My 2800 stall has great manners in traffic. Sometimes I wish I went with a little more stall and a hairier cam.

 

DAMN!!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!! the only thing i was kind of worried about was drivability. but that's behind me now. i'm installing a dana 44 and getting rid of the 36. that'll definitely hold up the power and that kind of stall, right?

95NOSvette:

do you have a website for Edge or phone number? or both? i've pretty well made my decision on which tranny to get. i'm gonna go with the street/strip 700-r4 from Pro-Built. all i hear is good things, and it'll handle the power i'm gonna make.

Thanks again for everything!!! there will definitely be more questions soon.

 

No problem.... 1-888-350-EDGE ...... www.edgeracingConverters.com Make sure to ask for Andre, he'll set you up with exactly what your looking for....you won't find many guys that have any more converter knowledge........same goes for Dana (and his transmission knowledge) over at pro-built automatics where your getting your tranny from.......and yea, a dana 44 set up right will hold the power pretty easily...heck my 36 properly set-up (now with cryro'd 3.73 gears) has been putting up with high 11's for over 6 years and now almost cracking the 10's (just a couple tenths away).... if your doing a gear swap on it, have it done by a place that specializes in it(not dabbles in it), and follow the 300-500 mile break-in period(no hard launches during this time or long drives over 55 MPH) and make sure to drain and refill the fluid with synthetic (like mobil one gear lube) and 2 bottles of the GM friction moddifier after the 300-500 mile break-in.....alot of guys don't realize that during the break-in period after a new ring and pinion , and with the new heavily preloaded bearings, the excessive heat during this innitial break-in will almost completely destroy the filmstrength of your lube and friction modifier, IMO, this is a big reason why peoples dana 36's go prematurely after a gear swap(among other improper installation reasons).....Iv'e also seen many dana 44's blow up under way less power than they should have because of some of these issues ...before you put your rearend in, it's also a good idea to drill a small hole and tap it for a 1/4in allen head drain plug to make the draining and refilling much easier........let us know how it all works out.....Joe

 

hi again Joe! i have a question about this break-in period. the dana 44 i bought is a stock 3.07 out of an '88 or '89. would i still have to follow this break-in method since it was out of a running car and i'm not changing the gears? only reason why i ask is because i don't want to have to replace it again. thanks again!!!

Arthur

 

Someone should make some of the responses here part of a tech "sticky", I think, such as johnnye, 95, etc.

I don't have an auto, but I've always been interested in how they get "beefed". These are some of the best explanations for trans, torque converters and even rear ends.

Good going, guys.

 

with that! until now, i never knew auto tranny's could be worked like this. and i have to say that everyone that has responded are some of the nicest and most knowledgable people i have ever seen!

thanks guys!!!

 

...... with the rear you purchased you don't need to do any of the break-in stuff I mentioned......It's strictly for a aftermarket gear swap during the first 300-500 miles of use.....For yours, I would just use some mobil one synthetic gear lube(or another highend synthetic) and 2 (not 1), 4oz bottles of the GM friction modifier and you'll be good to go......then replace it with the same stuff after around 30-50 thou miles

 

very cool. sounds like a plan. i got the gear oil and the friction moddifier from mid-america. it's the gm stuff as far as i know. will that work or is the mobil-1 oil better? and also, what's the weight of the oil?

 

To be honest with ya, the synthetic gear lube(just like synthetic motor oil) is litteraly hundreds of times better than regular mineral based oils and lubes......the consistancy and the film strength just dosen't break down near as easy on the synthetic stuff......the weight for the mobil one I like for the rear axle is 75/140.......Im sure that the other GM stuff you got from Mid-america would be fine but I'd use the synthetic for the added protection

 

Hi again Joe! i just went out today and got the Mobil-1 75-140 gear oil. i didn't realize it was for light trucks and SUV's...but it made sense. that oil is designed to take more abuse. i'm ready to get the dana together and i'll probably do that tomorrow or the next day depending on my schedule. but i have 2 bottles of the friction modifier also, so i'm pretty well set! i'll be putting up another post soon with more questions and such, so be on the lookout! thanks again for everything guys!!!

 

95NOSvette:

I thought of another question. how many ounces of the Mobil-1 75-140 gets thrown into the dana 44? the gm bottles i have are 23 ounces each, so that would be 23x3=69 ounces plus the 2 bottles (4oz each) of the friction moddifier - 77oz total. how much straight up oil did you put in? thanks again!

 

To be honest, I never pay attention(trusted ) the exact OZ fill requirements of "any" rear axles......I always (for the DANA 36 and 44's) just put 2 bottles of friction modifier in first, then I add the gear lube untill it just starts to flow from the hole.....this all being done with the rear end as level as you can have it This way you cant go wrong if one of the books has a missprint....for example my chiltons book says that an LT1 engine(not the ZR1 or anything) but the "LT1" takes 8 US quarts of oil Nice huh LOL

 

which hole are you speaking of? and how would you have the dana 44 situated? i was just going to put the 2 bottles of the friction moddifier in, and then i have 3 32oz bottles of the mobil-1 75/140. i was just going to take all of it and throw it in and call it a day. i mean, is too much oil in the rear end a bad thing as long as it's not completely full to the top? i probably sound really silly right now...

 

 

Great thread, great info!
My two cents:
I run a 10" Coan.
My 60 times can be as low as 1.5x
2200 stall because my 383 (388.x) is a low end torque monster.

I've been told that stall speed will be different depending on HP thrown at it.
For instance, a 2200 stall may have a 2100 real stall behind a 250 hp motor. The same stall will have a different "Flash" point behind a 700 hp motor, say around 3000+ rpm.
I'm not a tranny builder, but the guy I use explained all this to me in technical terms and seems to make sense.
Building torque converters in not an exact science as they will react differently behind two different motors.

One other note.
There is NO WAY I can hook on street tires.
When using DR's as my street tire I can punch it at 20 mph and light em up. Off the line is a joke.
With slicks I pull the wheels up.

Comments on my tC comment are welcome as I always learn from these things.

Matt383

 

hi matt! i have a question. what slicks are you running, and how have you not detonated your dana 44 yet while running them? is it cryo-treated, or can the dana 44 handle that kind of stress? the dana 44 i'm swapping in is a stock 3.07 our of an '88 or '89 (i forgot which year). thanks!

 

I run Hoosier 28" tall 10 x 15

D44 is a regular unit. 3:73 gears.
Half shafts and drive shaft custom made steel.
I've blown up the gear set a couple times.
I just replace and move on.
I should look into Cryo and or a spool.

Matt383

 

Hi Matt. so you HAVE detonated gears before. i was curious as to how the dana 44 was surviving all of that abuse. now here's a different question. does a spool make the rear end a locking differential? if not, now much are they? thanks!

 

That, my man is a question for Ski_dwn_it
(I hope I spelled that right)..

Anyway, he has a spool and when I blow this one (mine lasts about 2 1/2 years) I will contact him myself.

Face it, the more HP, the more stuff breaks. Get used to it.

Matt383