[juggalo]

from which cars do they come from that r interchangeable with our automatic transmissions? for probes or mustangs maybe?

 

[juggalo]

ok, since nobody could help me out with this, here's what i found.

their r some probes that also have the F4EAT transmission so i plan to hit up pull a part and see how the valve body will fit on an escort in the j/y. there is no such thing as an overdrive gear. all it is is a torque converter lockup solenoid. i plan to use a toggle switch for that.

here's another option u can do. http://www.allpar.com/mopar/shift-kits.html
that has info on keeping ur automatic but converting it to a manual.

 

[cklaubur]

Actually, there is an overdrive gear, if you define overdrive as a gear ratio less than 1:1.

Casey

 

[juggalo]

i'm still learnin about all of this and asked the tech at escortfocus.com about my overdrive problem and he or she told me there was no overdrive gear. but i'm still gonna use a toggle switch since mine goes into overdrive/locks the torque converter too early and does it hard as it jerks the car a bit. it's also not locking all the way so it'll bounce back and fourth. hopefully the toggle switch will solve that problem and also save on gas.

 

[denisond3]

juggalo: I hope you will let us know if the valve body from the Probe works out - since there are lots of Probe transmissions now in junkyards.
Also, the way I deal with the car going into its 4th gear too early, is by keeping the lever in "D" when I am driving around town or the suburbs, instead of putting in the position with the D inside of a squared circle. This way it only uses 1-2-3, and doesnt do so much of that 3-4 -4-3 shifting. ( A guy with a transmission repair business told me the 3-4 clutch pack in the F4EAT was usually the one that wore out first). If I am going to be driving over 50 for a couple of miles I put it into the O-D.
Mine goes into 4th gear as low at the upper 30's, then will down shift if I want to accelerate at 40 or 45. Too much shifting.

 

[juggalo]

it's not the 4th gear that shifts too early. it's the torque converter locking up early and does it around 35mph but shafts hard at 60 or higher. it also doesn't stay locked up so that's the same problem ur havin. i just got an e-mail from the tech at escortfocus.com and they sent me the wiring diagram for the toggle switch to the lockup soleniod so i can controll that manually and keep the torque converter locked.

i also did a search on schucks.com to find out which car uses the same transmission pan gasket and filter and i'm lookin more towards the mazda mx-3 with the v6 motor so i'm guessing the valve body will fit better than the probe. with that valve body, it'll probably change the shifting points to shift at higher rpms so we'll see what happends.

here's the info i got in my email for the toggle switch that would help u and others using the automatic tranny:
this picture shows the location of the wiring

The TCC wire is the one to cut and run through a switch. The wiring can be confusing. Look at the wiring from the connector that goes back into the wiring harness, not towards the transmission plug where the wires go inside. The wire has to be the BLUE wire with a BLACK stripe. Unwrap and clean the wires if necessary so you can see the color codes. The confusing thing, there is a blue wire with a yellow stripe on each side of the connector. This is not the same wire on each side.

 

[juggalo]

if u don't see the pics, copy the url and post in ur browser

 

[zzyzzx]

Exactly why don't you use one out of another Escort?

 

[juggalo]

cuz i'm tryin to find one that will shift in the higher range to gain more speed. unless the valve body is different in the newer scorts. if the shifting point r controlled by the pcm then there's really no point in swappin valve bodies unless the vlave body is bad or ur lookin for somthin that can handle the tourque. i'm just tryin to get some ideas goin before i do it.

 

[zzyzzx]

Did you look for a Transgo shift kit? I think there is one that will do exactyl what you want with respect to the shifting points.

 

[zzyzzx]

http://www.transgo.com/sk_ford.php

SK®F4AEL F4A-EL, FA4AEL
91-03 4EAT-F, F4A-III Escort, Mercury Tracer, Mazda Protégé-Kia Rio, Spectra, Sophia Corrects/Prevents/Reduces: EPC and Cable Controlled Trans's Rough 1-2 shift; 3rd clutch failure; Fast pump wear; high line; low line; accumulator seal wear-Won't move. Fits 4 & 5 solenoid models. Ford, Mazda & Kia

http://www.transmissionpartsusa.com/FOR ... 033931.htm

 

[juggalo]

hey thanks broham. this actually reminds me of what they have a escortfocus.com but it's a lot cheaper.

here's their shift kit http://escortfocus.com/html/shift_kit.html

 

[juggalo]

so i just thought of somethin. in my honda, which is also an automatic, i can do a nutural drop and have some wheel spin on dry roads. i try to do it in the escort and it just brings the rpms down before goin into gear so no wheel spins. the valve body would be the reason to this right?

 

[zzyzzx]

so i just thought of somethin. in my honda, which is also an automatic, i can do a nutural drop and have some wheel spin on dry roads. i try to do it in the escort and it just brings the rpms down before goin into gear so no wheel spins. the valve body would be the reason to this right?

I thought people only did stupid stuff like that in rental cars.

 

[juggalo]

lol, it works in automatics

 

[zzyzzx]

hey thanks broham. this actually reminds me of what they have a escortfocus.com but it's a lot cheaper.

here's their shift kit http://escortfocus.com/html/shift_kit.html

It's exactly the same thing, except Transmissionpartsusa wants $46 instead of $99.

 

[juggalo]

alright , well hopefully i can find a valve body in a stronger tranny that will fit and do the same thing. if i can get a ECU at PAP for $8.50 than the valve body should be cheap. gotta love PAP.

 

[juggalo]

the toggle switch won't keep it locked but can be used to controll the torque converter manually. i would try lookin for somethin to keep it locked like what escort focus.com has but from what i've heard their stuff isn't that great.i'm goin to head to the JY sometime this week to see what valve body will fit so i'll let yall know what's up.