It was running great, never had a problem with it before, and then all of a sudden it started to smoke and quit moving. After limping off the highway, from what my customer could see, all of the automatic transmission fluid was gone. Transmissions can’t smoke like an engine, but when a transmission dumps three or four quarts of fluid on the red hot exhaust pipe, it smokes and can even catch fire. It also spreads all over the bottom and back of the vehicle. With that in mind, it is time to call AAA or a tow truck and have your vehicle towed to a competent transmission shop for a diagnosis.

Let’s say it is a 1999 Ford F-350 pick up truck with the 7.3L diesel engine and a 4R100 automatic transmission that you were using. The 4R100 is a Ford transmission and is known for puking automatic transmission fluid out the front pump seal when it’s working hard in the hot weather. Simply put, the cooling system is the enemy in this situation. This article is not about cooling system repairs or updates, though, which is the remedy for the front pump leakage problem, but it is about choices.

When a transmission dumps the fluid in an unceremonious manner all over the road, it means that the front pump seal went south and no longer is ‘holding fluid’. This is because the transmission loses most of its cooling ability under heavy loads and eventually, usually at the wrong time, the seal starts to leak transmission fluid just like a screen-door in a submarine would leak water. The problem is fixable with a good update kit and some added cooling.

The transmission has to be removed to fix a front pump leak and then the transmission shop has to remove the transmission to fix the leak as well as inspect the transmission for damage. There is a good chance that the transmission has some significant wear in it, or enough wear to justify a remanufactured transmission. With that in mind, depending on how much wear and what is worn, a decision has to be made on how you want to fix your truck. You can fix the current transmission, buy a used transmission or have a rebuilt transmission installed in the vehicle. Everything depends on what your plans for the vehicle are. My advice is don’t cheat here by buying the cheapest transmission available.

My recommendation will revolve around the fact that most of the time this happens when: A) It is a work truck carrying lots of weight B) The fluid is damaged from getting too hot all the time, taking the elasticity out of the front seal C) The pump failed. It is made of aluminum, which is a soft element.The bottom line is that, if you do nothing other than regular errands and drive in a normal manner, at least make sure you buy a rebuilt transmission that is built not to overheat under heavy load conditions. If this is a commercial vehicle, which is usually overloaded with just the tools and equipment on the truck, it is time to get serious. Also, the pumps we use in our shop were rebuilt with a metal sleeve where the gears wear the aluminum pump body, thus preventing a repeat situation.

Getting serious involves purchasing a rebuilt transmission with the most effective update kit installed and add a couple of external auxiliary transmission coolers to the transmission cooling system. Finally, request full synthetic automatic transmission fluid as a refill. Synthetic transmission fluid is like an added plus. It allows your rebuilt transmission to last its longest and function at its best. Don’t forget to ask about the warranty because it is usually a good indicator of how much confidence the transmission supplier has in his merchandise. Meaning, a short-term one year warranty does not mean much when you can get a long- term three or five year guarantee on it.

Which Transmission Suits my Needs? is a post from: The Best Performance Car News and Tips, Air Intake Systems, Mufflers & Tips

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• How to Install a Rebuilt Car Engine.
• Dana 30 Axle Information

There’s not too many people with the time, skills, place, and tools to swap out an original engine for a re-manufactured gem. The lucky ones who do, though, can take pride and save lots of money by doing it themselves. Read on to find out how.

Think about this as a reason to swap an engine out. Many times the rebuilt engine is actually more reliable than the original that came with the car. Improvements are always being made by manufacturers and, with time, they upgrade the parts. The used engine will have those upgrades built in.

Whether you call it rebuilt, used, re-manufactured, or recycled – it’s yours to tune, tweak, and squeeze more horses out of. Make it as fast and smooth as your talents allow.

I’ve got to tell you, this whole “cash for clunkers” thing kind of irritates me. It’s supposed to be a way to help the environment. But if you ask me, changing out your old engine makes more sense and saves money. Haven’t they been telling us it’s very important to recycle? That will help the environment more by keep more cars on the road to get people to work.

So let’s go over how it’s done by both professinal and amateurs alike. Used engines are sold as longblock assemblies. The engine block, cylinder heads, and all the internal components are there.

Here’s a pre-installation checklist that will help save you a lot of grief.

Check the engine for damage before letting the delivery guy go. Make sure you got the right longblock assembly by comparing it with the engine you’re replacing. See if there are any change over parts from the old engine to the rebuilt engine. Inspect the timing components and replace if they are over the manufacturer’s mileage recommendation. Replace any leaking or brittle gaskets.

1. Flush cooling system prior to installing engine to remove any debris left over the the previous engine. 2. Clean or replace oil strainer and pick screen. 3. Replace oil pan gasket and rear main seal. 4. Drain and replace engine oils to manufacturers suggested levels. 5. Replace the oil filter. 6. Timing belts, water pump, thermostat, spark plugs, fluids and seals are routine maintenance items and should be replaced at the time of installation and at the vehicle manufacturers recommended service intervals. 7. Replace any water hoses or vacuum lines that need replacing. 8. Prior to starting engine prime oils system and check to be sure you have oil pressure. 9. Proper operation of the cooling and electrical system must be checked during the installation of products that can be affected by those systems. 10. Replace valve cover gasket as needed. 11. Install new belts and hoses.

Get this right and that old friend of yours will give you years of service and pride in having done it yourself.

How to Install a Rebuilt Car Engine. is a post from: The Best Performance Car News and Tips, Air Intake Systems, Mufflers & Tips

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• Which Transmission Suits my Needs?
• When is a Used engine the Right Option?
• The 5 Car Maintenance Mistakes That End Up Costing A Fortune
• Rebuilt Engines Rebuild Classic Cars
• Dana 30 Axle Information

Dana 30 ring and pinion gears are the internal parts of a Dana 30 axle. They consist of a ring and pinion gear set that meshes together and a second set of gears called side and spider gears.

Despite there being many gears inside of an axle (six to be exact), when one refers to Dana 30 gears, they are referring to the ring and pinion gears and generally not side and spider gears.

Dana 30 gears are available in many ratios. The standard rotation models can range from 2.72 to 5.38 and from 2.73 to 4.56 on reverse rotation axles.

What do these numbers mean? These numbers indicate the number of rotations the pinion gear must make to turn the ring gear exactly one complete rotation — no more, no less. This is calculated by taking the number of teeth on the ring gear and dividing by the number of teeth on the pinion gear.

For example, consider the popular Dana 30 gear ratio of 4.10. Simply by looking at this number (no calculations necessary at this point), we know that the pinion gear must rotate 4.10 times to rotate the ring gear exactly one time. In a Dana 30 4.10 gear ratio, there will be 41 teeth on the ring gear and 10 teeth on the pinion gear. 41 divided by 10 equals 4.10 (41/10=4.10) and thus you have a 4.10 ratio. In “gear talk” you would say that you have a “Dana 30 with four-ten gears”.

Dana 30 ring and pinion gears come in a variety of ratios and knowing your vehicle’s needs will be very beneficial when choosing a gear set. It’s important to understand that numerically higher ratios mean your engine must run at higher RPMs to turn the wheels. The same logic can be applied to numerically lower ratios in that they let your engine run at lower RPMs to turn the wheels.

Now that you know how Dana 30 ratio is calculated you’ll be able to choose a Dana 30 gear set best suited for your driving preferences whether they be for highway driving, off-roading, or anything in between.

Dana 30 Axle Information is a post from: The Best Performance Car News and Tips, Air Intake Systems, Mufflers & Tips

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