3 torqueflite questions...

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Moparbaker

Moparbaker

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I've just put a A500 ("904 with overdrive") in my old ride & wonder:

1: If anybody know how to connect the 3 overdrive wires? There's a blue one in the middle, a orange with black stripe on one side & another orange with purple (or blue?) stripe on the other side.

2: I also wonder about the oil capacity in a A500? It seems to require more than a normal 904.

3: Vibrations... The gearbox & engine used to be in the same car but has been appart between the cars & now there's a vibration, so I wonder if the flex plate & converter should be mounted at a certain possition & if that's marked?
It's pretty hard to see now that it's all in the car, looking up behing the engine's oil pan, but I'll give it a try if so...

/Nox.
 
middle wire is ground, one is od, one is lockup google around or check your manual- how do you plan on controlling your od/ lockup do you have the engines computer- that would be easy
yes a-500 uses more oil and only use atf 4+ no dexron and especially no trick **** or type F or you will be buying a new converter and plugging up your cooler- which will destroy complete geartrain in trans and od
run big 1/2 lines to your big 1/2 in-1/2in out cooler - you can find good coolers in Ford trucks/ vans
early to 94 A 500 used 22 degree helix on planataries and insufficient oil will fry the thrust washers- which, when they fail, OD goes boom
on early trans kick out of od going up big hills or towing
later trans used 15 degrees- you can install later parts but shaft has to be correct years as the planateries as size changes by a small amount

early gears will not slide on late shaft but late gears are sloppy fit on early shaft and will strip the hubs and make more small pieces
which engine 318?
i
 
Yeah, I fugured these things out but the question is how to know the one that's the o.d. one?
(& I'm gonna use a separate switch & nope, no computer.)

& as for cooler & such, a Ford truck one is actually what I have, nice-priced from the scrapyard & in mint condition too! :)

When I google I can only find 904 oil capacity but nothing about the A500... :(

& what about eventual matching of flexplate & converter?
 
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Took a while to find thou, seems it's 10,1... double as a 904!

So it's down to the different orange wires & the question about if the flexplate & converter are supposed to be in ballance...?
 
Make sure the sparkplug cables are on correct and is not the reason for the vibration.

As for the OD/LU plug;
- Center is GROUND
- Front most pin is OD
- Rear most pin is Lockup

img3.jpg
 
Moparbaker said:
I've just put a A500 ("904 with overdrive") in my old ride & wonder:

1: If anybody know how to connect the 3 overdrive wires? There's a blue one in the middle, a orange with black stripe on one side & another orange with purple (or blue?) stripe on the other side.

2: I also wonder about the oil capacity in a A500? It seems to require more than a normal 904.

3: Vibrations... The gearbox & engine used to be in the same car but has been appart between the cars & now there's a vibration, so I wonder if the flex plate & converter should be mounted at a certain possition & if that's marked?
It's pretty hard to see now that it's all in the car, looking up behing the engine's oil pan, but I'll give it a try if so...

/Nox.
Click to expand...

I think mine was 13 with the converter empty.
If the converter had an orientation to the flex plate all 4 bolt holes wouldn't line up except where it belonged, but since the flex plate is balanced and the converter isn't on the RH then it doesn't matter where it bolts up.
BUT if you used the 42RH converter with a non balanced flex plate like the 318 has you would have balance issue's.

Center pin is ignition switched 12v and grounding the other two pins engages OD and lockup.
Some set the two outer pins up on a switch that grounds them when they want them engaged, but then they also have to be disengaged (switched off) manually.

OD can only come on after 3rd gear is already engaged, so if the switch for OD was left on the trans would only come out of overdrive when it downshifted out of third.
It would also immediately shift into overdrive as soon as it shifted into third when upshifting.

If the lockup switch wasn't turned off manually it would act like you didn't push the clutch when coming to a stop and kill the engine.

A couple of us have set these up to shift fully automatically with pressure switches to engage and disengage OD and lockup depending on speed of the vehicle, and that works pretty well.
One can also buy aftermarket shift computers for them.

42RH.jpg
 
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sorry- I had ground in the middle- WRONG
I have a centrifugal switch in the spedo cable (I use the one found in 73 400 used to control the EGR but there are others)
I use this to control relays for electric fan but it could be used to disconnect OD and lockup when coming to a stop
others use the brake light switch
Factory has the converter unlock during shifts
early 85 converters unlocked when throttle was closed (switch on carb)
I do not like coasting unlocked cus I tow and you get less compression braking
anyway you do not want to go slow or stop with the converter locked
there are several relay kits available- do some research
 
Alright! So if I understand it right the middle is + from ignition key & the front (o.d.) & rear (Lockup) ones could be connected to switches that are grounded at the other end?
 
Moparbaker said:
Alright! So if I understand it right the middle is + from ignition key & the front (o.d.) & rear (Lockup) ones could be connected to switches that are grounded at the other end?
Click to expand...

Yes, that would be the simplistic way of doing it.
They are pretty fun to play with like that because you can engage lockup at any speed and in any gear and OD after the trans is in 3rd.
That was where my comment about idling on the cam at 45mph came from.

Before I set up all the stuff for it to shift OD and lockup completely automatic I played around with it completely manual for a day.
 
Since the rest of life takes time too I didn't get to work under the car until this evening, exept lifting it up & removing the plate at the front of the bellhousing - that I had already done before.
Now then... got the 4 bolts out & turned the engine & then the converter to look for mark & there's a mark on the converter that looks more like any ol' mark from whatever tool anyway... So after turning the engine & not seeing any mark on the flexplate I tought I just bolt it back turned one step, but "no way Jose'" & after turning the converter all 4 ways I found out that it does only bolt in proper one way!
Both engine & gearbox comes from the same -89 van we had some years ago.
 
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