Every since I bought this truck about a year ago, The transmisson will not imidatly enguage. It only happens when the truck sits for many hours. Possibly 5 or more. If I put it In gear, it will slighty move ford like it slips. So now when I start it I let it sit for a minuite at idle and then take off so I don't burn anything up. Other than that it does not slip, it shifts just fine even at full throttle. The tranny fluid looks fine and does not smell burnt.

 

I think you have a drain back problem - the torque converter drains partially when sitting for extended periods. Very common with the E4OD. I believe its caused by a defective check valve in the pump stator. its usually an easy fix and better upgrades are available, but requires removal of the tranny.

 

That sounds easy enough. I will just wait till I convert to 4x4 since I will have to remove it anyway. Thanks for the info

 

To convert to 4wd you will have to completely tear down the transmission, you might want to consider a few other upgrades while your at it. The E4OD has lots of potential, but I'm sorry to say, its not good enough in stock form, especially if you ever want to add a turbo.

 

if it has been rebuilt in the past a lot of rebuilders will remove the check valve located in the rear cooler line fitting to reduce resistance and improve lube flow , if it has been removed it can cause converter leak down to verify it check the fluid level after the engine has been shut off and remember it then check it again after extended shut down and see if the fluid level is significantly higher , this will confirm wether or not its converter leak down

 

Thanks, I will check the fluid level. Not a bad Idea at all. David, I will definatly be doing an up grade the tranny since I have to complety disassembly it anyway. Any Particular kits In mind. I will be adding a banks turbo here shortly when it arrives and I was wondering which converter to possibly use and with what stall speed? Or should I just keep the stock converter? Thanks

 

I would not under any circumstance advise using an OEM type converter on the E4OD. They can literally explode sending shrapnel through the rest of the transmission killing the whole unit.

Since you are going to add a turbo, I would get a billet cover converter with as many internal upgrades as possible. What I got is this:

Billet cover,
triple clutch lockup,
upgraded lockup clutch piston, (stock ones can crack)
furnace brazed turbine blades, (OEM are only crimped together!! and thats why they can fly apart)
I asked for a low stall converter, but its a matter of preference,

There are other upgrades in there as well, but I can't remember them all, it cost me $730 (CA$). We had a converter builder here before, maybe he will chime in again. He had an alternative to multi-clutch that sounded nice.

There are many internal upgrades for the E4OD as well.

Sonax makes whats called a "sure cure" kit, and transgo makes an equivalent. I got the transgo kit because thats what my parts store had. It has a few valves in it that replace some of the stock anodized aluminum valves with steel ones, the boost valve in the pump is an important one (steel valves last better, and offer better response time). The kit will also allow you to adjust the firmness of each shift in you want. Other small fixes are included in the kit to prevent other potential problems later on.

Steel gears.
The planetary carriers in the first E4ODs were all 3 pinion aluminum, more recently, ford started offering cast iron carriers for HD versions of the E4OD. These gears are now all over Ebay, and are not very expensive. I replaced my forward 4 pinion Alum with a 6 pinion steel, and my 4 pinion Alum OD planetary with a 4 pinion steel, the OD planetary also comes with a stronger impute shaft. An upgrade for the reverse gear is also available, but its more expensive, and I don't plan on pushing a house over while in reverse so I reused my 4 pinion alum gear.

Center support.
Pre-1995 transmissions should have a bushing style center support, unless it was overhauled since then and may have the ball bearing upgrade. If not, there is a kit available that replaces the forward and OD geartrain as well as the center support.

Oil Pump.
Again, this affects pre-1995 trannies. Starting in 1995, the pump was revise in a few ways, the most note worthy being a higher displacement for more oil flow. Since I spend a lot of time at low RPM, I got a used pump off Ebay that had the higher displacement (Be careful if buying second hand though) after inspection, and replacing a couple valves, it was good to go.

OD clutch.
Normally there are 2 frictions here, while some later ones have three (or diesel), I changed the 2 F to a 3 F clutch pack using a thinner backing plate (bought through ford dealer). Other clutch pack upgrades are available in the aftermarket to upgrade clutch surface area as well as material, but I didn't use any of them, and so far the shifting is good enough for what I need (3-4 is really nice ).

I think thats all I did in my transmission.



There are LOTS of other upgrades available for the E4OD transmission, If you plan on rebuilding it yourself, I highly recommend getting an overhaul manual as well as the update book to get an idea of what you are up against. The E4OD was a constant work in progress, and ford made many changes along the way.

 

Well david, I guess I Will Write all this down and buy all the parts one step at a time. Thanks