So is the A440F a 4 or 5 speed?

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Eicca

Eicca

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This is interesting. Driving home from snowboarding today, and as I got up around 40mph, it shifted into 4th gear. Then, as I neared 53, it shifted into 5th! I was like :confused: so I tested it again from a dead stop at a stoplight. There are definitely 5 gears in there. The shift from 3rd to 4th is more subtle, only dropping the RPM by about 200, but I know I'm not imagining it. In 5th gear, I was cruising about 57mph at 1400rpm.

As far as I know, no tranny swap has ever been done.

Is there like a little sticker on the tranny somewhere I can look at so see if it is in fact an A440F?

Thanks! Happy Holidays! :cheers:
 
It's a 4 speed tranny. 4th gear is overdrive.

That 5th shift you feel is the torque converter locking at 53mph, which drops RPM about 200. Totally normal.
 
Interesting. Although in my truck the 5th gear shift drops the engine about 700rpm...?
 
Eicca said:
Interesting. Although in my truck the 5th gear shift drops the engine about 700rpm...?
Click to expand...


Either it's your imagination or it's in third and shifting to 4th and immediately locking.

The A440f is a 4 speed transmission. I seriously doubt yours has been swapped, and even if it has it would have been a huge, major and noticible thing with tons of unique parts, electronic controls etc.

The beauty of the A440f is that it is hydraulically controlled with no electronics at all. It's a very robust tranny if taken care of.
 
Cruiserdrew said:
Either it's your imagination or it's in third and shifting to 4th and immediately locking.

The A440f is a 4 speed transmission. I seriously doubt yours has been swapped, and even if it has it would have been a huge, major and noticible thing with tons of unique parts, electronic controls etc.

The beauty of the A440f is that it is hydraulically controlled with no electronics at all. It's a very robust tranny if taken care of.
Click to expand...

Overdrive is electronic if you have cruise control. New fact I learned a few weeks ago, doing a research project on the A440F.
 
Huh. I'm weirded out. Not complaining, but a little confused.
 
Eicca said:
Interesting. Although in my truck the 5th gear shift drops the engine about 700rpm...?
Click to expand...

Like what's been said before, you're feeling the torque converter clutch lock up. It's not 5th gear.

The torque converter (TC) allows for some slippage, that's how you can idle in gear. When you're cruising, roughly 90% of the engine's power is transmitted through the TC to the transmission. The other 10% is lost as heat inside the TC.

There's a hydraulically controlled clutch inside the TC that will mechanically connect the two halves of the TC together to allow all power from the engine to travel directly to the transmission, allowing for maximum economy and minimum heat build-up.
 
I guarantee it is the torque converter. Until that locks you are constantly slipping at different rates and wearing your clutches etc as well as using more power.

The "Extreme Valve Body" you can get locks up the torque converter in 3rd gear, which is nice for more power and mileage and less wear.
 
lumpy70 said:
Guarantee it is the torque converter. Until that locks you are constantly slipping at different rates and wearing your clutches etc as well as using more power.

The "Extreme Valve Body" you can get locks up the torque converter in 3rd gear, which is nice for more power and mileage and less wear.
Click to expand...

The torque converter clutch has nothing to do with clutch packs in the tranny itself. Once a clutch pack is applied, it should not slip at all. If a clutch pack is slipping, then you have bigger problems... However, like I said, the torque converter will always allow for slippage until its clutch locks up.


X2 on Rodney's "Extreme" valve body.....Do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want do want........
 
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Wow. A lot of my life's questions have been cleared up. You all rock! Thanks!
 
sidetrack--> did someone say you need cruise to get 4th to lockup??? Ive got a A440F bolted to a cummins with rodneys extreme and no cruise control, it doesnt seem to have enough top end gearing...

This might explain it, do you need the cruise control and the ecu for it to work?
 
cody c said:
sidetrack--> did someone say you need cruise to get 4th to lockup??? Ive got a A440F bolted to a cummins with rodneys extreme and no cruise control, it doesnt seem to have enough top end gearing...

This might explain it, do you need the cruise control and the ecu for it to work?
Click to expand...

I'd ask Rodney about that, since you have one of his VB's...
 
cody c said:
sidetrack--> did someone say you need cruise to get 4th to lockup??? Ive got a A440F bolted to a cummins with rodneys extreme and no cruise control, it doesnt seem to have enough top end gearing...

This might explain it, do you need the cruise control and the ecu for it to work?
Click to expand...


No, it's 100% hydraulically controlled.
 
Lka1988 said:
Overdrive is electronic if you have cruise control. New fact I learned a few weeks ago, doing a research project on the A440F.
Click to expand...

The FSM confirms this, but I have never seen the actual wire on mine. Lane, I would appreciate it if you would share some tasty tidbits regarding the slushbox.

4 spd transmission. The TC locks/unlocks right around 45 mph for the last 18 years.

Below is a clip from the FSM.
A440F Specs.webp
 
Cruiserdrew said:
No, it's 100% hydraulically controlled.
Click to expand...

THANKS!
It may be having lockup issues then, hard to say, comparing stock 3fe w/A440F w/ stock tires versus cummins w/extreme valve body and 35's or 37's and stock gear ratios.

It did seem under geared though with the 35's...

Any Idea of how the OD activation mechanism works?
 
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