I Did the E4OD Torque Converter lockup Mod today!

[zigg]

Title says it.

Too easy. Find the purple wire with yellow stripe, cut it, run extensions up into the cab.
I wired it to a single pole, double throw switch, so that I can have "Auto" in the up position, "off" in the middle, and "manual on" in the down position.

In the "off" position, the trans shifts so nice and smooth, and curiously, the slight "shudder" that I figured was a bit of axle wrap when starting out is gone. Obviously, that's somehow related to the torque converter?!Whatever...

Anyway, the shifts are beautifully spaced and way nicer to drive around town.

Once I got going up over 35mph, I switched it to the manual mode, and the Torque converter clutch locked up and stayed locked up. Works perfect.

Auto mode, works as before.

Took it out on the hwy, and locked it manually at about 40mph and then it shifted into OD, and away we went. I came to a bit of a hill, and hit the button on the end of the shifter(to drop it down into 3rd) and it went into 3rd but with a bang, and then the OD light started to flash, and it went into limp mode, with flashing light and really harsh shifts. I came home, and reset the computer(pulled the neg cable on the batteries) and it's working fine again.

So, for whatever reason, it doesn't like to downshift 4-3 while the TCC is locked up. When I downshift it(kick out the OD) with it in the "Auto" mode, you can hear the TCC unlock for a sec, while the shift happens, and then lock right back up, so, Hmmmm, whatever.

Anyway, I love the mod. Nice control, and makes a huge difference to the driveability and shift pattern in town. Once out on the hwy, I flip it into "auto" mode, and it works great, and then a couple times decelerating down a hill, I popped it into "manual" and it held just like a standard would.

I highly recommend it to anyone with a E4OD slushbox...

Zigg

 

[MARQ2277]

I AM GOING TO ADD IT TO MY E4OD. I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO DO IT FOR A WHILE NOW, BUT I AM NOT SURE WERE TO PUT THE SWITCH, SO IT WILL COOL. MAYBE I WILL JUST PUT IT ON THE SHIFT LEVER SOME PLACE.

 

[sassyrel]

marq--SHUT YOUR CAPS OFF--it makes it hard to read--and on the internet--its taken as your shouting at people---thanks

 

[MARQ2277]

oops my bad. i had them on so i could see what i am writing. sorry everyone.

 

[discbrks]

Zigg, can you give me a little more info on how you wired the switch? I've wanted to do the same mod, but not sure how to wire the switch. I wanted an 'on, off, on' switch instead of an 'on, off'.

 

[6.9poweredscout]

boy this may be a good idea for my buddy's '95. is it better for towing? we also installed a bullydog shift enhancer kit, that won't hurt it will it? mabe you should add a few pictures too...

-Jon

 

[Agnem]

Critical thing to remember though is to go back to "auto" mode before your speed gets too low to sustain the hydraulic presure needed to keep the clutch engaged. Otherwise it starts to slip, and the trans will self destruct.

 

[trackspeeder]

Critical thing to remember though is to go back to "auto" mode before your speed gets too low to sustain the hydraulic presure needed to keep the clutch engaged. Otherwise it starts to slip, and the trans will self destruct.

What he said.

You will kill the torque converter really fast by lugging it.

 

[Devilish]

trackspeeder I love your avatar

 

[Pipeliner_86]

I did this "mod" to my '95 Bronco about 8 years ago, when I had it. I didn't have the three position switch tho. Mine was wired to unlock the converter when I flipped the switch. This worked good for my truck because the converter clutches were worn out and would shudder under load. I would drive around with my convertor unlocked quite often, in fact I drove the truck 200 miles all the way up north pulling a 2-place sled trailer, and when we pulled into Lewiston, my truck developed its own "shift kit" feel in the trans. I thought it was really cool, my shift's were hard and snappy, and this continued for as long as I had the truck (a year or two). I don't know what caused the transmission to go into this hard shifting mode, but it did after 6 months or so of installing the torque converter unlocking switch.

A friend of mine with a 96 F-150 did the same thing to his truck, because his converter was shuddering. His truck also shifted hard, but his E4OD puked about 8 months later. Both these trucks were 5.0L gassers, so I don't know if a diesel slushbox will have the same outcome.

 

[oldmisterbill]

I did the lock up mod several years ago.I just wanted my convertor locked up when I was towing,and on the highway. My feeling was that the convertor unlocking and locking every time you let of the throttle was a detriment to the convertor-(I wanted to eliminate the on off usage of the convertor clutches,thus hopefully reducing its wear)since this seems to be the first thing to fail on an overdrive transmission.WhenI wanted to -or knew it was ready to shift down I let offf slightly as it shifted.The shifts were somewhat harsh,but after many miles of towing my trans still works well.225,000 on it mostly towing a 30 ft trailer 6500lbs empty.My trans temps were much lower when climbing Mel's PA hills loaded.I recomend oit to anyone-just remember to unlock it when slowing down below 30MPH. Yes aquite a few times over the years I forgot to unlock it-results a shudder near stop to remind me to UNLOCK IT!!!Never experiened any damage,2 times I stalled it.NO DON'T think I recomend not unlocking it!! Another thought is that I was stopping every time I had forgotten to unlock it so my foot was off the throttle.Most down shifts at highway speed were firm but not super harsh.I pulled 2 Farm tractors up the mountain on RT40 from N.carolina going into Tennesee with no temp problems, B4 the mod temp was a problem on that grade.Dunno what the grade is but George or poolguy can tell us.But it is steep!!!! The load on my avatar went to Hershey PA.from MA on 81 some good grades there to.I pulled a lot of loads like that all over PA.

 

[MARQ2277]

TORQUE CONVERTER LOCK UP

Since I have been driving my truck with the lock up switch, I notice something very cool. When coming to a stop, if I put the shifter into L1, the converter unlock by itself. Than I just take off and place the shifter back into drive at 30mph, and it's back to lock up. Has anyone else tried this?? Check it out, and let me know if yours does this trick also.

Marq