E4OD questions

[dyoung14]

What can be done to E4OD tans to maybe get firmer shifts and longer trans life and have a happy trans that will hold up good and not have all the gutlessness its supose to have?

 

[Chevyboy_0]

I think B&M makes a trans kit or a shift kit for the E4OD, here is summits page for it http://www.summitracing.com/search/?keyword=E4OD&dds=1

 

[franklin2]

Best thing to do is get a rebuilt unit from Ford. They install all the internal upgrades in their rebuilds, and guarantee them also, for a good price I have heard.

 

[pybyr]

I don't know if I'm pleased with my E4OD on account of the fact that I got my truck with only 12,600 miles on it, and received excellent care (former USAF and then volunteer fire dept truck), or whether the transmission received some favorable attention at some point, but despite all the bad things I hear about the E4OD, I find that mine shifts really decisively. I hope if I take good care of it, it'll stay that way.

 

[Fozz]

The best thing you can do for your E4OD is to keep it cool. buy a big aux cooler and install it. My tranny died about a year ago (while I was towing my 5'r - sucked) with
217k miles on it. I bought a Ford reman, about the best deal out there, especially if you know someone (discount). I was really close to putting a Transgo Tugger kit in it until I did the torque converter lock-out mod. The 2nd to 3rd shift in these trannys seems ungodly soft and long. But what seems like a long shift is actually the 2 to 3 shift, plus the converter locks up about that time too. While driving around town, I leave the converter unlocked and the truck shifts like you would think it should. When on the highway, I lock it up and the rpms drop a few hundred rpms. Plus when locked, you have engine braking for down hills (great when towing). But, you have to make sure you unlock before coming to a stop, or the engine will die (just like a manual tranny and not pushing the clutch). I know Gary is going to be around talking about BTS trannys, and I've never read a bad thing about them, as a matter of fact, I would have bought one if they weren't so much $$.

 

[ericboutin]

Exactly what he said above. Just keep em clean and cool which is why the only thing I would add to the above would be to add a filter kit for the fluid too.
I think the E4OD gets a bad rap...and it's usually from people who don't take care/maintain them or inherited it from someone who didn't maintain it. It's not the tranny's fault if the owner neglected it..... Just my .02.

 

[david85]

And whatever you do, don't try and push a lot of weight uphill in reverse! Thats what low gears and/or a transfer case are for. Its simply a limitation of the transmission that reverse is too tall to have any significant amount of torque.

On flat, smooth ground there is no problem but don't try and push a 5th wheel up a ramp in reverse unless you have the gearing to do it.

Another thing, is you can't expect a stock E4OD running stock settings to hold up well behind a modified engine. You need to recalibrate the valve body if you run a turbo and like to use it.

For heavy towing with a turbo, I would replace the forward and overdrive gear sets with steel carrier planetaries. Diddo on a stronger torque converter.

Roller bearing center support for anything no matter how light the use.

F5 pump is a good idea, but not completely mandatory (I've heard all ford rebuilds are supposed to have this)

Something that isn't always mentioned is to have the newer version sprag cages. Sprags are the one way roller diods that allow parts to rotate in one direction, but lock in the other. Older ones have rollers that are held in place by steel cages. Later ones use a plastic cage that is less prone to damaging the race. My tranny has a mix of both and so far I haven't had any problems. They can be pricy if you have to source them yourself.

 

[maddenji]

B&M makes a shift plus which raises the pressure electrically. Has three settings, reg, I firm, and II extra firm. The shifts are firm, but I only use it sparingly.
Jim

 

[icanfixall]

BTS.... Thats the only real trans that wont fail no matter how much hp or torque you throw at it... Stock converters have 25 square inches of friction material. The BTS trile disc has 150 square inches of friction material. BTS adds more friction discs to each forward gear. They add the steel planetary gear sets instead of the aluminum sets. Its best if you read their web site for all the other items they replace in the E4OD.... Brian told me any horse power or any torque... We will repair it if you break it anytime... Now how can you get a better warranty than that. Mine is working fine after some hard driving and hauling. I never see temps about 185 either. About the onlt time my temps come up is when I'm in double overdrive beacuse of the Gear Vendors. Even then its only 185... Seems to just stop there... At 85 mph with the 3.55 gears I'm turning around 1800 rpm... Not even breathing hard but working fine...

 

[trackspeeder]

If you do not want to play with the internals,go with a Trans Go Tugger kit. Easy install, follow the instructions. Stay away from the electronic tranny gadgets. Those just put a band aid on the tranny. The big thing is to keep the tranny cool. Use a good cooler (stack plate type are the best). Keep up with the maintenance, clean fluid is important in the E4OD. The weakest part of the E4OD is the converter. A good multi clutch converter is a must if you add HP to your ride.

That should cover you. If you want it totally bullet proof you can go with john Woods or BTS. But you will be spending the $$$$s.

 

[mj05]

What's the price difference between ford reman and BTS?

 

[LCAM-01XA]

B&M makes a shift plus which raises the pressure electrically. Has three settings, reg, I firm, and II extra firm. The shifts are firm, but I only use it sparingly.
Jim

Do yourself a favor, take that off and throw it in the first trash can that you see. The ShiftPlus unit, along with the TransCommand by Banks, is nothing but snake oil - yes it raises line pressure, but the fact is these transmissions at least in stock form cannot handle stupid high line pressures all the time. Now the ads for them darn controllers claim they "feel" the load on the driveline and really only jack up the line pressure when it's needed - to which my reply is how exactly do they "feel" driveline load, if they don't even know which gear you're in at any given moment? There are other aftermarket controllers that actually have inputs for engine speed, vehicle road speed, and gear selection - now those can operate the trans properly and sometimes better than the factory PCM, however they are designed to do so, while the piggy-back modules ain't nothing but a set of resistors that you manually switch between based on your understanding of how high the line pressure should be - which may be correct if you know what resistors are in there and what line pressure should be used at what load conditions, however unless you're a Ford trans engineer or a transmission builder I highly doubt you can do such judgments on the fly... no offense!

The best way to recalibrate an E4OD for better shifts is by installing a shift kit in the valve body - I personally have the Transgo kit, a Sonnax modulator valve, and custom-drilled separator plate, it's an oddball setup but it works absolutely amazing and now the trans shifts much like a Cadillac CTS-V with the sport mode engaged and nothing like the factory slush action these trucks are known for... Oh yeah, I also run some sort of an aftermarket HD converter, plus a monster cooler up front, I'm sure those make a difference too.

 

[maddenji]

No Offense taken,
I've had this unit on my truck for over 8 years. I use it when I have a load to start or when I just want to feel it shift with the propane turned on. I will probably remove it when and if I have the tranny rebuilt. Until that time I'll keep using it even though I'm not a transmission engineer. I like the way it feels.
Thanks for the input
JIm

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Well, as long as you don't go too crazy with it (like WOT shifts with the ShiftPlus on stage II) and you understand its limitations I think you will be just fine.