I purchased a brand new E4OD shift kit from TransGo - around $60 from Summit. I read up as much as possible on how to make the mods, including some very informative step-by-step DIY posts/stickies from other members here. At one point, I even found a instructional video from the TransGo company (but could never find it again, for some reason).

Anyway, this is the absolute WORST instructions I have ever tried to get through for anything. Assemble-your-own furniture has better instructions and is nowhere near as expensive nor critical as an automatic trans! Transmission innards aren't something you want to guess at.

First of all, that TransGo video didn't even mention the added metering plate (into which larger holes must be drilled), but the DIY post here did show it. Beyond that, the parts come in a divided plastic pan, enclosed in sealed plastic bags, but are not labeled AT ALL. I had to sift through everything to find what looked like the pictures in the "instructions". They're so cheap with paint that it was hard to see which were the "orange" or "white" springs, for instance. Also included in the kit are, apparently, parts that aren't used for the E4OD (probably for the 4R100) BUT THEY NEVER MENTIONED ANYTHING ABOUT IT/THEM! JESUS!

The whole "hide the check ball" game was beyond confusing. Their crappy photo(s) did nothing to help me make sure they were in the right place, and their instruction/description reads something like, "...if you have hole here (D), move ***** 2,3,5 to locations B,R, K. If you have two holes here (G), do not move any *****. Except add the steel ball supplied in kit." (I paraphrase, but you get the point.)

Ultimately, I only modded the accumulator valve body. Even that had a couple of places where the instructions didn't tell the whole story. I was afraid to pull the solenoid pack and release the separator plate and perhaps let the ***** move around (and wouldn't have known where they came from, to use the above description to put them somewhere else).

I'm no slouch with regards to auto repair, and I've even rebuilt an AOD (twice) in the past. But this is criminal! There's no excuse for not making this perfectly clear to anyone doing this job.

Okay, sorry for the long rant. I feel better. This is also for anyone doing a search on a TransGo shift kit. Beware!

 

thanks for the tip on which kit NOT to buy
reps!!!!

 

I used the B&M kit , just follow the instuctios , everthing went well , big improvement, just have to be carfull with the drill bitts that come with the kit , they break easy, other than that its easy......Lew

 

Save up for a "Punisher" Valvebody. Best mod ever.

You can get them from Paul "thePUNISHER" on NLOC.net

lightning2fast@aol.com


Best mod you will ever buy.

 

I have heard alot about the punisher valvebody but don't know anyone that has had one , how do they work ?? I use the B&M street/strip kit in a 4R70W with some more line pressure & its the hardest hitting trans i ever had , it will spin 11 1/2 wide MT with a eaton true trac on the second gear shift at 1/2 throttle , if you don't want it to spin the tires you have to be light footed or let off when it shifts , ....Lew

 

I had no trouble when I did it to my car, lousy instructions or not.. and its a hell of alot better then the B&M kit, which is easy because it just brutalizes your transmission to get what you want.

Your not going to find any video, or clear instructions.. some people (myself not included) understand what they are looking at, and dont need that much instruction anyways.. lol. But theres too many different valve bodies and configurations to walk you through that. I dont even remember them marketing it as a do it yourself. I remember opening my box to a letter that says dont **** with this if you dont know what your doing, take it to someone that does. lol.

 

Hey Lew, here are some threads talking about the Punisher valvebody...

My valvebody has been PUNISHED! - The National Lightning Owners Club Inc

Just did the best mod yet!! - The National Lightning Owners Club Inc

just installed "PUNISHER" valve body - The National Lightning Owners Club Inc

 

The Transgo Kit is generally regarded as preferential over the B&M. You can get more info on Network 54 Ford Transmission Forum. I did a B&M on a C4 and liked it. I did one on a C6 and couldn't see difference. My transmission re-builder does his own shift mods and builds his own torque converters. I had him do my 4R70W. These kits take a lot of careful research and work; first time can be a frustrating experience.

 

I didn't have any issues when I did my Transgo kit.. I did do a writeup and posted it with pictures in this forum too. The only thing I have to do is drill the holes in the metering plate bigger. I want it to shift harder. I thought the instructions where symple, and easy to fallow. I was worried when I first opened to box, but after I started doing it, it was fine. Just more steps than a C6 or C4.

 

....Well the B&M kit is more of a highperformance kit than the trans go , thats what B&M does , the street/strip kit isnt what you want for a DD , but i don't think it brutalizes the trans , my trans had 170K on it when i put the kit in & i have driven it for a year and a half and the trans shows no signs of giving up ....Lew

 

...Thanks Mike !!

 

They have a video on the transgo website for the installation of their shift kits

 

This is for the AOD but I am sure they have one for the E4OD as well. http://www.transgo.com/Video/AOD.zip

 

I found the vid for the E4OD (I had saved it to my computer desktop). Some of the biggest problems are that the vid does not show any modification(s) to the solenoid pack (there are holes to drill), nothing about the added accumulator VB plate (again, holes to drill), they show removal of a large gasket from the separator plate, but the kit doesn't (no longer?) comes with the gasket (nor the pan gasket, as shown in the vid), the vid doesn't show adding to/changing the fourth valve in the accumulator VB, they never remove the separator plate to move *****... The list goes on. The video seems like it's from about 1995, not that that's any excuse.

It's just the sign of a company that doesn't give a crap about what they sell.

Compounding that stressful afternoon, Pep Boys gave me the wrong trans filter (4X4 has a longer pickup snout), so I had no choice but to install the previous filter. But since I had to use the pan gasket from the Pep Boys box/kit, I couldn't return the filter.

It's too bad that these examples of customer service are generally accepted and acceptable in the U.S. automotive industry.

/rant

 

*most* times you don't need a new separator plate gasket, and as for a pan gasket, usually you replace the filter when your in there, so the filter comes with one. I found no problems with the pictuures in the instructions. Drilling the selinoid pac isn't required in all apps.