Well, the A4LD is not very good, that's an established fact. The one in my brother's truck is on the way out I believe. I'd like to not bother with the A4LD at all ever again, so I'd like to swap a C4 in there. It's a 1986 Bronco II 4x4 with the 2.9. What would be involved in swapping the transmission? Thanks

 

To make the C-4 work in the B2 you have to get the light duty C-4 from a 6-cylinder car with the removable bell housing.
To install a C-4, it will require some modification, mostly what you will be doing is using a C-5 bellhousing and tail housing and just using the C-4 guts, for strength and than driveshaft modification would be needed. The C-5 came in 83-85 1/2 Rangers and 84-85 1/2 Bronco II. Hope this helps.

 

I have an '85 BroncoII. The mfg. date on the door reads
03/85. How can I determine which transmission I have?
Thanks.

 

Go to www.netgearhead.com. There are links to help determine which tranny is in your truck. Also there is a vin code that tells you, however I'm not sure which is which. I've never had to use it as I have an 86. The 86 only came with the A4LD auto.

 

Thanks for your help! I found out that the transmission in my vehicle is an AOD. Is anybody familiar with this one as far as reliability and expected life?

 

No it's not. Sorry. Here is a clip of a conversation I had with a guy at James Duff:

Q: Is there any way to get a c4 or AOD
>behind it without major modifications?

A: There is no way an AOD would fit
behind the 2.9L, because it has a 1
piece integrated bellhousing on it.

According to Netgearhead.com, you have an A4LD. This is the tranny that was in your 1985, 2.8LV6 BII.

The AOD was never an option on the BII and will not match up with the 2.8L engine.

The problem is that the C-5 was also available on the 1985 BII according to the James Duff website. You may want to contact them with any questions you may have. If you can take a picture of your tranny and forward it to me (matt@office.bmi.net) I could tell you if it's an A4LD or not. I have two of them taken apart right now.

 

Hmmm....Interesting! You certainly know far more about such things than I do. My remarks were based on a conversation I had with a man at Netgearhead. He asked me the make, model and year and the mfg. date. He asked if it has overdrive...which it does......he said that the early '85 models have the AOD....prior to the introduction of the A4LD. Maybe there was a misunderstanding or he may have looked at it wrong!

I really don't have a good way of taking a picture of it.

I'm sure you're right! Thanks for helping!

 

The advice and help are free. I went to www.netgearhead.com and looked up your truck with your engine and it said you had the A4LD. The 84 and 85 also came with the C-5. Take the truck to a Ford dealership, or a tranny shop and have then look up the numbers for you. THen you will know for sure. If it's the C-5, all you have to do is find a C-4 with removable Bell Housing and do the conversion. Not too hard. Most of the parts you need you can find at a bone yard or at www.jamesduff.com. Good Luck!

 

Why would you want to do the "conversion"? Its a waste of time and money!!! I have an '84 B2 4X4 with the OEM C5 behind a 328hp, 306 CID Small Block Ford and love it. I did swap in a '77 C4 valve body to get a better choice on shift kits. The C4/5 trannies can be built to handle upwards of 1000HP in a vehicle that's 3500lbs. or less. Check your parts books guys these are the same juice boxes. C5's had a lock up converter, put in a non lock up converter and you basically have a C4. The only real difference is the C5 has an added shift timing "body". That's the reason for the hump in the pan.
Here's a pic of my C5 pan.

 

Merlin 306:
I don't recall disputing the power of a C5. I do remember disputing the strength of a A4LD. I'm glad that you have a C5 that stands up to a 306cid engine. Thats great, and thank you for sharing that information. However the question was how to replace a A4LD with a C4. If he's got a C5 in his bronco, and puts a C4 valve body in it, maybe he will get the same longevity out of it that you have recieved from yours. However, if he wants to go with a C4, and asks questions about the conversion, I'm going to offer assistance. There are lot's of guys/gals on these threads that will agree in both directions on the conversion and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Thank you for exercizing that right.

 

Oops my bad, the old brain doesn't work like it did a few years ago, what the eyes see isn't always what the mind sees. You are right, the A4LD's are notorious for problems. If he wants to change trannies, find a B2/Ranger 4X4 with a C5 and X-case, bolt it on behind the 2.8L/2.9L or even a 4.0L. The bellhousing bolt pattern should all be the same, get the correct flexplate, converter, shifter linkage, other misc. pieces and you would be set.
What I can't see is taking a bellhousing, tailhousing and the main/tail shaft from a C5 to put on a C4, these are basically the same slush boxes. Parts from one will interchange with the other. Talk to a good tranny rebuilder they will tell you the same thing. The main difference between the two is the C5 used a lock-up converter and the C4 did not. So when you go to buy a C5 converter now, it will be a dummy converter, no lock-up, so now it is a C4 with a halloween mask on. Here's some stuff off the top of my head.
C3 - Code V (1983-1984)......................... 3-speed - Overall length is 24-inches
C5 - Code W (1983-1984).........................3-speed
A4LD - Code T (1983-1994)...........................4-speed - Overall length is 28.687-inches
4R44E - Code T (1995-1997) (2.3L & 3.0L).......4-speed
4R55E - Code T (1995-1997) (4.0L)..................4-speed
4R70W - Code U (1996-1997 5.0 Explorer).......4-speed
5R55E - Code D (1997-)..................................5-Speed

The transmission codes can be located on the safety compliance certification label on the drivers door post.
The changeover date for single to dual solenoid versions occured in mid '88.
The single solenoid originally on the trans 85-87 controls only the TC lockup function.
Later models had the 3-4 shift inhibit solenoid added in 88, and both the 90 2.9 A4LD and a 93 Explorer A4LD have the dual solenoid setup.

The A4LD 4-speed, overdrive transmission has been used in the Ranger/Bronco II/Explorer platform since 1986. As most of the early overdrive auto trannies, the A4LD was not real reliable in the early years. The first major change came with the introduction of the 4.0 in 1990. While still an A4LD, the 4.0 version was significantly stronger than the non 4.0 versions. It also had a computer controlled torque converter lock-up. In 93.5 another major upgrade of this transmission occurred. In addition to the computer controlled lock-up, the transmission also got a computer controlled overdrive engagement. Internally, most of the thrust washers were replaced with torrington bearings, which made the tranny much stronger.
While the A4LD has gotten a bad rap, it is actually a good strong transmission. The newest version is still an A4LD, it just goes by another name due to the fact that it is completely computer controlled, and has a 5th gear.

There are modifications and upgrades available to this tranny. Better grade clutches and bands, better converters with improved lock-up clutches and brazed fins (stock converters were known for clutch failures, which takes out the entire trans), welded planetary cages, shift kits, and the ability to upgrade a non 4.0 tranny to 4.0 specs makes this tranny very versitile. At its strongest (off-road race application), these transmissions are holding up to V6's making in excess of 300hp. Once the engines get much higher than that (depends on usage) the main shafts will start bending.

"One of the most interesting upgrades available for this transmission is the off-road race package. This includes numerous valve body and internal modifications. These modifications can be made by Doug Hamby of Dougs Transmissions only, due to the fact that they were developed between him and FMC. What this modification does for you, is give you an automatic with all of the advantages of a manual....... and none of the downfalls. Run in drive, you can split the 3 gears with overdrive, and you can lock-up the converter in any of the gears. This gives a much greater availability of ratios, and makes it real easy to keep the engine in its power curve. Also, because you can lock-up the converter whenever you wish, it also helps to keep the transmission cool. This mod also allows the transmission to be used completely manually." This was given to me, from a shop manual I'm guessing.

When having an A4LD rebuilt, there are a couple of things that you need to make sure of. First and foremost, do not let a shop do a soft parts fix only (clutches, servos, and bands). This will almost ensure that you will have another repair needed right after the 1-year warranty is out. Other things you want to have replaced are: forward one-way clutch (always), overdrive drum (stamped tin, replace if out of round or heat damaged), pump (Ford only, rebuilds are prone to failure), and the converter (get the better converter with the improved lock-up clutch and brazed fins). Also, get references from the shop and call the people. Just because they can rebuild TH350's and C4's does not mean they know what they are doing with overdrive trannies.

One of the best things you can do for your auto tranny is get the largest, aftermarket, stacked plate cooler you can fit behind your grille. The factory cooler is marginal at best, due to its being tied in with your radiator. Remember, with that set-up, if you overheat your engine, you will overheat your tranny. Heat is the biggest enemy of the automatic transmission. Change your fluid and filter every year, or every 12-15,000 miles if used hard. Use ONLY the fluid recommended by Ford. Only use synthetic fluid if it is required by Ford. With proper maint., these transmissions should last well over 100,000 miles.
The AOD was not a Ranger transmission, but it is an optional swap. Advance Adapters offers a conversion kit to install this in to a 4WD Ranger/B2 along with a V-8. The AOD is a 4-speed automatic transmission introduced in 1980 and was used until 1993. This transmissions overall length is 20.500-inches long. It has a gear ratio of 2.40:1 (1st), 1.46:1 (2nd), 1:1 (3rd) and the forth is 33% overdrive. I hope this makes sense and isn't confusing anyone.
O.K. now I'm finished, if anybody needs any more info I'll pick through my brain and see what I can dig up.
It's all about the information, more info equals better decisions and results.

 

I was actually considering swapping out my 5-spd to a C4 or C5 behind a 2.9L V-6 in my 87 BII (economy over power, don't want to do a V-8 conversion)... my problem is probably going to be finding a donor vehichle and/or boneyard parts. A lot of the driveline or whatever *might* need to be fabricated won't be that much of a problem (got to love friends who are welders, etc.)

 

I have a 93 ranger ext cab v6 3.0 v6. would like to swap in the c4. this will be trans #6. motor runs fine but trans is out and in my area of east texas nobody rebuilds the. no junk yards have one and 1 place that did have one wanted $1,000.00 plus shipping , another $100.00. question I have is, do you use the a4ld bell housing on the c4, or find a v6 or I6 bell housing . I have never seen a 3.0 v6 any thing but rangers and astro vans. would like to keep the old truck (its named LIL RED) I name all my rides. help please. thanks mikeh