I built an E4OD for my '79 F350 and my core transmissions were a 1990 for the 460 case and about a 1991 for most of the hard parts. Your transmission being a 1992 will be very similar to those and there were MANY upgrades which should be done while you have it apart anyway. The good thing is that most of the parts that you need were used in production and therefore pretty easy to find and not very expensive. The planetary that definitely needs to be upgraded is the long snout aluminum overdrive planetary. The early ones all came with that and then later it changed to a short snout version which uses a different input shaft. Use that input shaft but get the steel version which all have the shorter snout.

You'll need to upgrade to the roller style center support and to do that requires changing a few related components but it isn't difficult.

ATSG has a manual that you can find online that shows all of the upgrades that happened during the production life of the E4OD and 4R100.

 

Thanks for the info!

I'm directly in the middle of my rebuild now and I've been upgrading things like crazy lol. Well... Upgrading and replacing parts I wasn't happy with:

-New steel forward and overdrive planets.
-New stock aluminum low/reverse planet. (The lugs on mine were not in acceptable condition in my opinion)
-Bearing style center support hub
-Machined center support with snap ring
-New forward drum, additional frictions in it. (My forward drum basically fried. All frictions worn out and evidence of overheating on the steel pressure plates)
-All new bearings, thrust washers, and bushings.
-New sonnax front pump gears. (I lucked out and it's already an F8 pump)
-New hardened sun shell, and sun gear
-Replacement Belleville spring in forward drum (mine was scored due to the frictions wearing to nothing causing end play)
-Transgo Tugger kit
-Im sure I'm forgetting something, but it's a lot! 😂

The only part I haven't fully figured out is the output shaft for the bearing style center support upgrade. It came with a lube plug, and I know I need to beat the bushing out of the output shaft hole, but I'm not sure which way the lube plug goes in, or if that even matters. It's basically a cup with a little hole in it.

If you can think of anything I'm missing, I'd appreciate the input.

Thanks!
Scott

 

Did you find a kit somewhere that had most or all of the upgrades in it already?

I'm right at the very beginning of disassembly of my transmission to do an inspection of what's trashed or not. The transmission is a 1993 E4OD for a 7.5 l. 4x2 that is going into my 1994 E350 with a 7.5 l. Two-wheel drive. I will be doing no towing, no racing, and only casual driving with a light load. I watched the 9 hours of video from transmission bench on rebuilding this transmission. I also bought the ATSG rebuild manual. This will be my first automatic transmission rebuild, but I'm confident and thorough. I know I'm not interested in doing that tugger modification, since I'm not going to tow, unless someone provides another reason for doing the modification. I'm very interested in any other information that indicates must-haves for a rebuild in all situations for an E4OD, then specifically for my situation of casual driving with light loads.

The only things I bought so far are a press to relieve pressure on some of the springs, and then the shift solenoid pack 89-94 (The connector on the transmission I bought was damaged, so I got the whole transmission for $100). I'm in no rush and can afford to be buy the necessities for this project. Any helpful information, the more specific the better, is very much appreciated!

I can't tell in the videos, but is he using Lubeguard Assembly Goo to keep things tacky for thrust bearings and washers?

 

In my transmission I did the Transgo Tugger kit and the transmission really works great. In the C6 that I had in the truck for about 20 years before switching to the E4OD I had used a Transgo reprogramming kit and the E4OD with the Tugger has virtually identical shift quality. Very nice, positive shifts that are not harsh.

My center support was worn so it is now machined with the extra snap ring, that's a good mod to do and it might prevent problems caused by the center support moving around inside of the case.

The output shaft remains the same you just have to remove the bushing and install the cup plug with the small hole, knocks in just like a freeze plug. The center shaft that comes out of the back of the OD unit changes with the roller support setup and it must be used with the shorter style OD planetary and input shaft.

Changing out the OD planetary for the steel one is a must do. I didn't do that originally on my E4OD and it stripped out the splines in about 800 miles. Later a friend of mine who has a transmission shop told me that whenever an old one comes in they ALWAYS change that even if it looks perfect. They had the same thing happen before, rebuild the transmission and about a month later it fails and causes a comeback.

 

I recently upgrade/strengthened a core E4OD for my 5.8L/2WD. I would recommend bushings. Buy a kit. I think it would be a waste time/money if you did not. If you have no way to install them, then you better find a way.

If you can stomach watching the Transmission Bench videos, you can disassemble/assemble this transmission. Even at 2x the speed, it is very very boring.

It does help to find an assembly lube, but every mechanic has something they like and swear by. I would not get too worked up on what you should buy. Transmission assembly lube will break down at a low temperature, which is what you want. It does help hold things together during assembly.

Just make certain you air check the parts before/after assembly. If you do run into a problem, you need to fall back on what you did and the tests that you did to confirm it was done right. You really do not want to take the transmission out to figure out what you did wrong.

 

I bought a E4OD transmission that was advertised as a 1993. I don't know how to tell if it is or not though. It has 9 *****, one spring and one steel ball, then the plastic check valve near the bell housing if that means anything anymore. On the casting that says RF-FOTP-7006-AB.

It came out of a vehicle that had caught fire in the engine compartment. The solenoid pack connector was melted, the oil pickup tube/filter was warped, the tiny check valve near the bellhousing under the accumulator was melted, and the plastic thrust washer on the inside of the pump was melted. Everything else looks very good. The friction discs look brand new. The thrust bearings roll super smooth. The only thing I see that needs to be replaced for sure are the gaskets, seals, and a few small parts. I'm waiting for a press to show up today so I can finish sub-assembly disassembly and inspection.

I can start cleaning parts today though. Wash the main body and bell housing, the output shaft housing, and oil pan.

I have a new shift solenoid pack that's arriving today, but then I still have to make a shopping list for the rest of the things I need and where and what I exactly want to do with this transmission. My intent is to make it functional then install it into my 1994 E350, a box truck that I love (don't judge me) and drive gently with a light load, then I can tear that transmission apart and see why it's so noisy and not shifting properly after it reaches full temp.

It may seem like I'm rambling, but if anything I say sparks a suggestion, I'm all ears!

 

The ATSG change manual has the information about the ball locations, their number and when those changes happened during the production life of the E4OD. I know that on my transmission the case is a 1990 based on that information. My case has the ball locations that were used after 1989 but it doesn't have the cast in provision for the little accumulator regulator filter that was used from 1991 onward.

 

I have that manual on the way. It'll be here on the 7th. I suppose I could put my impatience to the side and exercise some restraint in waiting.

Thank you for the information.