I get my car back in 10 days from the paint/body guy. I will get some pics up. Anyway the lingering thing I have is a trans leak coming from the inspection plate. Likely the front seal. So I figure if I am going to put in a new seal and take the tranny out, it makes sense to look at replacing the torque converter. I have done all the normal upgrades on my 302/C4 auto: HEI, 4 barrel, dual exhaust, headers, performance cam, performance maifold, electric fuel pump etc.... So what exactly is a stall converter vs. a torque converter. What will it do or not do for me? What type is recommended? Thanks in advance
Someone correct me if I am wrong. As far as I know a torque converter is a torque converter, and you select one with a stall speed that's best for your car depending on what engine and what modifications it has done to it. I'd venture a guess and say you should get one with a stall around 2000-2500. I believe a factory converter stalls around 1600-1800. The higher stall speed combined with your mods will give you greater acceleration, I don't know what the other pros and cons are.
First, a "stall converter" is a torque converter. It just has a higher stall speed that lets your engine get into the torque range of your engine before your car has to move. Next, you have increased the torque and HP in your engine, what have you done to your C4 to make it able to handle the added HP? More clutch plates? Increased line pressure? Modified shift timing? If you haven't done something already then BEFORE you add a higher stall speed converter you need to make your C4 able to take the added torque that it will generate. How much torque does the C4 have to take? The converter will double the torque that the engine produces and pass it into the transmission. The forward clutch has 2,3,4 or 5 plates depending on its application. The 200 cu" six has four, the 302 has 5. The high clutch has 2,3,4 with the C4 for the 302 having 4 from the factory. This configuration will handle torque in the range of 300 ft lbs. If you have an engine that produces 320 ft lbs of torque at 3000 and you use a 3000 rpm stall converter then your transmission has to take 640 ft lbs of torque. You will need to add an extra clutch to the forward pack and two to the high pack. You will need to increase the line pressure by about 20% and reduce the overlap of the shifts to minimums. You will have to speed the shifts up to keep slippage to a minimum as well. You may want to add a slightly later shift and increase wide open throttle shift points to match your engine's peak power. Broader Performance can supply you with a transmission already to bolt in or the parts you need to rebuild yours. If you were in the greater Puget Sound Area of Western Washington state I could build yours for about $800. (you supply torque converter)
if you have to do all this to a C4 to get it to work behind an (almost stock 302) you could just put a ...stock AOD...in and ride... ...Frank...:Handshake ILMAOD
Frank, I know that you like to discuss the topic of AOD vs C4 but with a performance cam, intake and headers you could easily get 350 HP from this (nearly stock) 302. Even the 93 AODs (the best Ford made) would not stand up to that power in stock form. To get an AOD that would take the same HP as the C4 (as described) you would have to spend between $1600 and $2400 to make the mods required. But then you already know that - as we have discussed this before. I will gladly build either one - a C4 or an AOD to accept up to 400 HP. The C4 will always cost between 1/3 to 1/2 of what the AOD will. There are a lot more hard parts that need to be replaced or modified to take the same power that a C4 with a feww mods will take. The profit on either one is the same - the difference in price is all in the parts.
