Hey Im lookin for some help

I have a 1997 Ford F-250 351 with a 5 Speed

wondering if anyone in here has or knows anyone that has ever swapped out the 5 speed for the E4od. i know that alot of people have gone the other way

 

I'm sure its been done . Sell me your old trans . You would/may need ecu for the 5.8 with e4od . trans wire harness and associated stuff,steering column& auto cable (you may be able to convert to auto ?) driveshafts as manual is shorter,possible cross member, and transfercase linkage change. But the good news is the all the parts you take off from the manual are worth more to us than an auto.

 

I've got the wiring harness, shift mechanism, and rear x-member I took out of my '91 when I went the other way. It had the E4OD and I went to the ZF. PM me if you are interested.

 

Welcome to FTE buy the way

 

- parts isnt the problem - i have a fleet and when i say fleet (90,93,94,95,97 all running & a 86 3- 88's and 2 90s so parts isnt my issue)i have a 1990 ford with a 351 - e40d so i have all the stuf from that but in 1996 they start with all the obd2 **** in the pickups- even tho they look the same as the previous they are a whole different species. -- it would probly be hard to swap one out a 90.. ill just hafta deal with the 5 speed

 

Go to a C6, and it's not nearly as much trouble, but an E4OD is a P I T A because of all the electrical and reliability hastle!

One minor electrical glitch could fry the E4OD!

Not to mention the cost to rebuild one!


Buy a modified C6 with the 5 clutch direct and forward drums, the "R" code servo piston and the E4OD rear planatary, and it will give you a lower 1st and 2nd and you keep the 1:1 high gear, and if you want the taller high gear, change out the rear end gears and it would still be cheaper than 1 E4OD rebuild and will be stronger as well.

 

You are right about that I got my 90 F-150 with an E4OD and a 300 stuck in big puddle and it fried the tranny. Never again! I've had C6's with over 200k the have been covered in water & still shift fine. Or if you must have overdrive get an AOD tranny.

 

The AOD will cost big $$$ to be as reliable and strong as a C6.

A C6 with a gearvendor is the best (strongest and most reliable) setup to get if you have the $$ for the Gear Vendor OD unit, but it will last forever like the C6.

 

The E4OD had about 16 revisions and is still not really fixed. I, and my buddy, have them and went through overheating and fluid puking issues. It would get hot and blow fluid out the front pump seal. When it cooled, just add fluid and it worked fine.

Ford put out a replacement avaiable to fleet type operations for $1800 with 3yr/36000 mile warrenty. I got one and it does not puke. It still feels like it is robbing a ton of power, and it does not act right when loaded and manually shifted into 2nd or 1st. I would like to switch to a ZF.

 

Outlaw, install an aftermarket cooler. Your tranny will hug you.

Not often do I hear kind adjectives ever describe the E4OD. From my experience with two rigs of my own (one 1/2 ton, one 1 ton) with this transmission, and 4 more in my fleet of work trucks..... if the E4OD is taken care of properly, it will shift firmly for ages.

I installed an aftermarket cooler, a TransGo shift kit, aftermarket finned aluminum pan (+3 quarts fluid) and temp guage on both of my personal transmissions. Even in the extreme heat of Nor. California, and E. Washington, I rarely let them exceed 190*. I cannot imagine the temps these transmissions reach with no factory cooler and the stock pan!! I changed the fluid every 25,000 and the filter every 50,000 (unless it looked tatered at 25,000). One easy way to tell your transmission fluid is going TU, is when your driving habits stay the same and the temperature starts climbing above normal. Doesn't matter if your fluid looks ok, the viscosity is not what was advertised when you first poured it in. It's hard to see this visually, without a temp guage.

The E4OD in my F150 now takes some extreme abuse. I take the rig up to the sand dunes once or twice a month beating on her at 4-5000 rpm's in 4 high. Or shift her back and forth from 1 and 2 in 4lo for the hill climb challenges. I can see that this is tough on the tranny as the temps climb to 190ish quick! Also, I tend to tow with that rig and her puny smallblock more than I'd like to admit... Especially duck hunting season.

Long story short, take care of the transmission and it will shift well and on time for you. Neglect it, push the fluid intervals, pay no attention to temps, and you will be one of those other unfortunate souls who curse that transmission as you go through 2-3 re-mans before you find a gem.

The only E4OD that puked on me, is one I severed the fluid return line pulling the boat out of a high water river launch site. The tranny grenaded about 20 miles down the road... Luckily, this was a Fish and Wildlife service rig and not my own.



My apologies.. had to stick up for the tranny.

Mike

 

My '91 Bronco has 242K on it and still has the original E4OD and it works fine. I added an aftermarket cooler at about 150K, tho.

 

You'll need something to control that transmission; an aftermaket transmission controller or pull the entire engine/trans harness and ECU from the donor vehicle.