shifts into 2nd gear fine but it won’t go into 3rd I noticed it when I was changing the springs there was no 3rd accumulator piston so I left it that way does it need that piston to shift into 3rd?

[@forcefedhatch]

I would assume so, also it could be a combination of things. I would contact them and ask!

[@BJnCars]

How does your overdrive work? Does it still kick in?

[@forcefedhatch]

Yes, overdrive is electronically controlled on the 4r70w, you wire in a toggle switch to engage the overdrive and the torque converter lockup.. the wiring instructions for those are included in the kit.

[@BJnCars]

@@forcefedhatch sweet thankyou

[@forcefedhatch]

@@BJnCars hey anytime!!

[@stevedully1829]

To shift in 4th gear do you need to turn O/D on and to leave 4th back off again with that trans ?

[@forcefedhatch]

4th is overdrive, once the ground circuit is activated on ss1 and ss2 and it’s in 3rd gear, the O/D band engagement happens. Then if you want to lock the torque converter you ground that circuit as well, but!!! Never shift gears with the converter locked!! It will break the 2 piece input shaft!! Disengage the lockup, then shift gears. I never use lockup unless on the highway with O/D engaged.

[@stevedully1829]

@@forcefedhatch I see , thank you. I'm getting my trans built for my sn95 and it's automatic and they asked me if I wanted to xfer it to a manual valve body. I was just kinda clueless with how to shift into 4th gear if you had to assuming you're going over 50mph? I guess once you need to shift into 4th you just press the overdrive button back on and to leave 4th press it off ? Lol

[@forcefedhatch]

@@stevedully1829 not entirely, you put it on a switch the keep the circuit engaged. So when you want it off, just toggle the switch off. The button on the shifter becomes inoperable, Ill be using it as a line lock button in the future.

[@stevedully1829]

@@forcefedhatch I see , would you recommend a manual VB for a weekend car? I sometimes go to the track maybe once a month. Kinda wanted something different and more fun. Or is this conversion not a good idea for putting around town accosionally with?

[@forcefedhatch]

@@stevedully1829 honestly I drive mine everywhere with it, no problems!

[@theblownranger2471]

Is od manual with that kit as well or on a button?

[@forcefedhatch]

It’s on a separate toggle switch, so once in 3rd gear, flip the switch to ground the circuits for both shift solenoids to engage overdrive. I then have converter lockup wired the same way.

[@theblownranger2471]

@@forcefedhatch thanks for the reply. I’m gonna do this on the blown ranger. I picked a 4r70 up Friday. They proud of those valve bodies for them lol

[@forcefedhatch]

@@theblownranger2471 awesome!! Do work!!!

[@readylucas]

Hey I have a 1997 mercury cougar xr7 4.6 2v. I wanted to do a shift kit so I get that sweet Chirp into second and manual control. Seeing as manual swap will be a load of bs. How is driveablity and is 4th still useable?? Also is there any specific kit you would reccomend for this. I'm having a shop do my work, but idk what I want yet.

[@forcefedhatch]

Great questions! For this kit yes you would need to wire it up for 4th/OD to work. It would shift into 3rd then from 3rd you would flip the switch for OD. And yes you can go down to other gears easily and smooth as long as the vacuum modulator is installed it will be smooth. Mine doesn’t have it hooked up so the shifts are rough and ultimately my trans being high mileage doesn’t help either. In your case I would recommend doing a J-mod on the transmission, swapping rear gears, and enjoying that way you don’t forget or get tired of manual shifting and you will get that crisp chirp you want as well!

[@readylucas]

@@forcefedhatch is there any in-between? Like would the jmod kit make dropping it into first while cruising smoother? I want to beable to use the selector when I want, safely, and have that sweet Chirp. If this is the only good way to have that reliable manual shifts its probably what I will do. I can forget about automatically shifting. I had a dual clutch vw. Never used drive and absolutely hated the automatic downshifts while using selctor, but if there is anything that will allow me to downshift smoothly and safely while still being able to use drive, that's what I'm looking for but I don't know enough about these kits or how they work. Right now the car loves dropping into second with a bit of gas. It's honestly smoother than the upshifts sometime, but it hates 1st, even if im going 5 mph and drop it into 1st it jerks around. I really just want to eliminate that, and have the sweet 1-2 chirp.

[@forcefedhatch]

@@readylucas sounds like you have some shutter from the 2-1 shift. This would eliminate a lot of that yes, but it also could be in the torque converter or in the lockup function in the ECU. Example: trans wants to engage torque converter lockup in 2nd or even 3rd, but has to disengage before it makes a shift in either direction so it doesn’t snap the input shaft itself or the lockup shaft. So engaging and disengagement can create that “shutter, or hesitation” during that time. Also the 4r70w and the AODE transmissions are notorious for that shutter from the converter itself.

[@forcefedhatch]

I never engage lockup unless it’s on the highway. And even then i have it wired up that if I disengage my OD it grounds out and disengages the lockup at the same time to prevent input shaft damage.

[@readylucas]

@@forcefedhatch are these things that my trans shop should automatically know when doing a shift kit. Or should I be weary of letting a shop do this work. I don't feel confident doing it myself but I'd love to turn my car into a semi auto. The things that scare me are the lockup and high line pressure.

[@Bob-Pye]

just ordered a transgo hp kit for my 88 aod fox.? What gears your running?

[@forcefedhatch]

I have 4.10’s currently. Thinking of making the plunge to some 4.56’s, not too sure yet lol

[@Bob-Pye]

@@forcefedhatch nice that will be fun…Iam dropping in a set of 430s

[@forcefedhatch]

@@Bob-Pye nice!! I’d like to see some vids of it!

[@Bob-Pye]

Iam going to do some in the future

[@forcefedhatch]

@@Bob-Pye can’t wait to see them!

[@sdragnut]

is the trans still connected to the ECU? IS the ECU happy with the manual, no codes or anything?

[@forcefedhatch]

The ECU is fine, the O/D light will flash because it’s saying something isn’t connected, and obviously the shift solenoids are not lol,but the trans still is connected for fluid temperature, and speed sensor input. So everything still works as it should other than the shifts being controlled by the ECU.

[@sdragnut]

@@forcefedhatch thank you for the info👍

[@forcefedhatch]

@@sdragnut no problem at all! Anytime!!

[@TM-ir1sj]

@@forcefedhatch hey man where did you get the vacuum modulator

[@forcefedhatch]

@@TM-ir1sj it actually came with the kit.

[@aesgarage2804]

What final gear you have in the rear?

[@forcefedhatch]

4.10’s but gearing to a 4.56 soon. So this needed to be rectified obviously before that.

[@aesgarage2804]

@@forcefedhatch Holy hell. I seen Sergio Rojas Black Saleen fox body with a 4r70w making about 1300hp using 3.55 gears. Your car must rev super fast in first gear?

[@forcefedhatch]

@@aesgarage2804 it does, as soon as it hits 3,500 it wants to tach out immediately. And it’s not even a fast car, that’s the funny part! But I’ve seen this is a very common issue with the Aod-e and the 4r70w. My luck obviously lol

[@aesgarage2804]

@@forcefedhatch slapping a Lower final gear will fix the high rev in first gear. Maybe like a 3.90 or a 3.73.

[@marcusc102]

What stall you running?

[@forcefedhatch]

3,800

[@marcusc102]

@@forcefedhatch ok cool. I was just wondering because normally a stall will cushion your shifts a little bit under part throttle but your shifts are still crisp. That’s a perfect shift to me

[@forcefedhatch]

@@marcusc102 yeah it’s shifts great for sure! Much better!!

[@MustangFourSix]

Isn't a jmod more practical?

[@forcefedhatch276]

I tried the J-mod and the ramp rate was still too extreme and the trans still couldn’t keep up with shifts even after adjusting them to shift at an earlier RPM, still never worked properly. This worked great till the trans started to let go, now I’m swapping a manual with not the car.