The first transmission pan I took off in college had a 2 inch square of craft magnets in the opposite corner from the pickup/filter. The quantity of Crud they had collected was Astonishing!
(';')

 

I used that LubeLocker gasket too. Worked out well.

Two suggestions:
1) measure the full travel of the TV cable when hooked up. This is the travel you'll need at accomplish in the engine bay. I did it with the pan off so I could see the travel bottom out on the valve body.
2) find a better solution for the dipstick and ensure the vent on top of the trans is clear (blow through it) this caused me some pressure and hence leaks. my dipstick is not in very well and leaks.

I'm looking for a better solution for the starter bolt also. Let me look at my engine on a stand...

 

Good idea on the TV cable. I measured the length of pull when I hooked up the cable so I could make sure I adjusted it properly.
For the dipstick I am thinking about going with one of the universal ones made by Lokar but I haven't decided about it yet.

There HAS to be a better way of doing the upper starter bolt. I'm not done trying to work through it yet. And "just use one bolt" isn't an option I'm willing to try.

 

It's 7 degrees F in my corner of Chicagoland tonight so I'm not doing any work in the garage, but I did finish planning out how I am going to hook up the transmission cooling lines. I twisted one of the lines when I was removing the TH400 and I think I can route them better now that I have a smaller starter. I started with some transmission line adapters. The 1/4" threads go in the transmission and the other end is a standard -6 AN fitting.


It's not screwed in all the way, but here's the adapter in the transmission.


And with a 45* AN hose fitting on the end. I'll run braided stainless hose to the cooler.


On the topic of the transmission cooler, I decided I wasn't happy with the transmission cooler in the radiator. In most vehicles, the AT cooler is on the "cool" side of the radiator. In the XJS, the cooler sits in the right hand tank which gets partially partially cooled water from the left cylinder head and fully hot water from the right cylinder head. I estimate on a hot day the fluid going back to the transmission is only a few degrees cooler than the thermostat. Maybe 10-15 degrees if we're being generous.

So I bought an external cooler that I think I can fit up front. It has a fan to keep things cool if I am sitting in traffic.


I also picked up a thermostatic switch to control the fan.


Both the cooler and the switch have standard -6 AN fittings so I will be able to continue with braided stainless hoses.


What does the collective mind here think? Plumb the transmission through the radiator and into the external cooler? Skip the radiator cooler all together and just use the external cooler? This is a dumber idea than you normally have; send back the external cooler and just use the radiator cooler like everyone else?

 

^^^
Oh That's cute!!
My trans cooler sits out front of the main radiator and isn't nearly so refined as yours.
(';')

 

Thorsen
100% keep the trans lines OUT of the radiator. Your solution is lovely, and I do not "say don't do it"; but I do think it is overkill. All i have (and this is thanks to Grant who drove round the BIG Island, twice, with this solution) is this:



The fluid in the cooler is never too hot to touch. So really it is a question of "do you want something simple to do the job, or complicated...

I LOVE the AN adaptors, I wish I knew they could be obtained when I did mine!

 

I think the idea behind the original oil-cooler integrated in the engine radiator is that it will work as a heat exchanger.
Gearbox oil will quickly reach a good temperature, meaning the gearbox lifetime and function will not be compromised by running (too) cold for extended time in cold climate.
I understand the challenges by the chosen design, but the basic idea is not bad...

BR Leo

 

Boy Howdy does that look familiar!!
Nix ix the second car I've done that with, the first one (Chrysler 440/3-spd TorqueFlite which I did NOT baby, also added a PH8 inline filter and magnets in the pan) ran 100,000 miles with no further service and was just starting to get Morning Sickness when I sold it.

(';')

 

You know, there is something I wish I had figured out before hand and that is how to get a temp sensor in the 700R4 and hooked up to a light on the dash. I'm always wondering if it running too hot or not, especially since the car was not designed with it in mind.

 

Another Saturday, another day of garage time. Except I only got about 4 hours in today because of some other commitments.

First things first, I acknowledged that unless I wanted transmission removal to be a part of starter replacement, there was going to have to be a hole in the bell housing. So I chocked up my in my die grinder and tried to make the smallest hole I could.



The hole needs to be right where one of the ears are so I cut that down too.


@Greg in France gave me a good idea for a stud that sticks through the hole - I ordered some parts for that and we'll see how it goes.


Next up was the crankshaft adapter. I think this is where @Xjeffs had trouble and I was quite upset that I think this piece is still machined wrong. The small section fits in the end of the crankshaft and it appears to be too big. You can see the ridge almost to the inner edge of the relief cuts - the crankshaft made that.


I sold my lathe a few years back, so I did what I could with what I had. I chucked it in the drill press and dressed it down with some files until it was the right diameter.
If this is the same problem Jeff had, I am frustrated that the vendor knew it was an issue and keeps sending them out.


With everything ready to go, here is the transmission about to make it's final trip under the car. At least I hope it's the last trip.


The transmission cooler hoses in place and tightened up. For now it's just a 20' loop of braided stainless steel hose, but I'll cut and put fitting on the ends later.
You can also see the braided TV cable in this picture too.


I ended up the day with 4 of the 7 transmission bolts in place.

I'm concerned about the amount of space between the flywheel and the torque converter (I think the torque converter is too far away from the flywheel) but I need to get all the transmission bolts in before I decide what to do.

 

I think my issue was the knurled wider diameter was too wide. He said it should be in the 1.707 inch range max at the knurl. The bad one I got was 1.719.
it was this spigot that kept it from bolting up for me. With the adapter and torque converter spacers it should all bolt flush.

 

Thanks @Xjeffs . I'm going to finish bolting it up the bellhousing today and we'll see how it all looks.

 

this is like an episode of Star Trek

 

It feels more like the Twilight Zone to me

In all seriousness this car has been exactly what I was hoping it would be. It's a blast to drive, it's fun to work on, and I've really enjoyed upgrading it as I go. It's kept me busy over the winter when I can't drive it anyway and it provides an opportunity for me to be out in the garage, turn some wrenches, and use my brain for something other than work.

 

It is absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to see it finished. I am in awe of your knowledge, patience, and ingenuity. Chapeau.
I greatly admire your work ethic and the fact you still have a brain to use after work. Mine is mush.

 

Another busy day in the garage. I got the two remaining bellhousing bolts in as well as the three torque converter bolts. Then I focused on the mount.

The rubber block comes with the kit and replaces the spring and "spool" on the TH400. It's simple but I'm curious to see how well it works.


Here's the final piece of the mount. 6 bolts hold it in the same location that the factory bracket was located.


@jal1234 here's a picture for you showing how the cast aluminum pan rides. Its pretty well tucked up and out of harm's way.


While I was here, I replaced the two oil hoses above the oil filter. The ones I pulled off were stamped 1989 - factory originals. They were hard as a rock. I didn't replace them last year because I was too focused on getting the car running. I believe that's the last hose that has to be replaced. I used 1/4" (-4) hose and 10mm clamps.


Next up - the transmission cooler and running the lines. I ended up using the cooler mentioned a few posts above and mounted it below the front bumper inside the valence.


If you've never used AN / braided stainless steel hoses, it's pretty easy. I mark where I need to cut the hose with a piece of electrical tape. I use my angle grinder with a cut-off wheel and go right through the middle of the tape.


Here's the hose after the cut. I was unlucky in this one as I have some fraying of the braided section. I used a screwdriver to smooth it out.


Here's an AN hose end. This one in particular takes a -6 braided hose and the other end is a 1/4" NPT fitting.
Notice the inside of the red section has threading - it goes over the braided end of the hose.


Here's the other end of the red section. The end of the blue section you see goes inside the hose (notice how the end of it tapers) and the thread engages the threading on the red section. This creates a very tight seal that doesn't leak even at high pressure. I think these are rated for 1,000psi - far over what these will ever see.


Here is the blue section fully seated into the red section. Be careful not to bottom the blue and red sections otherwise you run the risk of cracking the fitting.

Make sure to flush the lines before you hook up the ends.


Here's the 1/4" NPT end of the fitting threaded into the top radiator tank.
If you look towards the bottom of the picture you can see the hose coming out of the cooler.


You can pick up clamps like this to hold the hose. I think it adds a nice touch.



Here's how I ended up plumbing the transmission lines. The "out" line from the transmission goes to the cooler in the radiator. The out line from the radiator cooler goes into the front mounted auxiliary cooler. There is a thermostat in the out line of the auxiliary cooler that turns the fan on at 195* and off at 170*. From the auxiliary cooler the fluid goes back to the transmission.

My thinking is that the radiator cooler will help get the fluid up to temperature and will regulate the temperature somewhat. The front mounted auxiliary cooler is mostly covered by the front bumper and is not fully in the air stream, so it will not provide much additional cooler at cruise speed. If I am stuck in traffic and the transmission fluid temp goes over 195*, the fan will come on and cool it off. If I am cruising down the tollway on a hot day and the fluid is too hot - I do have the security of the thermostatic fan to keep things in check.


Next up is hooking up the shift lever, checking out the drive shaft, and modifying a cover for the torque converter.

Oh - and one more discovery I made today. If I use a 1/4" ratchet, I can reach in between the flex plate and the torque converter to get to the top starter bolt! I think the hole might be necessary for clearance but I wish I had checked that first.

 

Yeah, that tranny oil pan sits a lot higher than I thought it would.
Make sure whatever hose you use for that small s-shaped oil line near the oil filter is rated for motor oil. I had to do a bit of research to find some acceptable line because it's pretty small for oil line. If you're using AN oil line, that's good.

 

Another Saturday, another day running errands and then in the garage.

This time they were good errands. The wheel shop finished up the 4 other wheels I took in and I picked them up this morning.


Out in the garage, I focused on the shifter. I know I'm not the smartest guy on the forum, but I read the instructions for the shifter several times over several days and I could never figure out what he was talking about. I think if you have done this a dozen times it probably makes sense but he lost me. So I looked at the picture and tried to make my look like that.

In the end I had to swap the gear selector on the transmission with the one from the Th400, and I had to grind some of the black bracket away to fit my transmission pan.


I've been wearing this sherpa pullover in the garage the last few weeks because it's been super cold (it was 10*F when I went out this morning). It's super warm, but don't wear one when you're grinding the transmission bracket. Apparently they don't like sparks.


Here's a shot of the shifter cable all hooked up. It looks like I have Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, 3, 2, and 1 from the shift lever. The instructions say 1 isn't always selectable but it looks like in my case it is.


I found this torque converter cover on Amazon. It's cast aluminum and I knew I was going to have to cut it to make it fit.


A quick swipe with the plasma cutter and it fits.



Here is the cover in place. It matches the transmission pan nicely.


Here's a shot of the driveshaft installed.


I put reflective foil on the steering rack heat shields. No clue if it does anything or not but it made me feel better.


I hooked up the front exhaust pipes to the manifold...


And here's where I could use the group's wisdom. It's exhaust time and I have two options:
- spend $1,200 to $1,500 on the Bell Stainless Steel exhaust system
- spend a couple hundred bucks on Summit Racing and pick up some mandrel bends and tubing. I could skip the mufflers under the back seat, go under the cage with the tubing, and then hook up to the resonators on either side of the trunk. If it's too loud I can always add in mufflers under the back set, but from the research I did it sounds like deleting the mufflers gives you a nice mellow tone with out drone.

If I do option #2, what do you think about an X-pipe for sound? I know some of the E-types had x-pipes to change the sound of the exhaust. I did a lot of research on this too and it sounds like quite the controversial topic. I get it won't add power and I am fine with that but curious what the group thinks.

 

Thorsen
I say go with the home-made exhaust - or at least the muffler shop made to your spec! Sending the pipes under the cage will eliminate the clonks and bonks permanently. Now do not get me wrong, Bell are very good indeed, I have one and it is as good now as when I bought it in 2000. But getting ANY OEM pattern it through the cage, sufficiently far from the calipers, centrally into the exhaust tunnels, and no bonks over rough ground, is a very hard job. I can do it, but I have to re-do it on a yearly basis. Also the OEM sized resonators are too wide for the tunnel to be reliably clonk-free. I had a smaller diameter one made (about 1 1/2 inches smaller diameter) and that eliminated quite a bit of trouble. Whatever system you go for, I strongly advise this mod.
As to the muffler elimination, I am against it - in spite of having a set of muffler elimination pipes in the loft!. I have heard a V12 XJS with just the resonators and it was deafeningly noisy. Cross-pipes, no opinion, except why introduce another bit of pipe complication when it will do nothing for your power?

 

I'd say you are one of the smartest guys on the forum, for what it's worth.