V8 auto in a FJ40 (1 Viewer)

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I have a MegaShifter to go in too, but I've been running a shifter out of the same car the transmission came from. Withe the 4WD stick I did cut mine off & turned it 180 degrees & welded it back on, but pretty sure mine isn't that far back, will have to check for you.
 
B&M ratchet shifter. I have a reverse manual valve body sitting on the shelf, but I'm waiting to wheel it a bit before I decide on installing

Worst advice ever.
The ratchet shifter any way. The reverse valve body is a matter of preference. I haven't done it, but I know a lot of guys who like to go from first to reverse in one quick flip.


Art Carr is OK. I've had two. I'm not a huge fan. Nothing beats a lokar. I will never own anything else. Ratchet shifters suck ass. Seriously I can't beleive anyone would reccomend one.

I run my trans temp sender off my pan. You have to remember temp will read low from there but its easy to do and it gives you a drain that American transmissions lack for some reason.
 
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I got rid of my B&M in favor of a Lokar. It is a night and day difference. My biggest complaint is the lockout gates. Kind or a PITA. I am thinking about grinding them off, but I haven't decided to yet. Miss a shift or knock it to a lower gear by mistake and I will be needing a new trans or motor. The downshifts in my 4L60 are immediate. The lack of a shift indicator sucks too. I altered the neutral safety to use it as a reverse light switch.
 
You can get a shift indicator for a Lokar. You can also use the PCM outputs to the dash cluster for the PRNDL. That's what I did with the A343 on my LV.

Did you mean Art Carr? Lokar doesn't have gates. Art Carr does. I did grind the gates off my Art Carr.
 
Worst advice ever.
The ratchet shifter any way. The reverse valve body is a matter of preference. I haven't done it, but I know a lot of guys who like to go from first to reverse in one quick flip.


Art Carr is OK. I've had two. I'm not a huge fan. Nothing beats a lokar. I will never own anything else. Ratchet shifters suck ass. Seriously I can't beleive anyone would reccomend one.

I run my trans temp sender off my pan. You have to remember temp will read low from there but its easy to do and it gives you a drain that American transmissions lack for some reason.
I wasn't recommending the ratchet shifter, just answered the question the OP put out as to what people were running.
I'd prefer not to run one either, but it's what I have to work with at the moment.
 
I also have the B&M shifter, I hear there is a modification you can do to go from drive directly to reverse, in case your in a roll over situation, anyone know how to do this?

This was an article and discussion on pirate a few years ago about modifying a B&M shifter. I'll dig it up.

Dustin Webster was a big supporter of this shifter IIRC. I really liked the Winters I had in a buggy a few years ago, but I used a Lokar for about 8 years in an Early Bronco and liked it too. After a few years the gate got sloppy though.

Lokar shifters have a gate as well that can be modified similar to the B&M in the link above. The Winters style shifter is just simpler to modify.
 
So I found the writeup on pirate on how to modify the shifter(above post), it actually shows two different ways, 1st is shifting from drive directly to neutral, 2nd is drive directly to reverse, I have been pondering this for a while and wanted to get a consensus:
Drive to neutral ? or
Drive to reverse?
Pros & cons,,,,
 
Did the modification to my shifter (a little different than the one in the write-up) once you take it apart and figure out where each shift is it wasn't very hard, I decided to go from first to neutral in one shot, then lift to get to reverse, worked well, thanks for all your help
 
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I love the power and not worrying about the truck stalling in a dangerous position is very ,, ,, well awesome. The auto is going to take some getting used too, still not 100% sold on it yet, although all the buggy guys say I will love it.
I am however having some issues with it slipping on uphills, the pan has been modified to fit the front driveshaft and the dipstick does not go all the way in, that and the oil cooler I don't know if I have enough oil in the tranny, I just dropped the pan to see what it looked like and the oil looked good & the filter had some junk in it but not bad, I am putting 6 or 7 quarts in and will see how it goes.
 
in 1973 i put a 501 caddy in my 72 fj40 and a turbo 400 drove it for years ,it was great offroad and on the street it could lay miles of tire .the thing would idle almost any where and nothing ever broke .we cant tell you what you will like you have to figure that out yourself .good luck
 
I have a 350 in my 40, with TBI and it's great. I agree, I love the power and the lack of stalling. I started wheeling with an automatic, and only recently really wheeled with a manual, so I am the opposite as you on that point. I know the manual trans folks like the control they get with the stick, but having the auto is really point and shoot. I do think that you lose some control, but I think that the advantage of not having to clutch and shift roll back, etc. makes up for it (or I might just suck at driving a stick). My tranny is a T350, and I've not had any issues with it. I run an Art Carr shifter and ground off some of the gates. I can't slam from 1 to R, and back, but I am considering it. I am afraid that I'll bump it at inopportune times.

My 40 is on D60s, and stretched to 113 wheelbase. I'll say that while I like the stretch, my driveshaft takes a beating on the rocks because it's long. That being said, whomever built my truck left me with a crappy pinion angle that I am going to have to correct at some point.

I've enjoyed reading this because this is my first hardcore rig and I am still learning it and all the mechanics of it. Plus if I ask a dumb question or say something stupid, everyone will know why.
 
ramjet 350 (sold, now LS3 480hp) to 400 and Atlas.....only way to go as far as im concerned, love the auto........column shift, didnt want clutter on the floor....check out my build below, may give you some ideas
 
I dropped the tranny pan this weekend, changed out the filter and found I didn't have enough fluid in it, It is kinda hard to tell because the pan was cut and notched to clear the front driveshaft by the PO and the dipstick drops right where the notch is, so it's almost impossible to get an accurate reading, did some research and I guess the T350, bone dry will take around 14 qts including the torque converter, so I figured the torque converter takes a little less than half so I added 7 qts, going to drive it around a little and maybe add another qt or 2
 
Have a 350 TPI (L98) with a 4L60 Auto and love it. The L98 is one of the best V8's for low end torque which makes it great for low speed control in the rough stuff. Used the entire console / shifter assy from the Firebird donor car.

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Finally getting the hang of this v8 and auto tranny, Playing in the rocks


 
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