I am considering buying a 1988 Ford F350 Crewcab 4X4 dually. The only thing I don't like about it is the C6 transmission(no overdrive). I would like to be able to go faster than 72 mph. What is necessary to make the swap to an E4OD?

 

With all the struggles I have gone thru with the E4OD in my 91 F350 I would not recommend the swap even if you had a donor truck which would provide you with all the wiring harnesses, controller, and sensors.

For about the same amount of money you can get a separate aftermarket OD unit such as a US Gear Splitter or a Gear Vendor Overdrive.

The E4OD is not the greatest tranny in the world and if you do a bit of searching on this forum you will quickly find a lot of sites were guys have struggled and spent tons of money to keep there E4OD running.

The OD gear ratio on the E4OD is also quite wide 0.71:1 which makes it not very useable for towing and you end up towing in 3rd gear (1:1) most of the time anyways if you want to tranny to last.

The E4OD will give you better milage than the C6, but a conversion could easily run you $3,000 to $5,000 in parts depending if you go used or not, and on an E4OD I would not go used, you are just buying somebody elses headache.

Early E4OD's (89-91) had a lot of design issues (poor sensors, weak torque converters, main shaft center bearing problems, etc...) which both Ford and the aftermarket guys address in the later model E4OD's to some degree.

I wish I had a C6 in my 91 F350, that way I could spend money on getting an aftermarket OD instead of spending the money on rebuilding my E4OD.


There is my 10 cents for what it's worth. - Sebastian.

 

I agree with Hamberger. To my way of thinking the C6 is the best auto ever offered by Ford. Spending money and an awfull lot of time changing it to one of the worst autos is crazy. If you must have O/D then go for an add on . Just my 2 cents.

 

Look at Baumann Controls .com, you can tow well with a E4OD. in OD, i do it!I don't know where they get their figures from but i have a E4OD i picked up from PICK-N-PULL for 78$ (its a Jasper Re-man) the Baumann control will set you back about 400$. What motor do you have? the small block 5.0/ 5.8 E4 seem to be more abundant than the 460BB. i think you'll have to reposition the trans crossover, or drill new holes , since the E4 is longer than the C6. most people recomend a 96 and later E4, but the earlier ones will work just a well. just be sure to have a well knowledged tranny Mech go over one first.

 

Where is Pick N Pull?
With prices like that I have to go there.

But then after reading your post again I guess that was for a gas E4OD.
Diesel stuff tends to be much more expensive than gasser stuff.
No gas driveline parts will fit a diesel.

 

I am assuming these are the Pick N Pull locations.

EDIT: Click the locations button. Damned flash.

 

Figures, the closest one is over 5 hours away.
Till I drove there and back I could pay local salvage prices and have a limited warranty.

 

you have a diesel... I thought the 6.9 use the big block C6 with a adapter? untill some time in the 90's when ford started making it own bellhousing for the 6.9. for a diesel i'd recomend buying a good reman unit from a reputable source. Baumann, Jasper, ETC... they are expensive but worth it...