So I'm getting about $1,000 for a tax return and it's going into the car. I was gonna rebuild the trans but I'm wondering if there are other things I can do to get more bang for my buck. The tranny only has a slight hesitation when you hit the gas. I was thinking get a trans-go shift kit. Then maybe like posi, definatly sub frame connectors...I can ask my brother in law to install the stuff, he's a ford mechanic.... The cars pretty stock as is. Got a aftermarket cat, stainless steel all the way back, flowmaster muffler and whatnot. Aftermarket coil, airfilter, plugs, wires, and cap and rotor.

Motor has 167k miles on it and so does the tranny. I was gonna get a probuilt automatics rebuild kit for the tranny and if that's the best route then I guess I'll do that.

The car is always going to be a v6, planning on going to a 3.4l and dowards turbo. It's also always going to be a automatic.

 

Seriously, I'd invest your money elsewhere!
IF tranny is good & moves, keep using it until it dies.
Motor is aged and that's that.
Rest is just small stuff.
ON YOUR WISH LIST
IF YOU LOVE YOUR CAR
I'd do the subframe connectors
Serious, rest of money, bank it.
Run car as is until it dies. Or a do an igntion upgrade/timing chain swap prject. Better return for your money & more effort but bigger gain to keep the aged mill running longer, until it dies.
AND that may cure the "hesitation". You out lay would be like $100 or so. Cooler, stronger running engine equals more gas milage & engine longevity until death!

 

Save it for the 25th of Feb

 

if it's going to be that inexpensive for a gp, then how much for adapters for a 3800?

 

The hesitation is in the tranny not the motor, the motor revs but it takes a sec for the tranny to catch...At least that's what it feels like...maybe I'm wrong. It's not a downshift hesitation either. I figured sfcs. Why not posi and whatnot? Hopefully I'll be getting a new job soon making more money and working more hours so I'll be able to bank more cash and get a 3.4, rebuild it correctly as it sits on a engine stand and put that in with a nice turbo on it. For now I wanted to add a few things to the 3.1 that I could put on the 3.4 when the time came, or would remain beneficial like posi, sfcs, maybe a wonderbar or something....

 

well, the wonderbar was the single best investment i've ever made.

personally i'd do a new timing chain, wonderbar, sfc's. and then maybe think about a few other suspenion upgrades.

if you can get a posi for cheap i would.


the biggest things on my list right now are finishing my new 2.8 and getting a good rear end and suspension setup.

3.42's with posi are a great combo

 

now I asked about 3.42's in the differential section and ede told me I wouldn't notice a difference with 3.42's since I have stock 3.23 I'm pretty sure. I can get 3.42's for $65 and the differential for $100 both used. I was wondering if torque sensing or just straight up posi would be better for the rear end?

 

When you say there is hesitation have you adjusted your TV cable at all? I would check into that before going and getting a new tranny. For some reason on mine sometimes it will downshift other times it will just hit 3k and nor move up at all so i have to put it into D or 2nd.

 

Ya know ya might be better off to invest that money into something more profitable.








































Like ****.

You though I was gonna say a V8, didn't you???

 

mine happens when I'll be cruising, I'll press the gas to gain a few mph or whatever and it'll take a second for the tranny to catch basically. My girlfriends brother said that it could just need to be flushed, the torque converter and tranny. The fluid in the tranny is new but he was sayin the torque converter probably nees to be flushed as well.

 

lol gumby.

I should invest it in bills or my winter car but that's no fun. I'd much rather invest in the firebird.

 

Though really if you really want to invest in the tranny and know its gonna last. Don't pay to rebuild it. Just buy "new". You can get nice new ones for around that price.

They just seam to have a better chance over having one rebuilt buy the local yocal.

 

nah the rebuild would be by my girls brother who's a ford master tech. He said he could do it, the main thing that makes me not want to do it is getting all the proper tools for the rebuild. Bushing driver sets and all that fun stuff.

 

Would a cam and rockers be worth the money on a basically stock motor? How difficult is it to change the timing chain? Is it something someone who doesn't have a lot of experiance would be able to do?

 

cam would be noticable, rockers you'll never notice unless you;ve done a thousand things to the motor and looking for .1 or .2 of a second.

timing chain is easy as long as you have the right tools, such as a harmonic balancer puller and installation tool (2 different tools)

 

I actually side with Karl; put $500 towards your credit cards or a CD or a money market fund (search morningstar.com for info on that kind of stuff)... pay yourself first! Then spend the left over $500 on something fun!

3.73's would be fun; new they're $200- $125 more than those used 3.42's you'd be getting. Do you have the right tools to install that kind of stuff?

Keep in mind, if you put a shift kit into a worn out trans, it'll wear the trans out even faster, you don't want the trans blowing up on you. But you do have a '91 trans, which is much more sturdy than pre-87 trannies, and your choice of the TransGo Shift Kit is much better than my choice of the B&M Shift Improver Kit! (When I rebuild my trans, the B&M's coming out and the TransGo's going in)

Cheap fun is a set of polyurethane end links... make it two sets, one set for the front and one for the rear. That'll firm the car up in the corners. Add the Energy Suspension torque arm bushing and you'll really carve the turns up!

 

I already have poly up front cause I kinda jumped the car a lil bit and the old rubber ones all kinds of broke. I've been looking more into the posi and I've found a 94 rear end, long bracket that goes from the tranny to the rear end, sway bar and links, 3.42 posi, disc brakes. Guy says it has everything BUT the ebrake cables....How much of a pain are those to get your hands on and replace? I don't really have a HUGE selection of tools. I got like 20 - 30 different sized sockets, metric and standard, my girlfriends dad has a crap load of tools that I could borrow if need be. The only thing with a new rear end is I would need new rims, then new tires on those rims unless 3rd gen rims fit on 4th gen axles.

 

Well if your Tranny is going..Forget about the Shift Kit.