Hi guys, thanks for helping.


I have posted a few questions on here and have had a lot of great feedback. I have also searched and read many post but cannot seem to find one that answers my questions.


I have a 1996 f350, 460 and 4x4 with the 3speed auto c6. it is set up as a dump bed and snow plow. only 61k miles in nice shape one rust spot.


Any way, long story short I bought it believing it needed a pan seal, in reality the tranny case was broke and welded. (hmm, kinda got lied to there)


So, I've located a 88 c6 from a 460 4x4. so that should work I believe? represented as 140k miles on a rebuild not sure total miles. A little hesitant on this as it seems like it may be tired. Price is only $100 so I wouldn't be out much, and feel like I could possibly rebuild it before putting it in. I have never attempted it, but here it is the easiest of trannies to build and there are good step by step videos or books out there.


I also have found a 95 f250 4x4 with a 460, but has a e4od. with 99k miles. truck has front end damage. I can buy this for $700. have plenty of future parts, or sell parts off. Starter is out so I cannot test it out first. represented as running good. But as far as that goes look above I know where trust can get a guy. lol


With this donor truck how bad of a job would it be to swap? I assume I need to make sure my wheel base is the same. Will this be a bigger project then I think, or are there surprises I am not aware of? I would have to swap computer and wires ( is this the complete wiring harness or is there a separate one to the tranny and computer) Id have to change the shifter in the steering column, I believe the drive shafts and bracket under tranny. I am assuming this would all come right off donor truck.


Please tell me if I'm missing something major, give ay tips, advise, or suggestions.


I am by no means a mechanic but I am not afraid to turn a wrench and try something if I know head of time what I am encountering.


Pros.
C6 cheaper and easier to rebuild,
Good strong tranny.
Cons,
not positive what I am buying
No overdrive


e4od pros
overdrive,
good tranny by 1996
probably more desired for resale later?


cons,
The work to swap,
expensive to rebuild


As you can see I have thought hard about this and not sure on which rout to take. If anyone has made this swap please let me know what I am getting into.


Thanks for reading this rambling and any advise.

 

What are your future plans for the truck? DD with lots of open road time? Short tripper? Heavy hauler?

 

truck would prob. be a driver to work a lot of the time. 50 mile round trip. plowing snow my driveway, possible few odd jobs. dump box used when needed as a hobby truck really scrapping or land scaping. It really is more truck then I need. If I get it running well I may sell or trade it for a crew cab daily driver down the road.


I am not expecting miracles with mpg's, but now may be the time to do my best to improve it.

 

 

Even adding an OD trans won't gain you much in the MPG dept. and it is quite a bit of work to switch stuff over. Computer, wiring, driveshafts and other assorted stuff.

My $.02 worth of advice is to gamble on the $100 C6 being good and change it yourself. That is a job that can easily be done in the driveway. Go rent or borrow a trans jack, that will make things WAY easier. Then take the $600 you didn't spend on the mystery E4OD truck and put it toward an econo-box to use as a DD.

And that's what I think.

 

Oh yea, nice looking truck. Love the aluminum flat bed!

 

And if it isn't the same it isn't very expensive to have a driveshaft lengthened or shortened.

The computer and wiring harness both need to swap. It's not very difficult, especially with another truck to take it off of.

And none of that would be very hard to do.

Does your truck have a vehicle speed sensor on the rear axle? It would be on top near the center, right above the ring gear.

 

Mark makes all good points FOR doing the swap.

Mark, what is you opinion on how much his mileage would change?

 

you don't just gain over drive with the E4OD vs the c6 but also a locking torque converter.
it's a solid 2-3 mpg gain.member "david85" in the idi diesel section did so to his 7th gen truck along with many other mods.he claimed no other mod compared to the gain of the c6 to e4 swap.

the E4OD received the bulk of it's upgrades in '95.
the locking converter is a major pro for the e4 too.it's almost just as good as od in itself.
with a locking converter heat is greatly reduced and they run much,much cooler than the old c6's did.when the converter locks you have about the same efficiency of driving a manual trans with a direct connection between engine and trans.it's a far more advanced trans compared to the c6.
as for resale value,to me a c6 truck is just a yard truck.too expensive to operate with today's fuel prices.

 

Thanks Guys for your input, Mark That's what I was thinking with the donor truck it would be more work but not too confusing. Not quite sure how all the wiring harness comes off.


What is your thought on millage gain, and locking torc converter?


how does the speed sensor change things, does it need to be on both trucks?


What about the used c6, will an 88 be the same, or anything I need to look at? sounds like there are no id tags on it.


One more thought, what about gearing in the rear and front end. how do I identify and what would be the best if they are not the same on both trucks?


Thanks Mark

 

Thanks, its more truck then I need but very handy.

 

nonsense! everyone needs a hd 4wd truck with dump and plow!

 

I will need to check for sure it may be an 84 c6, will that make a difference in my planning?

 

I'd guess 2-4 MPG.

You MUST have a vehicle speed sensor to operate an E4OD. I'm sure the donor truck has one, does yours?

I don't know enough about C6s to be helpful.

It doesn't matter what the gearing is on the donor truck as long as both front and rear on the truck you're going to drive are the same.