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straight 3L...trans upgrades...

straight 3L...trans upgrades...

  • i blew my stock diff, i'd do the torsen

    Votes: 7 87.5%

  • i run a stock diff, i'd stick with the stock trans and diff

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • Total voters
    8
T

troll96se

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Mar 9, 2003
Messages
747
Location
oneonta ny
i'm planning on doing a motor swap may 4th/5th with a fellow ny ceger. it will be tuned/headers/ypipe/npg adaptor/poly inserts and bushings,luk clutch,resurfaced lightened oem flywheel, and possibly a catback. thats the easy stuff. what i'm hung up on is what to do with the transmission. i have an opp to buy his HMS built tranny w/torsen and zetec fdr and put that in at the same time. now, my financially irresponsible side says "just go with it, cant take the money with you when you die!!!" and the other half of me(the cheap half) says run the stock diff, afterall i don't drag race, either legally or from light to light, i dont think i've EVER shifted hard or burned out any car and i have no plans for autoX. i've read the stories of diffs exploding with stock hard driven 2.5's and i've read stories of people running stock diffs on boosted 2.5's and 3L's with no issues, this really confuses me.
sorry for the rambling, i'm just looking for some advice.
 
iv dragged and abused the stock dif with no problems. though with a torsen ou will have much better grip, less wheel hop, and more tranction around corners (less understeer).

id get one, but i dont have one
 
I ran my 3L svt with a stock diff for over a year without any problems but I am like you....I don't drive it hard. I have heard that the newer diff are more prone to breaking than the earlier ones. When I did my 3L I didn't have the money to upgrade my tranny but if I did I probably would have. So if your financially good I say buy it if it's for the right price.
 
if you dont want to spend the money on the HMS trans buy a used pre98 diff and put that in the trans. then you dont have to worry about the diff and you saved the money.
 
i'm also thinking about it for fuel savings, the lower numerical zetec fdr should in theory make for better mpgs as well as make 1st gear useful again.
 
i ran a stock diff on a boosted 2.5 without issue. Like you, i didnt drive it hard. However, when I did the 3L i installed a HMS trans and it does make a noticable difference in grip. But, the biggest benefit, peace of mind. So, with that said, if you have the $$ and the price is right, I would do it....you won't have much to worry about then.
 
Absolutely do it! I didn't get an HMS trans but I did have a Focus FD and a Torsen installed. I don't plan on abusing the car but like others have said the grip is pretty impressive with the Torsen diff. The FD helps with the different torque curve of the 3L and drops your rpms when cruising so it's a good match for the 3L. You are already doing all the bolt on engine mods so in my opinion it makes a lot of sense to get the transmission taken care of at the same time. I spent a little more on the swap than I wanted to and could have skipped the FD and diff, but now that's it's done I don't regret it at all.
 
troll96se said:
i'm also thinking about it for fuel savings, the lower numerical zetec fdr should in theory make for better mpgs as well as make 1st gear useful again.
Click to expand...

Negligable...... your foot into the pedal will control your MPGs more than the final drive will.



On your topic, it really is a gut feeling to choose which way you want to go on the trans. We have seen all the scenarios here but if you have the HMS with diff and final drive available, maybe go with that.
 
Would you regret buying the HMS trans if you did and didn't notice a difference? Or would you kick yourself if you didn't and something happened to your stock diff?

Just do it. It's worth it. The torsen will make driving fast through curves more enjoyable and give you a better feeling of control.
 
dairdevyld said:
Would you regret buying the HMS trans if you did and didn't notice a difference? Or would you kick yourself if you didn't and something happened to your stock diff?

Just do it. It's worth it. The torsen will make driving fast through curves more enjoyable and give you a better feeling of control.
Click to expand...

Would I regret spending $1500 on something that i didn't notice improving something....would you? Yeah I would
 
1500 sounds pretty reasonable for a built trans. Does the HMS trans come with the modded shift tower? If it does that's another reason to consider it.
 
This is a reciept for a "built" HMS trans. Just so people have an idea of what they go for. If you went without the Coated Kogbox, Slick Shift kit, and didn't need a replacement trans, I think it would be close to $1500 depending on parts needed.

hmsreceipt15ek.jpg

hmsreceipt25zq.jpg
 

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Chris, I hope you don't mind me throwing in some info on the trans for those interested... If you don't mind I can throw out more info regarding the swap, not sure if you care or not.

Here are the build specs of the trans... I'd have to look but IIRC it has 5-6k miles on it since coming back from Terry.
Torsen Differential, New 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear blocker rings (1st and 2nd weren't really needed but done per my request, 3rd was at ~50%), Keyed Tower Mod ("Focus" tower) and all new bearings, seals, etc. I opted not to have the slick shift mod or the Koated Kogbox done.
 
99Mystique ATX said:
Chris, I hope you don't mind me throwing in some info on the trans for those interested... If you don't mind I can throw out more info regarding the swap, not sure if you care or not.

Here are the build specs of the trans... I'd have to look but IIRC it has 5-6k miles on it since coming back from Terry.
Torsen Differential, New 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear blocker rings (1st and 2nd weren't really needed but done per my request, 3rd was at ~50%), Keyed Tower Mod ("Focus" tower) and all new bearings, seals, etc. I opted not to have the slick shift mod or the Koated Kogbox done.
Click to expand...

No zetec FD? Either way that's a solid deal for 1500.
 
Sweet deal, and 5-6k miles only. At the time I was doing my 3L swap if I had an option like this I don't think I would have hesitated if I could work it in to the budget. I would assume just the parts alone are worth close to 1500 and if you figure in labor to have the work done then the value just goes up. If you pick up this trans you could sell the one you have right? That would help offset some of the cost. If you can make it happen I don't think you'll regret it.
 
RFcsvt said:
If you pick up this trans you could sell the one you have right? That would help offset some of the cost.
Click to expand...

So the deal is this, I'm going to be putting my SVT completely back to stock to sell (or maybe I'll just drive it daily if I don't find a buyer) and will then be building up the Vortech Cougar. We're going to be putting my 3L in Chris's car and I will be putting his 2.5L engine in my SVT. My Cougar has 80k miles on it with the Vortech and the clutch grabs just off the floor so I'm guessing the trans is going to need a rebuild or at least be opened up so I can replace the differential. My thought was that if Chris wanted my HMS trans, I'd just put his old trans in my SVT and I would have the one out of the Cougar sent to TH to be built up (since it needs it anyways)... The Cougar isn't my DD and having it under the knife for a few more weeks isn't a problem at all. That $1500 is basically for the whole swap too so I think it's a pretty good deal for both of us.
 
Absolutely a good deal. If the cash is available do it just like you said. That trans is a good match for a 3L, which I'm sure you are well aware of.
 
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