I have driven 3 with an E4OD behind the engine, 2 of them were diesels....

 

Then you shouldn't be bashing them.

 

maybe they were just high mile,worn out trans or something?
i never did drive mine much before the shift kit.just a couple little 1 mile test drives at most,and don't really remember much about it.
went like all crazy with the stock bed though,very light and quick.still does i think........with fuel so high i baby the thing like its made of glass on take off and spend a half an hour just getting to 45mph hahahah.
nah,iv been out tuning her timing,and adjusting the TPS some.........she still moves and shifts quick.
i dunno Aune.maybe you just haven't met the right E40D yet lol.
set up right,they pull hard and shift quick and firm.1-2-3-lock up-4-all smiles.

 

I have driven one E4OD, and yes I must say, very very pleasant trans. to drive. But shifts are abit to soft. Guess i'm use to the quick snappy C6 shifts. The one I drove was a friends 94 F150, 302 E4OD.

The thing that really made me hate it even more after driving it was the damn lock up converter, omg that's annoying! It locks up all the time when you don't want it!


I've heard of people doing the lock up mod on these, locking the converter with a switch, that must rock but all stock, absolutely hate it!

 

the lockup is just a direct drive/no TC multiplying torque-so it feels like a doggy manual truck-hahah.
i hear people complain of that too and i don't understand it.what gives? it's a good solid feeling,and even without the power multiplication, the diesel still has lots of grunt.i personally like it when it locks up just before climbing a hill.she still pulls like a freight train.when its locked,thats equal to how a manual trans feels right then.it just feels lower on power because the converter isn't acting like a low set of gears anymore.this is good for economy and keeps the heat down.the reason it may feel bad to some people,is because they got used to the extra power off the line (not present in manual trans,so you never had it to loose lol) then that is gone all of the sudden,and back to a direct connection and some go "oh man" because they liked the extra the TC provided.
if the truck is tuned up though,you don't notice any power lose really.it just feels like a "semi shift" just before OD and that's about it.
when ya left off the juice,she opens back up so you roll,and then locks back up when you get back on it,but nothing the TC is doing,at any time should feel unpleasant.just the opposite really.
perhaps the TPS wasn't set correctly in the trucks you guys drove,or you just didn't have time to get used to such a new feeling.the wallet will thank you,and so will your trans fluid.it's hard for some to get used to new things though i guess.
though locking converters is probably something we should be well used to by now haha,they're here to stay.like 'em or not
some do the manual switch,probably because they're TC's are worn out or something,or the engines low on power,because @35 mh when mine locks up,there is no wishing it didn't lock until 40 or anything.
i may try it someday but it wouldn't be so that i could unlock it,but so that i could actually lock it up sooner right after 3rd when im not hauling,to help squeak out a little more economy.

some of you guys are really left starving for power here.tune your rigs up properly!!!

 

I was already planning on putting on an aftermarket trans. cooler. I think i will get one large enough to do the job by itself and not run it through the radiator so it will also help the engine stay cool. I have been wondering about installing an in line filter. I read that some people on here have installed them. Others have said that a properly working trans doesn't produce much metal debris and since its a closed system does it need a filter?

 

I've been on long hills with my truck and switched shift tables to allow the TC to engage. When that happens, the truck tends to actually try pulling ahead instead of bleeding speed (shallow hills, light power settings). There is torque multiplication in the converter, but it comes at the expense of more horsepower eaten by parastatic losses. So if your lockup RPM is favorable for your speed, then it can be advantageous even in WOT situations. But for flying through the gears up to speed, its hard to beat a slushbox for how it can blur the cap between shifts without interrupting the power flow.

I prefer auto to control traction with a trailer behind me on steep grades. Not saying it can't be done with a third pedal, but its just one less thing for me to worry about after a long day driving (I regularly drive my truck in 4 hour trips). I'm at the point where I'd rebuild my transmission every few years if I had to (Already scheming about more upgrades).

I haven't driven a bone stock E4OD so I can't fairly comment on that.

 

I don't really need a tansmission that has any great performance as long as its built right and last. What improvements will make one last longer. Other than a large cooler.

 

Ford (and others) require a magnetic inline filter to be installed on the return line from the cooler for warranty purposes. The idea is that metal debris from the previous transmission might contaminate the new one and cause a premature failure. What I take away from that, is even if you have a completely brand new cooling package, adding an inline filter will not harm the transmission.

 

Anything built to 1994~1995 specs will be fine behind a stock IDI. Major changes were a roller bearing center support which replaces a wussy little brass bushing,
improved input shaft and related overdrive planetary hub (even better if you get the steel four pinion),
One way clutches and sprags recieved some updates (some got bigger, others simply were improved to be less wear prone),
1995 has a higher flow pump,
1998 has the bullet proof planetaries that are made completely of steel (not needed for a stock IDI IMO but still worth it if you have it apart anyway)

The problem with getting a transmission from a wrecker is you likely won't know if its factory original or if it was rebuilt by someone that took all the relavent updates into account. At 90000 miles it will probably last the 30 day warranty period, but may not last much longer than a year or two if it was a poorly designed factory model from the early 90s.

 

Dave, what should I do to a stock E4OD to handle the stress of a turbo IDI? It is doing fine for now but something is starting to tell me it needs to be beefed up a little. I am planning on getting a stage 1 B&M shift kit, but is there anything else I should have the shop do once its open?

Note: My transmission is stock with 15K on it. Fluid changed recently.

 

Without knowing what went into your build, its hard to say for sure. A shift kit is a good idea (just stay away from electronic line pressure riser kits!). Main thing to watch out for is to make sure the transmission doesn't get too soft at the top end of each gear during the upshift. If it slides too much, it won't last very well.

The internals will simply have to hold up as best they can. Personally I would prefer to have all steel planetaries for the forward and overdrive and strengthened torque converter if running a turbo with over 10PSI (which I'm not, thanks to a weak turbo). If I were to do mine all over again, I would have also added more friction elements to the forward clutch packs (and coast clutch). I went from a 2 element to 3 element stack for 4th gear and it made for a very nice and crisp shift without having to mess with any of the related valve body stuff.

Are you opening up just for a shift kit, or opening up for a rebuild?

 

Go with a FORD rebuilt unit if you can't swing the BTS price.


MSRP: $2,322.67
Core: $1,000.00
Finial price: $1,742.00

I got a '97 PSD E4OD behind my engine, I know for sure I won't break it with the power of the IDI (which is a good thing, as I plan to add a turbo soon lol)

 

david85 what do you mean by too soft at the top end. That kinda sounds like what mine was doing before it died. it would accerate alright it just seemed to not want to change gears sometime if you had a load behind it.

 

Thats when there is the most torque loading and widest RPM bridging happens, so thats where a weak or dying clutch is going to slip. Line pressure rise should normally be able to keep up with the higher torque and wider RPM change as engine speed increases toward the governor, but if the transmission can't complete the shift in a crisp manner, it might mean that its near the torque limit.

In some cases it could also be a line pressure regulator valve that is unable to rise the line pressure with increased power settings as RPM increases. The aftermarket is loaded with upgraded boost and line pressure regulator valves that are intended to address this. OEM valves are anodized aluminum, while aftermarket are billet steel. The aluminum ones tend to wear out and can snag, preventing proper response to changing driving conditions (transmission temperature often affects the symptoms). It can be made worse sometimes from trying to increase line pressure electronically which adds more loading to the valves and causes them to wear out even faster.

It might indicate a dying transmission, but in the case of an factory build that is trying to keep up with a well set up turbocharged IDI, even a healthy E4OD (but still bone stock) will be struggling to transmit the torque. The C6 was calibrated for durability with crisp shifts that can handle things fairly well when bolted to a turbocharged IDI. The E4ODs were made to shift smooth with a specific Hp and torque in mind and don't have as wide a safety net in how much extra stress they can handle. Precision engineering verses simply overbuilding.

I suspect even ford now admits some of the ideas they tried on early E4ODs were not so great.