I've spent several months reading, watching, and gathering parts to build an E4OD for my 95 F250/5.8/Kenne-Bell/2WD. I purchased a 95 'core' transmission and I am in the process of building it back up. I figured I would start a thread about this build. I plan on adding clutches, gears, etc. I suspect there are plenty of people here that can guide me on my mistakes before I put this together and therefore save me a huge tow bill.

So far, I gutted the small block transmission core and it's got all 3 planetary gearsets and the stock clutches to keep it going. The front pump is worn so I have a rebuilt one on order. Other than that, I am happy with my $100 core price.

I will be replacing the aluminum planetaries with steel 4 and 6 versions. Swapping/butchering parts so they can hold more clutches/plates. The reason for all this is to support my Kennel-Bell stroker 5.8L build [408-418]. I figured I would build the transmission first to support the power I hope to make vs blowing up the transmission I have, then building a transmission. The engine is a winter project and only if I got the time. Going camping [towing the 5th wheel] in mid July so I hope to be done quickly. I plan on keeping the transmission that is presently installed as a back up in case this does not work out so well.

I'll start posting pictures of the mods shortly. I have no problems with different opinions, so share them no matter how controversial they may sound. Facts to support your opinions would be appreciated. If you say my thoughts are flawed, share your reasoning.

 

Iron OD planetary set, later model pump higher volume pump, roller center support are a few of the most important updates that were done to the transmission by Ford. If your core transmission uses 2 clutch plates for intermediate and OD that can be changed to 3 by changing to thinner pressure plates in those areas. Some forward clutch packs have 3 frictions and some have 4 or even 5 so that's an easy area to add more clutches too.

The transmission had some upgrades to the roller clutches and or sprags in OD and intermediate. On the E4OD that I built for my truck I used the Superduty/motorhome OD roller clutch and the 45 element intermediate sprag. I also replaced the low gear roller clutch with a new plastic cage version.

A heavy duty converter would be a good idea too.

 

Right now, I have 7 friction plates for the reverse [2 more than stock], 7 in the direct clutch [3 more than stock], and 6 in the forward clutch [2 more than stock]. Working on getting 3 friction plates in the cast coast drum. I have ordered some used coast drum parts to see what I can do on my lathe. I believe there is enough meat to shave away to get another clutch in there. By the time I am done, I should have at least 1 more than stock on all the clutches. I'm using GPZ clutches and Kolene steels were possible.

I did get the 6 planet iron rear gearset. That part needs the larger sprag and race assembly, so an added upgrade. I got the 6 planet forward gearset, and the 4 iron OD gearset.

The pump has the larger one in it, but not the latest 4R100 version. Too many unanswered questions on if it will work and what I need to make it work. Better to get the F5TP which is what I originally have [but is toast and probably the reason why the transmission was replaced]. I plan on modifying the pump inlet ports. They seem awfully restricted, even though they are the larger factory size.

I had my guy build me a converter, extra clutches and billet cover. Stock stall speed. With the Kenne-Bell boost curve, it should have enough torque to make it work.

 

I was able to get 3 frictions in the stock cast iron coast clutch basket. A little machining of the piston and basket to get a bit more room.


Complete clutch installed. .035"

Machined the upper lip where the clutch plate rides on. The top plate is a stock one.

The complete stack. I will be Tig welding the two thin plates together before the complete installation. I may try and machine a lip on the stock pressure plate but I really do not want to sublet this task. If I can get the plate to fit my small lathe, I will.

Machined the lower lip where the plate sits on the apply piston. I did not machine much, but there is a little bit off.

 

To get extra clutches in the low/reverse clutch, I first machined the stock early E4OD piston. I measured the thickness of one plate and disc and machined enough material off the top. Then I installed all of this to make certain the plate would not rest of the case. I also got the thinner pressure plate from a C6 [.4] which allowed enough space for another plate and disc.

After I got all this set up, I noticed the apply piston had square seals. I thought these had lip seals. When I was setting up this clutch, I pitched the seals fairly quick so it was easy to install/remove the piston while making the modifications. It was after this that I noticed that the updated E4OD [4R100] reverse piston was already changed to allow for an extra plate/disc. Ford used that space to install a cushion plate. They also changed out the release spring assembly. I ordered an updated piston/spring assembly and I will be using that instead of my modified one. I just like lip seals vs the square ones. So all the machining I did was for not.



Top was machined down to accept another plate and disc.

The updated E4OD/4R100. The top one is the early E4OD piston I machined.


This is what will fill the void.

 

To get 7 discs in the direct drum, I started with a 5 disc drum and machined the apply piston so I could get a bit more space. I changed out the pressure plate at the top of the stack to the beveled one that is used on the bottom of the forward clutch. I was able to size enough plates to get the right clearance using a .077 snap ring. I could use a thinner ring and put in a thicker plate, but I figured it was important to get a snap ring that would not come out.


The top was machined flat. Hopefully there is enough meat there so it does not break during application.

I machined down the lower pads that would allow the piston to sit a bit lower. Between the two surfaces, I was able to get a bit more clearance.

 

I got 6 discs in the Forward drum using the standard methods that are posted everywhere on the internet. I started with removing the cushion plate and replaced the top pressure plate with the beveled one that is used on the bottom. Again, I mixed and matched the plates to get the clearance.

 

Like others, I installed a NOS Super Duty Overdrive Roller Clutch. What I noticed [no pictures, sorry] is that Ford used dual springs on the rollers and the rollers have a different color. I suspect that they are hardened like the rest of the pieces. Just a guess on my part. The plastic roller cage was pretty warped on the new part so I swapped the plastic cage with a new one. That is where I noticed that they had dual springs and different colored rollers.



Just a picture of the stock Super Duty roller clutch. I doubt if you can see it, but the rollers re not shinny like the original one I replaced. Yes, that is a iron 4 planet OD. It's taking over the duty of the aluminum 3 planet version. Eagle eye views will be happy that I will get that snap ring centered before it gets in service.

 

I don't know how the factory determines the number of clutches used in a particular location in a transmission for a particular application. My core E4OD came from either a small block or 6 cyl application it had 5 frictions in low reverse. The C6 that was originally in my truck( '79 F350 with a 460 engine) only had 4. This was never a problem. I don't think that these transmissions necessarily suffer from a lack of clutch area I think that most of the clutch related failures are the result of internal fluid leaks, poor calibration and normal wear and tear. My core had a cooked forward clutch(3 plates version) so I replaced it with a 4 plate one.

Some transmission builders don't like using the trick clutches that have thinner steels and lined plates to get more area. Especially on clutches that are shifting clutches. Forward clutch is probably fine. Some people think that the thinner steels don't dissipate the heat generated during repeated high powered shifts as well as the ones that are thicker. The same goes for having the clearances in the clutch packs really tightened up vs toward the loose side.

 

I understand the theory about thinner plates but out of all the plates that I have used so far, all but 1 is a stock thickness. The factory has a few different plate sizes and snap rings to get the clearance where they want it. The goal was to use factory sizes and I am happy with the results so far.

Heat is mostly generated during a shift. Since this is no race truck, I don't think there will be a lot of shifting. Sure, when it shifts, it will be under a lot of load [towing 5th wheel], but I just do not believe I could overheat the clutch. Heat is also generated with a clutch slipping, I hope with the additional friction surfaces, the holding power will be substantially better.

Additional measures of handling the heat are using Kolene plates and GPZ clutches.

I am aware of clutch timing and I will have my fingers crossed hoping that I did not change too much of that. Clutches coming off is just as important as them applying. I have no idea how I would tackle that if that is what I believe it is. I have repaired many Mercedes transmission and I do understand how automatics works [at least I think I do] but I have absolutely no clue if any of this will work. In my mind it will, but there are a lot of things that I have thought about that never worked.

I have spent a lot of time on the internet to see what others have done. There are plenty of secrets out there, but I have not seen any sites/pics of what people do to get more out of them. That is the purpose of starting this tread. When the transmission does go in, it will certainly prove one thing. It will either work or not. I would prefer to have a good shifting transmission that will support my stronger engine [the next step], but I am totally aware this is a waste of my time and money.

I believe the core I have is from a 95/V8. I mentioned the front pump was toast. The converter bushing is spun as well as damaged housing. One thing for certain, it does not smell like burnt oil and I have yet to see any debris floating around. Rebuilt pump should be here tomorrow. I will be modifying the inlet ports and installing a Tugger kit. I also got a Zip kit to install too. Lots of overlap between the kits but I will figure out what works best for me.

 

It'll be interesting to hear how it works out. One thing nice on this transmission is that on the upshifts it is only applying clutches never releasing one while applying another so that should make shift timing stuff a non issue.

 

Never really looked into what is coming on and off. I know the Germans like to have a lot of things moving during shifts and that always caused shift quality concerns.

Sucks that UPS has taken a two day delivery and made it to a 2 week delivery. Waiting for one clutch.

Got several bushings swapped out. A few more to go. I got the intermediate clutch set up, not certain how to check the play but the stack up is similar to what I started with.

I should get the pump today and modify that. I hope to find time to get the valvebody mods done before the weekend.

 

The Ford C6 which the E4OD is based on does two of those shifts where the band is applying and a clutch is releasing and vice versa. This timing is critical and the number one reason for parts breakage in those transmissions. In the E4OD when it goes to 3rd gear the intermediate clutch having a sprag that can over run is cool because the direct clutch just has to be applied and the intermediate doesn't have to release it can just overrun, zero overlap.

 

I got my 'rebuilt' pump yesterday. Sold as a F5 casting. Not what was in the box [E9]. A few emails and the seller insisted that the newer gears was just as good as a F5. It was the larger gearset. What about the extra ribs? He insisted that it was not a big deal. What about the larger inlet ports? He said they were modified with larger holes. How come my drill bit will go into the F5 pump inlet, but not the E9 inlet? No answer. Pump is getting sent back. There are no returns but eBay has a policy about wrong parts and bad descriptions. Free returns for me.

Just another set back while finding a new seller. I must say, the pump did look good, but it should have been sold as an E9 high flow pump.

 

Got a good used F5 pump from my supplier. Not cheap, but it's good and as you know, a bad pump could ruin everything I'm doing.