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My 86 L98 Project Procharger P600B, Dana 44 swap, ZF swap, Megasquirt
Hi
I was thinking of putting pictures of my project here if they would help someone else.
I started building the car 10 years ago when it was completely stock. Since then, I have built the engine, interior, chassis, brakes, sound system, rims and supercharger.
Now it would be to do a ZF black tag swap and a Dana 44 swap.
Here are a few pictures of when the engine was in stock 10 years ago and what it is now.
Here’s the Dana 44, pedals, center console and transmission aperture frame.
First I started by deleting the start.
Next, I removed the C bar and drive shaft.
To drop the transmission, I built a bracket to keep it from dropping.
Since the engine must be lowered a lot to get all the transmission bolts loose, the distributor must be removed and the oil pressure sensor must also be removed.
Awesome! Looks like things are going smooth so far.
I started a ZF6 and D44 swap myself last year and am pretty much ready to install the ZF6. I bought a house in October so that has been taking up all of my time lately =/
Next, I started removing the rear end.
When removing the spring, it is worth remembering how many shims there are between the brackets.
Next, disengage the drive shafts, (remember the release oil) followed by the control arms.
The jack makes it easy to lower the rear end to the floor.
Here's Dana 44 clean and Dana 36 just removed.
Next I opened Dana 44, the oil was very dirty.
Sealant glue is sometimes put in a little too much.
Gear ratio is original 3.07
Dana 44 cleaned and slightly polished.
Making an oil plug.
First a hole in the lowest point, then a hole of the right size, then making threads and a little sealing silicone in the oil plug followed by a little tightening.
Exchange of urethane bushings for batwing using a press.
It looks like you're running the 3.07 gears. With the ZF6 you have a 1st gear ratio of 2.66. The autos are 3.04 for their first gear ratio. The 6th gear is .5 O/D. So with 3.07s starting off in first will feel like you're starting off in 2nd and in 6th gear you'll be somewhere around 1100-1200 RPM doing 65. I feel the ZFs went too low (numerically) of a gear in 1st. You may want to consider changing that gear to a 3.33 or higher. My 92 has 3.45s and I run 1600 RPM doing 65 and that is barely enough RPMs for that speed. With 3.07s you may have a 200 MPH top speed.
I believe that since you had the 3.07 it's reason enough to do the build with it. It's likely not 'ideal' BUT with it in the car and driving you can determine a direction/ratio you might feel optimal. With yours in the car you can shop for a completed build of a desired ratio. The 3.07 is an often thought ideal for an A4 so you can offer a 'drive' to confirm it's silence and operation. That should add I believe value. I might have confirmed a 'pattern' before sealing it but it is what it is.
I noticed you had replaced a pretty big piece of cardan shaft tunnel? Personally, I thought of making only a hole the size of a frame.
I bought a fiberglass panel from ACI, I was shocked to find out they still make them. I decided to use the panel in its entirety as it is a slightly different contour from the pre 89 C4s to accommodate the ZF6. I am sure the transmission will fit fine without the extra clearance but I wanted as much room as possible.
I bought a fiberglass panel from ACI, I was shocked to find out they still make them. I decided to use the panel in its entirety as it is a slightly different contour from the pre 89 C4s to accommodate the ZF6. I am sure the transmission will fit fine without the extra clearance but I wanted as much room as possible.
I was under a bit of a time crunch when I did this. I had just bought a house at the time and had less than 2 weeks to get my C4 back to a rolling chassis to trailer it over.
If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have cut down so close to the floor, it was a bit of a pain getting the panel to line up again while I was glassing it in. I used fiberglass to metal epoxy to bond the panel to the rear steel floor pan and also the remains of the automatic transmission shifter brace up front. I finished it off with some tan seam sealer similar to what the factory used.
I am definitely not a body guy so I am sure there are plenty of people who would have done this differently/better.
It looks like you're running the 3.07 gears. With the ZF6 you have a 1st gear ratio of 2.66. The autos are 3.04 for their first gear ratio. The 6th gear is .5 O/D. So with 3.07s starting off in first will feel like you're starting off in 2nd and in 6th gear you'll be somewhere around 1100-1200 RPM doing 65. I feel the ZFs went too low (numerically) of a gear in 1st. You may want to consider changing that gear to a 3.33 or higher. My 92 has 3.45s and I run 1600 RPM doing 65 and that is barely enough RPMs for that speed. With 3.07s you may have a 200 MPH top speed.
I am aware of this as well and I intend to change it to a bigger one in the future. But I drive first with this 3.07 because I still have a lot to do and want the car back to driving. I also need to install Megasquirt which takes a lot more time. Thanks a lot for the tip anyway.
Originally Posted by WVZR-1
The D36 you removed is what ratio?
It was the original gears 2.59
Originally Posted by ACMX92
I bought a fiberglass panel from ACI, I was shocked to find out they still make them. I decided to use the panel in its entirety as it is a slightly different contour from the pre 89 C4s to accommodate the ZF6. I am sure the transmission will fit fine without the extra clearance but I wanted as much room as possible.
Thanks for the pictures, I still have this work to do.
Next I start installing the pedals, it seems to be a really tricky job.
Good post. I have the 44 laying in the garage, waiting on install.Its been there almost 2 years now. Waiting in spring.Any advice on swapping out all the bnushing back there. Best of luck with your swap.
Lord God clutch pedal installation was difficult !!
But after about 5 hours of work, it worked.
A lot of parts had to be removed to get the clutch pedal installed in the right place.
Is your power brake booster installed all the way? On my 92 6 speed I replaced my pb with a new one. It didn't clear the clutch master cylinder. I looked up original pb from parts cars and there is a different one between auto and manual cars. So the PB is slightly smaller on manual cars. I found a used one from a 92 and it cleared the mc where the new one didn't.
Yes, my brake booster is in the right place.
I haven't touched on it at all.
Of course, I don’t know if it’s original or if it was ever replaced by someone.
I ended up modifying the automatic brake pedal anyway. Changing it seemed to be way too hard work for me.
What a ride when done!
My 86 L98 Project Procharger P600B, Dana 44 swap, ZF swap, Megasquirt
