Second "experimental" car. Love it. I agree with Bumpin, document everything you can with this journey. It's great reference for you AND great to share with others thinking of doing the same. Good luck, keep the updates flowing!

 

I dont know squat really about transmissions but heres my two cents.. Triple edge has a little more experience in this field. Im sure in the few runs Brandon furches has done with the monte its held up ok.. But what I think triple edge is saying is, "to be sure its reliable" it needs some upgrades. Furches seems like he can comfortably swap a trans should it fail whereas you probably dont want to have to do another swap.. You know what I mean.. Im sure youve thought this yourself but yea...

Really looking forward to see this start going and possibly following it myself in the future. Good luck.

 

Alright, I'm still waiting on funds for an engine hoist and junkyard parts, but I did get confirmation on two things.

1. I hit up TEP again and asked if a 4l80e converter is compatible with a 4t80e, as they sell the 4l80e converters. This was their response:
"Thanks for your inquiry. We have had a few custom converters built before for similar swaps. Precision Industries has the correct info and specs to set up a converter that will fit as there is a combination of things that all have to play together to fit the 4T80E and a 3800. A 4L80E torque converter is a completely different style and won't interchange with a front wheel drive transmission.
David Norris"
So later on down the line, when I get the tranny swap, turbo kit, and possibly a cam dialed in, I'll be contacting Precision for a converter. The 4t80e converters can be purchased from this page. They offer single disk (825$), and triple disk (1,025$) converters. I think I'd definately go for the triple disk converter right off the bat, unless theres some downside to it I don't know about, possibly for street driving. They offer those converters in 2800, 3200, 3600, and 4000 stall.

2. The two different axle situation. Ben, from Turbo Dynamics, said in the last post on this thread that he needed to use the drivers side axle from an Aurora, and a passenger side axle from a 94-05 Cadillac Deville. So, I'll be pulling the 3.48 FDR 4t80e, torque converter, and driver side axle all from hopeully the same Aurora.

 

Small Update:
Engine crane was purchased, and assembled. I'll be taking a trip to the junkyard this sunday.

 

Boy do I have a story to tell on pulling that trans. So, I initially wanted to pull it and bring it home on Sunday, the 3rd. I spent from 9am-5pm working on it, and basically all I achieved was dropping the engine, trans, and subframe as one assembly. Then moving some things like water lines, brake lines, and the steering rack out of the way. I went back yesterday, the 8th, and managed to seperate the engine and trans from the subframe. Then, I spent a good 10 minutes pushing an A Frame hoist from the middle of the yard, over to where the Aurora was, which is literally the farthest I can get from the entrance. (a tip for anyone trying this themselves: bring at least one friend who lifts) Pulling the engine and trans out together was pretty easy after removing the brake master and ABS. But once I set them down on the ground, what do ya know, it's time to leave. Which brings me to today. I got to the yard and it only took me about an hour to remove the front exhaust manifold, remove the four torque converter bolts, and seperate the transmission. Then I used the hoist to load the trans onto a little chariot/cart that took me no joke, 45 minutes to get to the entrance of the yard. This was especially were I could've used some help. Getting it in the back of my Monte was pretty easy. Yes, I used my monte to transport this roughtly 300 lbs trans. I set my rear tires to 42 psi. (check your tires max pressure if following in my footsteps) I ended up paying 226$ for the automatic transaxle, torque converter, neutral safety switch, and two CV axle stubs. I didn't have the right tools to remove the drivers side axle that I needed, so I just seperated the two axles at the stubs. Those stubs cost me 48$, which I could've done without, but oh well. I also managed to break the trans fill cap/dipstick, and the hose that the vent/breather connected to, so I'll have to replace those. During the removal, I simply cut the trans cooler lines, cause I'll be replacing those with custom AN lines.


Day 1 - Here's what happens when you lean the weight of a N* V8 and a monster of a transaxle on one engine mount bolt.

Day 2: Finally out

The carnage

This Aurora's owner must have mowed there lawn with the hood of their car open or something, cause the back of the trans was just covered in dead grass. I also got coolant and brake fluid all over everything. Oops

First time using the new hoist was a success

 

W bodys do very nicely for hauling stuff. When I bought the totalled GTP for my swap, I had the entire powertrain plus all kinds of other components I pulled off, etc in the trunk of my Impala. I did add spring spacers so it wasn't crazy slammed in the rear, and it did great for the drive home from NY to IN, especially considering we had 4 adults inside + tools, etc.


Sounds like you got a great deal on the parts despite the pain! Any idea why the Aurora was there? Front end looked un-wrecked, so I'm hoping it wasn't a trans issue.

 

This reminded me of something I have been a bit curious about.
The2nd gen W-Body was built to house a v8, hence the offering of the LS4 in 06-07. The H-body Bonneville offered a Northstar engine. I wonder if the Northstar would fit the W-body. If so, which is the better option? I know there are issues with head bolts in certain Northstars, but if you were going to strip the engine down and re-build it, that does not become a huge issue.
Just a curious thing.

Nice to see some updates on this project. A trans, donor car, all is moving forward!

 

In my experience pulling the N* out of the aurora, and also looking at pictures of Brandon Furches LS4/4t80e Monte, a N* could probably fit if you wanted it to. The only thing to note is you couldn't have anything near the engine. I.E. coolant overflow tanks, cruise control modules, ABS modules. But if you wanted a V8, I'd definately go LS instead. Lot more of an aftermarket behind it.

Honestly me too, lol. It looked like just an old car that someone junked. No body damage, or signs of an accident, and I could easily turn the engine over.

 

TBH, those are the ones that always scare me when I'm looking for powertrain stuff. The junkyard offers are generally so crazy low that any running, driving car makes so much more sense to just sell private party for way more.

I definitely get there are some people out there that could care less about the money and just want a car gone ASAP, I've just never had the guts to try taking big parts from one if I couldn't figure out why it was there.

 

A Northstar has definitely been done in a 5th gen (and as such would fit in a 2nd gen W). There was a guy on the old mymonte board that did it probably 15 years ago. Sounded pretty different with the loud exhaust he had on it. I'd never heard a N* with anything other than stock exhaust before.

I did feel a bit bad for the guy. After a few years he was trying to sell it for whatever reason and couldn't get any takers. Last I remembered seeing, he was down to like $2k and still not so much as a nibble. Certainly to be expected, but still hate to see it happen.