upgraded valve body and torque converter for the fj80, 3fe, A440F

[Arjuni]

Hi

I recently ran across some posts about the A440F transmission that is in my 91 fj80 and read that some people think that the 3fe fj80s are robbed of their full potential by this A440f transmission.

It seems like people are often wondering what they can do beyond a solid tune up of their engine to get more performance, and the upgraded valve body and torque converters from West Coast Automatic Transmissions seems to really be a solution.

Well, in writing that is. I am wondering, any mudders out here with a 3fe fj80 that went for these mods? I have read some reviews of other trucks doing this, but because the A440F seems to be a real bottleneck for our 3fe setup I am surprised that I have not seen more people talking about this. The lack of people talking about this makes me feel that it may be just expensive hype (snakeoil).

I mean cmon, they say it leads to better highway performance and better MPGs for the 3fe, that is what everyone that has one of these old engines is looking for...

Thanks!

 

[scottryana]

Nope, the lack of power in the 3FE is the 3FE. It is only 155hp.

6,000lbs/155hp = 38.7lbs/hp. Probably one of the worst power to weight ratios of any car/truck in the most recent 30 years.

 

[jonheld]

It is only 155hp.

Yea, but they're 155 bone crushing horses.

 

[scottryana]

That is true, all those torques in the inline 6's

Yea, but they're 155 bone crushing horses.

 

[Arjuni]

so, would a torque converter do some good here or what with these big ol torquey horses?

quoting mudder mmuthart

"With the upgraded torque converter, drive-ability around town is so much improved, I would equate it to a 25HP gain (just a seat of the pants estimate). It really is a night and day difference, it takes so much less throttle to get my beast moving (35's, 4:10's and very heavy). It feels fast for the first time. Shifts are quick and firm and feel great. On the highway, the 3rd gear lock-up makes climbing so much nicer and quicker. When I hit a highway incline, I drop the tranny to 3rd and can now accelerate up most hills. Without the 3rd gear lock-up, a drop to 3rd did result in some more power but it also created TONS of heat in the torque converter (lost power). In the past, I could watch my coolant temp gauge climb if I remained in 3rd too long. NO MORE!"

mmuthart seems to be a believer in this mod, and reading his stuff is what inspired my questioning in this post. The thing is, he seems to be the only user on this board that has talked about it. I am hoping that someone else on here has some experience as well.

 

[4 ADVNTR]

If I was in need of a rebuild, I could see going the route of an upgraded VB and torque converter, but probably not worth the money to do otherwise.

 

[Rollinns]

From everything I've heard about them, the feedback / reviews on the Wholesale Automatics Transmissions (out of Australia, and West Coast Cruisers in San Diego, CA is a USA distributor for them) upgrades are all positive.
I truly believe they have fixed the issues the A440f is accused of having, that said, the price tag for them is just not in my budget.

The complaint that most cite about the A440F is that it creates a lot of heat and that leads to it's demise.

I'm putting a A440F behind a Isuzu diesel (4BD1T) and I paid $400 for the transmission. I will be completely rebuilding it before installing it, and I'll be installing a rebuilt torque converter with a lowered stall (for the diesel) and a new heavy duty lockup clutch in it. The improved lockup should reduce the heat some.

As for the rest of the transmission, the diesel specific governor parts are still available I think, so I'll get those and I plan to modify one of the valves in the valve body to raise the line pressure, which should increase the pressure on the clutches to reduce slippage some which should reduce the heat caused by the slippage. The 343 has an adjustable valve to raise the line pressure:

Improving Transmission Shifting

I plan to make a similar valve for mine. There were a few guys on here that worked together to come up with their own mods for a A440F valve body that was also going behind a 4BD1T Those mods, to the best of my knowledge have not been shared publicly on MUD, and those individuals have been unresponsive to my inquiries over the last year or so. They were cryptic about what they were modding, but they discussed raising the line pressure as well as increasing the flow through the transmission cooler.

I plan to install a very large transmission cooler that also has a thermal bypass for cold weather. If someone knows how to modify the valve body to increase the flow to the cooler, I'd be very interested in that.

A side note is that the transmission parts distributor I bought the rebuild parts from said that in the 20+ years he's been there he's never sold the parts to rebuild an A440F before and they supply parts to all the transmission shops in a pretty big local region, and besides online options, they are the only transmission parts distributor in the region (and have been for 25+ years). This leads me to believe that the A440F may not have as bad of a reputation as some believe.

 

[mjosoba]

I would be interested in a write up of how to increase line pressure. I too have a 4bd and will use an A440. If I’m not satisfies with that I’ll do AW450 and compushift.

 

[RockDoc]

HP Upgrades for Toyota Automatics

Cruiser Brothers do the distribution in North America now. I put one of the valve bodies in my FJ62 years ago and was always happy with the upgrade.

 

[Arjuni]

Ok, so the general read I am getting here is that they do work, but are probably too expensive for what you get.

Good to know, thanks guys!

And RockDoc, did you get a torque converter with that? If you did, I am looking for some clarifications on those. It is a bit fuzzy for me how they work. It looks like they are a manual thing, like, you push a button when you want it on and keep it off otherwise. Is that correct? Or are they always engaged?

 

[Munks]

I installed the Nomad valve body and HD torque converter from Wholesale autos 40 000 km ago.
impressive bit of gear and well worth the money. Shifting is fast and lag free. the torque converter is much more efficient which can be felt in throttle response, acceleration and lower trans temps.
When it was first installed the vehicle would actually stall in low range 1st on steep hills.
Well worth every cent!

 

[Rollinns]

Ok, so the general read I am getting here is that they do work, but are probably too expensive for what you get.

To be clear, I'm not saying they aren't worth it, I think if I had it in my budget, it would be worth it. I think it's a very good upgrade with no complaints on how it works, but it's not in my budget. A few years down the road when the entire swap pays for itself, I may end up buying their valve body, and from the reviews I'm confident that it won't disappoint.

I would be interested in a write up of how to increase line pressure. I too have a 4bd and will use an A440. If I’m not satisfies with that I’ll do AW450 and compushift.

I almost went with the AW450 (with a stock controller), but couldn't find any information on the signal that the computer needs for the engine speed sensor, and my 4BD1T is from a manual trans truck, and didn't have a engine speed sensor on it from the factory. Most (or possibly all) 4BD1Ts with autos behind them had that sensor on one of the front gear covers.

The AW450 (aka 450-43LE) already has a lot of upgrades built in and if someone could figure out if the stock 4BD?T speed sensor is compatible with the stock AW450 computer (or if the speed sensor that the AW450 uses can be fitted to a 4BD?T), then it may be an easier swap than a A440F. I know some of the AW450 parts are beefier and I think it may have more clutches in some of the clutch packs. Mating it to the T-case is not as easy as the A440F but that process has already been well documented. Also, no kickdown cable adjustment is required for the AW450.


I need to get my lathe operational again (down since the move) to be able to work on the line pressure mod, and a few other projects need to get done before that will happen.

 

[Eicca]

I'm a big fan of modding transmissions. After all, power delivery is just as important as power itself.

For example, valve body mods alone will cut almost an entire half second off of the Lexus GS400 0-60 time.

"It's not how fast you go, it's how you go fast."

Or whatever an 80 does when it goes.