E4OD to C6 with Gear Vendors

[FORDF250HDXLT]

going to a c6 would be a major downgrade.yes.for their time,they were great.that time came and went once fuel hit 99 cent per gallon.i loved them back then too.the E40D/4R100 is c6 based.you just need to have them updated to at least '95 spec (preferably beyond) by a shop well versed in the trans if the time to reman them comes.
meanwhile,the electrical issues are simple to diagnose.don't feel overwhelmed due to a flashing od light.once you address old wiring/corroded contacts etc she'll be reliable again.the e40d is many,many times over what the old c6 was.it really is.
if your set on it,then trans swap but do it with the zf5 manual.not outdated dino parts.

 

[ToughOldFord]

going to a c6 would be a major downgrade.yes.for their time,they were great.that time came and went once fuel hit 99 cent per gallon.i loved them back then too.the E40D/4R100 is c6 based.you just need to have them updated to at least '95 spec (preferably beyond) by a shop well versed in the trans if the time to reman them comes.
meanwhile,the electrical issues are simple to diagnose.don't feel overwhelmed due to a flashing od light.once you address old wiring/corroded contacts etc she'll be reliable again.the e40d is many,many times over what the old c6 was.it really is.
if you set on it,then trans swap but do it with the zf5 manual.not outdated dino parts.

Sorry Matt, you're wrong on this one. The C6 is an excellent transmission especially by today's disposable standards, you don't lose as much mileage as the hype tells us and dependability is far more important to those of us that work our trucks then whatever niceties having the overdrive affords you. The E4OD was such a failure that even Ford is embarrassed by it and renamed it because of the bad rap it rightly deserved. C6 is an upgrade, newer does not equal better. Going from a '95 Geo Metro to a 55 Cadillac is an upgrade, age isn't the deciding factor, going from bad to better is.

 

[direwulf23]

I can get a truck with the C6+GV cheap and I've had no luck finding any trucks with a diesel ZF5. Plus, I figure swapping an auto for an auto involves much less. There is a large factor of time and money, both of which I don't have nearly enough of. Ideally I'd drop a ZF5 in, but that is not currently an option

1994 Ford F250 Superduty, 2wd, 7.3L IDI, NA, E4OD

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

whats the E40D doing? it may not cost much,or even be free to fix.

 

[direwulf23]

In my amateur opinion slipping gears. I'll be driving along and it will either downshift or slip out of gear (rpms shoot up for a moment then is back to normal). Further it has 204k miles on the odometer and I have no knowledge of our having been rebuilt

1994 Ford F250 Superduty, 2wd, 7.3L IDI, NA, E4OD

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

does it keep setting code 62? what gears does it happen in? can you simulate the issue at will or too random? does it always slip when going uphill? what makes you think the clutches are slipping as apposed to just the converter unlocking/entering old school c6 mode ?

 

[direwulf23]

Well, it was throwing 62 but it hasn't in quite a while. It's random. Did it like 5 times last night, now today. Last night, it happened on flat ground, down hill, and up hill. Could be converter unlocking/locking. I have almost no knowledge with automatics, seriously. Lol. Almost all my vehicles have been manual, except a few that were short lived

1994 Ford F250 Superduty, 2wd, 7.3L IDI, NA, E4OD

 

[joe f350]

this i why i like my t19 not the best on mpgs but cheap and snout . I think with a gear venders on the back of a c6 it get just as good mpgs and a e4od and u can split ever gear iirc and no wires t
o worrie about

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

Well, it was throwing 62 but it hasn't in quite a while. It's random. Did it like 5 times last night, now today. Last night, it happened on flat ground, down hill, and up hill. Could be converter unlocking/locking. I have almost no knowledge with automatics, seriously. Lol. Almost all my vehicles have been manual, except a few that were short lived

1994 Ford F250 Superduty, 2wd, 7.3L IDI, NA, E4OD

that doesn't sound too alarming.it can take 4 or 5 times until she will flash the od light.that's just the converter unlocking when it's not supposed too.you probably don't need a different transmission but to just fix the one you have.you probably don't even need to lift a wrench to fix it either.could be something as trivial as a corroded plug.
a transmission with a slipping forward (or reverse) gear wouldn't just slip sometimes.it would slip all the time under load uphill until it burned out and then you'd loose that gear.

so congrats,worst case scenario is that you don't fix your E40D.run it the way it is,and you've got your C6 trans for free lol.
whenever it does that "slip" that's the way the c6 would run all the time,minus that 4th gear but you can cancel that out too if you want by locking out OD.there ya go.C6 mode.no 4th and no converter lock up.
so all you "need" to do is simply cut the converter solenoid wire.feed the pcm a dummy 20 ohm resistance to ground and cancel od.there's your C6 and she'd run just fine like that.i however would spend the hour or two to restore the converter locking issue myself.

 

[direwulf23]

I wasn't meaning I was going to pull a working E4OD and replace it with the C6+GV. I was thinking of the C6 +GV as an insurance policy for when the E4OD would need a rebuild/replacement. All things break and the E4OD is definitely no exception. I was never a Boy Scout but I definitely believe in their motto

1994 Ford F250 Superduty, 2wd, 7.3L IDI, NA, E4OD

 

[direwulf23]

To get to the transmission controller you just have to drop the transmission oil pan, correct?

1994 Ford F250 Superduty, 2wd, 7.3L IDI, NA, E4OD

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

the trans controller is located up in the engine bay.there is a small cubbyhole for it in the firewall.
to get to it in the 9th gen trucks,you have to unpin the main harness w/ the 10 mm bolt then you'll see the mount.remove the mount and it slides out towards you. however to make enough room for it to slide out,you need to remove the inner fender screws enough so you can press down on the inner fender enough for the teca to clear.
(apparently the 8th gen trucks have it even easier.the teca can be removed from inside the cab.)

the solenoid pack that takes the commands from the controller is located just under the pan behind the main bulkhead connector though.

there may very well be a lot of idi owners who dislike electrical controls sure,but that doesn't make the system complicated.it's a very basic little control system and shouldn't be so feared.those in the know clearly see the e40d fear crowd as simply uneducated.needless too,as all the info you'll ever need is posted on the forums.

 

[towcat]

a E4DOA can be made more reliable but updating the internal hard parts that contribute to it's frequent failures. Also, a replacement ECM that you can reprogram (Bauminator) will bypass all the items that will improve emissions but reduce reliability. I'm still no fan of them, but there are solutions to making a E4DOA trans better.

 

[trackspeeder]

Sorry Matt, you're wrong on this one. The C6 is an excellent transmission especially by today's disposable standards, you don't lose as much mileage as the hype tells us and dependability is far more important to those of us that work our trucks then whatever niceties having the overdrive affords you. The E4OD was such a failure that even Ford is embarrassed by it and renamed it because of the bad rap it rightly deserved. C6 is an upgrade, newer does not equal better. Going from a '95 Geo Metro to a 55 Cadillac is an upgrade, age isn't the deciding factor, going from bad to better is.

Actually the E4 wasn't a failure at all. It had issues at first. They were corrected as time went on. (5 a new engine came into play. More power more torque and a PCM. So the E4 went through some major upgrades to accommodate the new engine.

98 Ford introduced the 4R100. A new model because of the upgrades plus new sensors to accommodate now upgraded PSD. Again more power more torque.

So the E4OD wasn't a failure, it was outdated. Like the C6.

Time moves on requirements change Now the 4R100 has been replaced by the 5R110. That was replaced by the 6R140. None of those were failure.

The C6 is a piece of history now.

 

[ToughOldFord]

Actually it was/is. I'm not armchair talking here, I've owned both so speaking with experience. The E4 was an abject failure and never should have been released in anything let alone a heavy duty truck. Mat's own experiences are evidence of this as well, if an E4 should last anyone it should be him, he's devoted so much of his life to learning about it and coddling it. But even with all the **** polishing they've failed him like they fail everyone.

The C6 is a piece of history now.

Really? There are none left on the road today? That's news to many.