AXOD-E to AX4N - Possible?

[joesho_gb]

Just wondering if it's possible to swap an AXOD-E (95 ATX) to a AX4N (Gen 3 ATX) transmission?

I know the gear ratios are the same, but I don't know if the bolt pattern would match, or anything else. Has anyone else tried this or researched this?

 

[joesho_gb]

Sweet. It's going on a lift tomorrow for some work, I'll check.

Thanks!

 

[LOUDSHO92]

Probably not. The Vulcan one is the only one that would bolt up but I do not think the electronics will mesh. Also I don't know if it would do much better.

 

[shonuffmine]

Joe ,disregard my last post i had it backwards!your car should have a ax4s, the ax4n works only on the duratec bolt pattern as the 3.4 was based on the duratec v6.They added 2 cylinders and made it a v8.As you already know the 3.2 is based on the vulcan architecture

 

[joesho_gb]

Damn. Ok, well then maybe you'll know the answer to this. My trans has 189k on it, and I noticed that it seems to kick going from first to second.
Not all the time, just after I start it after its been off for a few hours.

Then, when the engine / trans are cold, it feels like the trans is slipping in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Here's the weird part. After the motor warms up, if I shut the car off, then start it back up again (or going down the highway, ramping it), it locks right up and shifts normally. Sometimes it doesn't want to say in 4th, and seems like it gets stuck between 4th and 3rd, but you keep going. After a few minutes, it'll go back into 4th and work normally.

Trans fluid and filter were replaced about 4k ago.
It's the weirdest damn thing.

 

[rubydist]

Joe, it sounds like your trans is on its last legs. As the friction washers in the various clutch packs wear, eventually they start to slip. This initially appears as soft, slow shifts, as the engaging clutch pack takes longer to lock up. You might get it to last a few extra miles by adding some of that stuff that makes the oil less slippery, but its only temporary.

 

[shonuffmine]

^^^ x2

 

[hawkeye18]

Damn. Ok, well then maybe you'll know the answer to this. My trans has 189k on it, and I noticed that it seems to kick going from first to second.
Not all the time, just after I start it after its been off for a few hours.

Then, when the engine / trans are cold, it feels like the trans is slipping in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Here's the weird part. After the motor warms up, if I shut the car off, then start it back up again (or going down the highway, ramping it), it locks right up and shifts normally. Sometimes it doesn't want to say in 4th, and seems like it gets stuck between 4th and 3rd, but you keep going. After a few minutes, it'll go back into 4th and work normally.

Trans fluid and filter were replaced about 4k ago.
It's the weirdest damn thing.

There is absolutely nothing in what you described that is weird about a 190k mile old transmission. It's rebuild time for you.

They call them clutches for a reason; they wear out just like the clutch in an MTX.

 

[notbange]

Sure he's not just describing a torque converter clutch that doesn't lock up when it's cold? That would agree with the"works fine after it's been restarted" statement. My freshly rebuilt tranny does the first to second kick the first time it shifts after it's sat for a few hours, I just remember to go easy on the gas when I take off after I start her up.

 

[LOUDSHO92]

Rebuilt transmission and upgraded as well: SHO Source

 

[joesho_gb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXr7EoQQo18
Here, words are words, but a video can help. You can see when I feather the throttle prior to shutting it down, it doesn't lock. After I shut it off and restart it, it locks and goes.
When I get back up to 65, I started feathering the throttle again, and it shifted to 3rd once, but the rest of the time, I just stayed in 4th.

And sorry for the crappy quality, video from my BlackBerry isn't the best, and I had to watch what I was doing cause there are a lot of cops running around today lol

 

[rubydist]

It looks like the torque converter clutch was not locking up, which is not unusual in your part of the world in February.

 

[joesho_gb]

Thanks. Seeing how this is my first winter with the SHO, I just didn't know.
:thankyou:

 

[notbange]

Both of my ATXs have done the same thing, I was surprised that my new one does it in the mild winters that we have here in TN. If it's below 50 degrees or so, the car will take about 10 minutes of highway driving before the converter will lock up. Sometimes on colder days (like in the 20s) the converter will unlock for a minute or two after it has already warmed up and locked, I guess the fluid temp is dropping below its threshold. It is annoying, because the car has no balls when cruising at highway speeds until the converter locks up. I always thought my first car had a problem with the trans temp sensor, but my second one acts exactly the same as the first.

I've seen posts where people are recommending to cover up the external cooler with cardboard during cold months? I guess that would help it warm up, but what about once it's already warmed up and you're driving the **** out of it? I'm not going to stop and remove my cardboard. I guess if it's permanently cold during the winter months in your location that may be a good idea, but around here it'll be 20 one day and 70 the next.

 

[joesho_gb]

Well, I have the transmission bypassing the radiator and just running straight into the external cooler, so I'm sure that adds a few minutes to the warm up process.

And come to think of it, it didn't start doing the whole "non-lock" until it started getting really cold. Buying the car in October, I didn't have a whole lot of warm days to drive it before it started getting cold.

As for the cardboard, I'll keep it in mind, but probably won't do it. I'll forget its in there or something and blow up the car when it starts getting warm lol

 

[notbange]

I guess you may want to reconnect the radiator cooler; it may help with your cold problem. The way the coolers are connected in parallel on these cars, you probably could engineer a shut off of some sort if you wanted to not run it in the summer months.

 

[xshoel93x]

hmmm. this all seems weird but not so foreign to me. i THINK you may be having the same problem as me but slightly worse. in my 93atx the tranny will kick sometimes from 2-3 and 3-4, i havent noticed it do it when its cold/warm but i can feel it before its gonna happen so i let off the gas till it shifts. in your video is the bumping noise the kick noise?