I'm going to look at a trans that is supposedly from an early 90's 4wd p/u. Can anyone tell me how to tell if it's a e4od and which years can be interchanged? I have a 93' Bronco.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

The E4OD has the bellhousing cast as part of the casing. Its not a separate part. There is also an overdrive cancel switch in the truck either on the dashboard or on the end of the shift lever. The other autos are all either vacuum regulated or use a TV cable for shift functions. The E4OD was dropped behind all of the smallblock V8's and the 300 I-6 in the E and F series through the 90's. The C6 and the AOD will also bolt up to the engine in your 93 but you should really change the EEC computer if swapping from the E4OD to one of the other automatics. (The computer will still drive the truck but in "limp mode" which works but limits the operational parameters of the system). The AOD is a four-speed auto with the fourth gear being the overdrive gear. It uses a TV (throttle valve) cable for shift control. The C6 is a three-speed auto that is vacuum-regulated shift control. As long as you stay within the engine/F-series family, the transmissions are pretty much interchangable all the way back into the early 80's. You are better off, if you are looking to put another E4OD into your truck, avoiding any units built before 93 simply because the transmission underwent some major changes between the 93 and 94 model years which improved its drivability and reliability greatly. If you go with an earlier vintage E4OD, and it has been rebuilt after 1993, then its as good as a 94 unit. Essentially, any E4OD rebuilt after mid 1994 has all of the 1994 upgrades already in it.

 

Well, I wasted about an hour of driving time to find out it isn't an e4od. I does have the bellhousing as one piece but it has all early 80's part numbers and is short and light. Thanks for the info anyways.

 

The E4OD is freakin' huge too. Longer than any other auto used in the F-series. In truth, if you are looking to replace an E4OD, with another one (rather than swapping to something else) unless you find a deal on one that is a known reman. you are probably better off haveing your rebuilt. The other option would be to find an M5OD and clutch pedal/master cylinder assembly from another truck of similar vintage. I have replaced TWO E4OD's and refuse to replace another one. They are just too expensive to deal with considering their service record which is pretty abismal compared to other trannys.