DN 4+3 rebuild or Tremec?
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
DN 4+3 rebuild or Tremec?
I have an '84 with the Doug Nash 4+3 transmission and it's starting to give me a loud wining (bearing) sound. The car has a little over 80,000 miles and previous owners really did not maintain the car.
I'm in the Detroit area and my mechanic says i need to take care of it soon. I'm somewhat torn between rebuilding or going with a TKO 500.
My problem is it's hard to find anyone to rebuild the DN 4+3 and actually since Keisler went into bankruptcy it's getting harder to find a Tremec kit for the C4.
I'm really not a fan of the DN 4+3, (I also have a '91 with the ZF6 speed), So I am wondering what others think of the Tremec swap. I don't race, I'm simply a cruiser. The car has a Dana36 with 3:07 gears.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
I'm in the Detroit area and my mechanic says i need to take care of it soon. I'm somewhat torn between rebuilding or going with a TKO 500.
My problem is it's hard to find anyone to rebuild the DN 4+3 and actually since Keisler went into bankruptcy it's getting harder to find a Tremec kit for the C4.
I'm really not a fan of the DN 4+3, (I also have a '91 with the ZF6 speed), So I am wondering what others think of the Tremec swap. I don't race, I'm simply a cruiser. The car has a Dana36 with 3:07 gears.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
#2
#3
Safety Car
Tremec
I can speak a little to a Tremec 5 speed swap as my 86 has one. I bought the car last summer and it already had the swap done when purchased, unfortunately I got no history on the car so this is what I know.
The car when built had a 4+3 with 3.07 rear end and L98 engine. It now has a Tremec TR 3550 transmission in it confirmed by Tremec. Tremec said the build date on the tranny was 2008 so it's around 6 years old. The car was on a lift having the clutch slave and master cylinder replaced after I got it home so I had a chance to look it over. The clutch master and slave are oem parts, the bell housing looks to be oem as does the swing arm and driveshaft from what I can tell. The shifter fits in the original location. There is a Dakota Digital adapter wired into the speedometer to do the signal conversion. The overdrive light will flick on and off on occasion on the Dic, not a big deal as I'm assuming that's a leftover from the 4+3 days.
This is a cruiser and while driving the car back from New Mexico (where purchased) to Minnesota I got a best of 32 mpg at 75 MPH on the highway - about 1800 rpms. It drives well around town but I've only driven a couple of hundred miles since getting it home. The only thing I'm not the most crazy about is it seems to rev the engine a little more in first before you have the speed to shift to 2d gear. The other thing is it seems a little awkward shifting into 5th gear, takes a little extra pressure to the right before getting into gear.
Maybe if I was racing or doing road courses this might be a big deal but this is a cruiser and nothing is that big a deal in that situation. I do like it and for the someone doing the driving style I do, I'd recommend it.
The car when built had a 4+3 with 3.07 rear end and L98 engine. It now has a Tremec TR 3550 transmission in it confirmed by Tremec. Tremec said the build date on the tranny was 2008 so it's around 6 years old. The car was on a lift having the clutch slave and master cylinder replaced after I got it home so I had a chance to look it over. The clutch master and slave are oem parts, the bell housing looks to be oem as does the swing arm and driveshaft from what I can tell. The shifter fits in the original location. There is a Dakota Digital adapter wired into the speedometer to do the signal conversion. The overdrive light will flick on and off on occasion on the Dic, not a big deal as I'm assuming that's a leftover from the 4+3 days.
This is a cruiser and while driving the car back from New Mexico (where purchased) to Minnesota I got a best of 32 mpg at 75 MPH on the highway - about 1800 rpms. It drives well around town but I've only driven a couple of hundred miles since getting it home. The only thing I'm not the most crazy about is it seems to rev the engine a little more in first before you have the speed to shift to 2d gear. The other thing is it seems a little awkward shifting into 5th gear, takes a little extra pressure to the right before getting into gear.
Maybe if I was racing or doing road courses this might be a big deal but this is a cruiser and nothing is that big a deal in that situation. I do like it and for the someone doing the driving style I do, I'd recommend it.
Last edited by hcbph; 04-16-2014 at 06:39 AM.
#4
Heel & Toe
Member Since: Jan 2014
Location: Lindenhurst NY
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Brian from SK does a great job rebuilding both the 4 speed and OD unit. Contact him at 631-957-9427.