Transmission upgrade from 4r75e/5.4
 

Hey there wisened truck gurus!
What alternatives are there behind a 5.4? My planetary gears gave out at 70k miles. My mechanic has re-re-rebuilt a case of unknown origin 3 times now and I’m over it. My vehicle is a “super duty” (quotes for irony) 2013 e350 4x4 converted (agile off road) van. Kinda an orphan in the forums, please excuse the cross post, my van is more akin to your trucks. I tow my JK and sometimes a dump trailer with a little granite…is there another trans that bolts onto the 5.4 that is bulletproof? There seems to be plenty of room, aside from the fuel tank. Probably have to have the driveshafts length adjusted, both of which I can deal with if the trans upgrade is worthy. Thoughts? The full saga of my trans is in another post if anyone is curious.

thanks!
Dieter

There are plenty of other transmissions that will bolt on. That's easy. The hard part is getting it to shift. The PCM that operates the engine and transmission only knows how to control a 4R75E. Any other transmission is going to require some other computer. How will you make that work?

Hi Mark! Thanks for your response, I’ve read many of your posts.
I don’t know how to deal with the PMC. The idea of swapping occurred to me out of the frustration of transmission failure at 70k and an ongoing 3rd attempt by our local shop to build a replacement.

the failure at 70k was the planetary gears. I regularly tow a 4 door wrangler, which I want to continue to do. I’ve had some transgressions with over loading (which are behind me now, so to speak) that probably caused that problem.

the issue at hand is the rebuilt transmission. It was built with a core of unknown origin and has had issues beginning at 300miles (documented in another post under my username) until it was flatbedded back to the shop at 1500 miles on the rebuild. That was their first try. The next rebuild didn’t function properly on the test drive due to a solenoid stuck open(no more details provided) so the transmission has been removed, re-re-rebuilt and is currently being installed again.

The shop is reputable, the transmission guy experienced. I use this van off road in Mexico, way way out in the middle of nowhere. Do we just need to call off this off and order a new trans? Are there case problems that might not be detected by a shop that doesn’t specialize in rebuilds? Would you share the common weak points and solutions for the 4r75s?

Is a swap worth the trouble for towing and reliability, or do i just need better luck with the rebuild?

your input is much appreciated!
Dieter

Where would you get a new trans? You could get a different rebuild, or a remanufactured trans. A new trans is simply not available.

These transmissions are not that hard to rebuild.

Are they changing the coolers, including the radiator when they install a new transmission? Reusing the old coolers reintroduces debris from the failed planetary into the new trans, causing it to fail.

hi Mark,

Sure wish Ford would drop a sprinter style body on a 4x4 F350!

i just gotten off the phone with the shop. They said they’ve installed new bands, Torque C., clutches etc. and are reinstalling it now. Guess we’ll hang on for one more round…

On the first rebuild I bought a new radiator. For some unknown reason they didn’t replace The aux trans cooler however. I’ve asked them to replace it this time around, especially given that they admitted one problem was a chunk jamming the valve body and another was a “booger” somewhere else. I pressed him on the quality of the case and he said he put a bronze sleeve in the 4th gear bore. When I interviewed the mechanic I was impressed at his cluttered but clean work space. He also has enough gray hair to be credible.

thanks for the chunk warning. If that was it what a waste of time money and frustration over lack of one part!

cheers
Dieter