transmission problems
 

hey guys, i have a 1989 ford bronco with the 302, 5.0. it has an E4OD transmission. Does anyone know what other type of vehicles and transmission, can and will fit in it? Im trying to stay on a budget so im not looking to spend a lot of money. Also should i keep the 302, or put in a 351 modified? ive heard good things from both of them but im still unsure. well thanks for reading. :-jammin

Welcome to FTE and the Big Bronco Forum.

Any F-150 or Bronco from 1989-1995 can potentially have an E4OD in it. Skip the 351M. They were only available in the 78-79's and at the very least would require significant modification/fabrication to stuff into your engine bay. Not to mention that fact that you would have to strip the entire engine electrical system out of your truck, lose the fuel injection, and go backwards to carburated technology.

If you want to up your CID, the swap to a fuel injected 5.8L (351W) is much simpler. You will still need the computer (ECA) and the wiring harness from the engine bay of the donor truck. The E4OD will bolt directly to the 351W (5.8L).

Out of curiosity, what's wrong with the E4OD? Have you pulled Codes? If you are looking to fix "transmission troubles" as the title would suggest, what are the symptoms that have you deciding to swap engines instead?

i was out wheeling one day, and my transmission dropped road gear. i had to baby it because i didnt have the money to buy a new tranny. After about a month or so it started to slip in first gear. Finaly a couple days later all gears went out and i was stuck on the side of the road. The reason of the engine swap is i want something bigger than a 302. One of my buddies told me he had a 351m that could work for it. do you have any cheap tips to get more hoarse?

I'll address the cheap fix. There is a lot of opportunity to fix it cheaply as you can see depending on the codes and what you see in the pan.

What color is the fluid? Does it smell burnt?

First, the transmission will never be happy unless the engine is happy first. Gear selection is controlled by electricity to the solenoid pack in the transmission and engine sensors and oxygen sensor. Can you pull codes? Then, depending on code results , it is a messy job but drop the transmission pan and see what is in the bottom of the pan and on the magnet. It could be electrical i.e. MLPS, VSS, connections, or even the ECM (PCM) or just bad battery cable connections. Since you were wheeling, again read the codes first, clean and die electric grease the MLPS, VSS, transmission solenoid and two connections below the master cylinder on the firewall and the PCM. Check the transmission wiring harness between the transmission and the driver side frame for possible damage.

i had pulled the pan from the transmission already and the tranny fluid was like dark black, and smelled really burnt. I also found shards of broken metal in it. After seeing that i pulled the tranny. tore it apart and found a hole the size of a baseball in guts of the tranny. Can i put a C6 in there? Instead of the E4OD? would that be better or worse?

I would re-read Grey's post here, you will need some serious mods to put eve just a C-6 in, plus your knocking yourself down to 3 speeds, no overdrive. I am not sure how big the e4od is but look at the c-6
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...-25_130618.jpg
It isn't small, they are designed for bigger motors than a 302. You would be able to throw a c-4 in it if you really wanted but once again, most of those are 3 speeds and would require a step back in fuel delivery. You would probably be better replacing the one you have or i "think" you can do a ZF swap but i am not sure, the more experienced guys would know but i guess the ZF is the new c-6 for trucks.

The C6 would certainly work. It was one of the stock autos available in earlier model Broncos. (No worry about physical size here, the E4OD is by far the biggest "slushbox" ever put into the Bronco). The problem, as Gruesome said, is you lose your overdrive gear and you STILL would need to swap computers because the computer for a truck WITH an E4OD will throw all kinds of fault Codes if the E4OD is not there anymore. Losing overdrive reduces fuel economy.

The ZF is a manual transmission that requires putting all of the equipment associated with it into the truck as well... clutch, clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder, clutch pedal assembly (which is PART of the brake pedal assembly in these trucks when equipped with a manual transmission) etc.

Oh ok, i thought the e40d was smaller... I also didn't know the ZF was manual, food for thought.

FWIW, remove from your mind forever the idea of putting a 351m in your truck. Please.

The E4OD, like most electronic autos, is an expensive item.

Are you subject to or likely to be subject to emissions testing now or in the future?

Is this a daily driver or vehicle you use for long road trips?

Do you know what axle ratio you have?

What size tire are you running?

i would like to put an E4OD tranny back in the truck, mostly i was trying to keep my options open. I wont be subject to emission testing in the future, it was my daily driver till the tranny dropped out of it, and i run 35 12.5 r15 super swampers. so everyone recommends that i put the E4OD back into it and never put the 351m in it?

Despite the cost, in the long run, that is your best option.

As for the 351m, your 302 makes more HP, and probably more torque as well. They are hopeless turds. Plus, they use the BBF/385 series bell pattern, so you would need a trans for it too. The only fix for a 351m is a rebuild back into the 400 it came from, with decent pistons and cam.

The 351w/E4OD idea suggested above would give you lots more power and the new transmission, if you are able to find a good pair in your searches.

Repair/replace the E4OD. I like the 5.8/E4OD combination myself.

With careful searching you may find both items in good order

And for a good price.

Now that you are focusing on a 351W/E4OD so i would suggest a '95 with the ECM. The 94 351W was the first year with roller cam. The early 94 E4OD had a warranty upgrade to the best and preferred internals so if you get a 95 you can feel feel comfortable it has the latest. The 96 got OBDII emissions.

do you guys know of any good websites i can go to. too look up prices and such? I was told that since i have an 89 the bolt patterns for the bell housing isnt the same after 93. is that true?

No that is not true at all. What you DO want to look for is either a 94 or newer E4OD or an E4OD that has been rebuilt after 94. Ford did major reworking of the internals between the 1993 and 1994 model years that improved shift points, longevity, and drivability. The 300 L6 (4.9L), 302 V8 (5.0L), and 351W (5.8L) were all stock engines in the Bronco between 1981 and 1992. In 1993, the 300 (4.9) was dropped and only the 302 (5.0) and 351W (5.8) were available through the end of production in 1996.

There are two schools of thought on which engine setup is most efficient, produces the most power, etc. Neither of them include keeping the 302 (5.0). No matter what you do to it, the 302 is a bored 289 that was designed to rev high and rocket "pony cars" like the Mustang around town. Put one into something with the weight of a full-size 4WD, and they rev their heads off just dragging around all that weight.

1) For the die-hard, speed-hungry, enthusiast who believes nothing will ever be better than a V8, the 351W (5.8) is the hands-down winner. The idea being, "He with the most cubic inches wins." Throw fuel economy to the wind and just mash the pedal to get through anything anywhere. Many feel the 5.8 was (and still is) the best engine option for the Bronco. It pulls well and has plenty of reserve power where it counts. And its pretty much true albeit a bit sophomoric and short sighted given fuel prices and the fact the the V8 will still rev higher to achieve the kind of torque that the other option affords.

2) The 300 (4.9) is a lowly inline-6 with pistons the size of water buckets. (Think about a 6-cylinder that is only two cubic inches less displacement than a V8 (302). Its no speed demon, (although there are drag racers who swear by them) and it certainly doesn't have the same "cool points" that a big V8 under the hood has come to rate. However, lower RPM's to reach peak torque will provide enough output to yank your house off its foundation with proper gearing. Designed as a truck engine with most of its grunt down low in the RPM range, it doesn't bat an eye at heavy towing, getting through rough stuff off-road, or cruising at highways speeds with a much more quenchable thirst for fuel than its V8 counterparts.

I hope I wasn't too transparent as to which school of though I ascribe. Both options are viable and have distinct advantages over each other depending upon what you want to be able to do with the truck.