My new motor setup os being pretty hard on my tranny and its starting to slip on the 1-2 shoft as well as the 2-3 shift. I really want to do a M6 conversion, but I know I'm going to run into alot of things that will seem to nickle and dime the conversion to death. Then on the other hand I could get mine rebuilt by someone for $1500-$2000 plus the converter which would be another $750-$1000. Now I was talking to a firend of mine last night and hes really trying to talk me out of the M6 telling me it won't last long behind my motor and I should just go with a th350. I really like the idea of the th350 but the loss of overdrive would kinda suck, but my buddy with a 95, 396, th350, 3600 Vig, 12 bolt w/3.73 is getting around 13-16 and thats not just babying it. Right now with my tranny acting up and a small exhaust leak on the collector I'm only getting 14-18 depending on how hard I drive it. Now I don't have any interstate driving or take the car on alot of long trips so mabye a th350 would be a decent choice. The guy thats trying to talk me into the A3 is going to get his new one from a place in Texas (I don't remember the name of the company) and he said that his reverse valve body built th3350, 3500 Vig, and a brake is only costing him $1380 shipped to his door with no core charge. All he did was call them up, tell them about his car, and 3 weeks later the trans is suppost to be delivered to his door. Now that sounds like one of the too good to be true deals, but my buddy knows his stuff and he told me to just wait and see how his tranny works out.

So do you think it would be stupid to go from a A4 to an A3, or an A4 to M6? I'm eventually going to be getting either a 12 bolt or 9" and if I go with the A3 I'll throw some 3.42s in it, but I'll wait and see how I like it with the 3.73s I have now.

I know it pretty much sounds like I'm going with the A3, but what will have to be done to the car to make everything work right? Like the speedo, and what will have to be done to the computer since it won't be telling the trans to shift anymore?

Sorry for the long post, but any help or experience, good or bad, please let me know. I'm trying to baby the tranny until winter and then do whatever I decide and have it ready in the spring.

*Edit*--Ok doing some research on the TH350/400 swap I came across some post about using the front ABS sensor to operate the speedo. But what confused me was putting in 1.175 for gear ratio and then the front tire size. Is that in the PCM? So basically instead of putting in 3.73 for gear ratios you'd put in the 1.175 for when the PCM would get tuned?

 

What kind of power is your car making rwhp? A properly built 4l60e should work well. If your car is under 500rwhp one of our level 4 units will work for you. This unit is built for head an cam applications. The level 5 is for FI (forced induction) cars and cars running big nitrous systems. This unit is good to 700rwhp. Might be something to consider. Vince

 

I don't have any dyno #s or track times, but the heads are LE3s, but they are a few years old. I may add a small nitrous shot down the road, something around 125-150 or so. But I'm looking for a cost effective way to do it I guess and I really dislike the A4s in these cars, I like to be in control so I was thinking of a full manual TH350.

But a built A4 is still an option

 

We do build th350 and th400 units. We just do not market them so to speak. We keep pretty busy with what is listed on our web page. Feel free to give Chuck or myself a call if you have any questions. Vince

 

IMO, there's only one reason to go M6, and that's because you like shifting the car and using a clutch. It's not going to give you anything over the A4 in terms of durability. Plus the conversion is going to be very expensive, figuring you're going to go with a tranny of known quality and all-new clutch and hydraulics. Not to mention the hassles of cutting your floor pan, rewiring, etc.

Unless the car was pretty much strip only, I wouldn't do A3. My A3 GTO with 3.23's is at 3000rpm at 65mph. My A4 Formula with 3.42's is 2500rpm at 80mph. No overdrive and no lock up is a drag and makes for a lot more heat.

It doesn't sound like you're stuck on a manual for the pure love of shifting. I vote rebuilt A4 in your case.

 

Have the tranny rebuilt from a reputable company with a warranty on the labor and be done with it.