Hey guys. Sad news for Ole' Betsy.. Her transmission is dying on me. I guess the 35 miles a day back and forth to work is finally taking it's toll on the wore out truck. What I need to know is will a C6 transmission fit? Aren't C6 transmissions known for being TOUGH and BULLETPROF? If it won't fit, which transmission should I get? I'm not going to rebuild mine. It has over 207K miles on it. I'm just going to buy a new one if I can afford it.

I don't know much about transmissions. Which ones should I look at? My truck is a 1994, 300 I6 fuel injected with overdrive. I guess that means it's a E4OD? I don't even know.
Figures. I JUST spend a good bit of money on junk, too. -_- Sigh.

Please, help a dumb poor country boy!

 

If you really value the better fuel economy with overdrive, you might consider converting to a manual 4 or 5 speed. A more practical answer might be to chalk it up to life....these are pieces of machinery with parts that wear out...designed to do that.
Replace with same unit/rebuild. Your call.
If I were really gonna keep the truck "forever" I wouldn't be in an automatic.

 

I'm not going to put a stick in my pickup. I just want to replace my current transmission with a tough one. I'm sticking to an automatic.

I'm not you. I'm keeping the truck and it's staying automatic.

Thanks anyway. Anyone else know anything about C6's? Will they bolt up to my motor no problemo?

 

Make sure it's from a 302 or 351w and it will bolt up.
I'm not sure how the computer will respond.

 

A C6 will bolt to your 300, you'll need a C6 with a small block bell housing though, the small block bell housing fits behind the 300, 302, and 351.

Just a guess but I'd say your truck has a 4R70W automatic in it now, the E4OD [or 4R100] is a heavy duty transmission I dont think they were used in flaresides. A C6 will physically bolt up and fit under your truck, but you'll probably need to have a custom drive shaft made, and theres the issue of having your computer reprogrammed to understand that it isn't receiving a signal from the transmission. I'm not sure but perhaps a computer from a manual trans truck will work, it'll control the engine but not the tranny, just a thought I could be completely wrong.

Don't believe the hype old Ford 3 speed autos are some of the strongest transmissions out there, the C4 in my 82 F100 has 237,000 miles on it, and the C6 in my 86 F150 has 170,000 miles. I service both often with tranny fluid flushes, and I've installed a shift kit in both.

If your about to drop a lot of money on a auto tranny be sure to have it built with a heavy duty valve body, and a shift kit. You may not like solid neck snapping shifts, but they're much easier on the transmission, with high line pressure and zero slippage a auto tranny will last a long long time.

I'd bet thats the reason your tranny is failing, when I got my 96 it would sneeze softly into gear, people may like smooth soft shifts, but they're no good for the transmissions internals. If you choose to go with a new computer controlled automatic a shift kit or electronic shift improver will greatly extend its life.

 

Thank you thank you thank you. I decided against the C6 then. What about the E4OD? How do I find out exactly what I have? I thought I had a E4OD. <_<


It's looking like I'll just have to replace my tranny with another one just like it. I was hoping I could put some bullet proof transmission in it. Although I suppose my transmission has lasted a good while.. Over 207K miles, used to pull boats / stumps / general work. Maybe it does have the E4OD?

 

If memory serves me right I believe trans code "U" on you door sticker means its a 4R70W, I cant for the life of me remember what the E4OD trans code is, I wanna say it was "J". I'll see if I can dig up a link for the vin code/door sticker decoder.

If your planing on replacing your current trans with another computer controlled 4 speed then a E4OD would be the way to go.


Also if your gonna spend the cash on a new E4OD then I would highly recommend a tranny cooler, some sort of shift kit or electric shift improver, a tranny temp gauge, and perhaps a deep finned aluminum pan, and a remote filter kit. The above will add maybe 300-350 bucks to the total cost, but its cheap insurance.

I wouldn't worry to much about spending some cash on a new unit, the later year E4ODs were built proof from the factory, and aftermarket units can be built even stronger. I wouldn't doubt your next one will outlive the truck its in.

 

Thanks Jimbo, thanks everyone. I love this site. Every time I need a question answered, I come here.