i blew the trans

[R.w]

Last sunday we left for vacation . I start pulling a hill up to the camp ground where we were staying and lost all forward gears . So after draging it up to the camp ground with a chain we stayed all week and drank a lot of beer and got it home today . So what i need to know is what should i have done to it . The truck is a 94 crewcab 4x4 7.3 turbo all stock for now . It has 125000 miles on it and i believe it is the stock trans . I want it to hold up to more horsepower and it is mainly used for towing so what should i do ? Thanks in advance for any info it is greatly appreciated. I am also in Northern California so if you know of any reputable shops with reasonable prices let me know.

 

[argve]

A lot of guys complain about the E4OD and cuss it to the end because of failures... I never experienced any failures with mine, I think it's because I gave it some good loving....

Frequent Fluid Changes.
Kept the fluid COOL
kept it clean.

I did this by adding in an aux trans filter from Perma Cool (purchased from JEGS) that used a spin on oil filter (old V8 Ford Filter I want to say FL1A but don't quote me it's been years). Aux filter was installed in the OUTPUT line of the trans BEFORE the coolers.

Added an aux cooler to the mix as well. It was plumbed in AFTER the one in the bottom of the radiator.

I would keep up on my fluid changes and would if I got her hot on the trans fluid I would change it when I got back home. I also used a Banks Transcommand unit to boost the line pressures and set the FIPL up so that she would have harder shifts (set the FIPL up on the upper end of the voltage measurement). A trans that isn't sluffing off getting into gear creates less slippage and less heat - heat is the killer of auto trans. I would also back off the go pedal just a bit when she was going to shift then come back down on her - a fully meshed up trans can handle the power, one that is slipping under heavy throttle pedal creates more slippage that creates more heat.... I logged 200k miles on my E4OD so I guess it worked for me - engines were a different story, but the trans never gave me a hiccup.
Me not scared to own an E40D....

 

[JLDickmon]

what he said

 

[R.w]

i bought the pickup back in feburary and serviced the trans then . The fluid looked fine there was no metal in the pan and fluid was not burnt . I checked it regularly and always seemed fine. When i pulled the dipstick you could smell it BAD . I was worried about it when i got it and figured if i did blow the trans it was still a pretty good deal i just thought i would get a little more life out of it. Thanks guys

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

flush every 30k miles w/filter change every other.
install a shift kit.
install an aux cooler.
install an aux filter.
install a temp gauge.
for heavy towing,install an aftermarket torque converter.
many other internal mods to search for when rebuilding.

sounds like the trans had stock/original fluid when you bought it.some people are not good about maintenance.cant blame that on the trans.thats the po's fault.
be sure the trans section of the radiator is not plugged up before putting a new trans in.

 

[DeepRoots]

at least you say "I blew the trans"
I hate it when someone says they "Blew a tranny"

I just can't let that sit idle.

Drew

 

[Russ]

John Woods is the man in CA for a built proof E4AOD. He gets paid well for what he does though.

 

[Fozz]

X3 what Argve said. I bought a reman Ford tranny after I blew mine (had 170k on it), put the stock rinky-**** cooler it came with and a 24k lb aux cooler after the radiator. I used to want a shift kit, but tried the convertor lock-up mod (do a search) and don't want one anymore. I drive with the lock-up off in town and only engage it when at speed (50mph or more). It's actually a good shifting tranny, it's just the convertor lock-up makes it seem like a sluggish tranny.

 

[david85]

Cooler goes without saying, but I think the question was more aimed at internal mods since coolers and external filters can be added at anytime.

If you want to tow heavy and increase the output of the engine at the same time, I would advise a billet torque converter with a minimum dual clutch lockup (3 is better, 4 is overpriced)

Steel planetaries for forward and overdrive. Reverse can be replaced too, but its your call on weather or not you really need it. From what I can tell, reverse is geared fairly tall in the E4OD and it seems less likely for it to blow out if heavily loaded in reverse. From what I've read, E4ODs are more likely to simply burn out due to heat of the torque converter stalled under such conditions. This is where 4.10 gears and/or a transfer case low range comes in really handy. Pushing a heavy trailer backward up a hill in with an E4OD should simply be avoided unless you have the gears to do it barely off idle.

A mild shift kit would also be a good idea. Just something that is crisp and firm but not hard enough to bang the gears and drive shafts.

Being a 1994, you should already have a roller bearing center support, but in the off chance it doesn't get one installed.

An F5 model pump is also a good idea and this alone will increase your cooler/lube flow by about 15%. F5 pumps were first introduced in 1995 so yours definately won't have this. You can buy them reconditioned but price tends to vary widely and there are a lot of rip offs out there. Got mine used off Ebay and stuffed it full of new steel valves from TransGo's "SK" kit.
http://www.ctpowertrain.com/servlet/the-359/TRANSGO-E4OD-4R100-SKE4OD/Detail

Here is a crapload of other goodies for the E4OD and includes some decent prices on the steel gears I mentioned earlier:

http://www.ctpowertrain.com/servlet/Categories

I know I'm probably forgetting a few things but if I remember anything I'll post more later.

 

[oldmisterbill]

The lockup mod & a cooler in my opinion is the most important. From my experience you can't get too big of a cooler. I run 2 big coolers plumed in Parralell.(Parralell is omportant for flow volume). I have had great success with my Jasper E40D. On another note,I had several automatics plowing snow , chevys tirbo 350 & a C6 , with one exception I hinestly believe heat was the cause of most failures. You may ask how do you overheat a trans with an external coole plowing snow in fridged weather? Very easy especially in a hard push opening up an unplowed drivay in a wet heavy storm. The snow blows over the balde stopping air flow -"BANG"!-in a couple hundred feet you cooked a transmission. I did break a tail shaft in a c6 pulling a heavy load up a hill on a course gravel unfinished driveway,a wheel went over a rock ,the rock rolled the tire spun a fraction of a revolution hit ground caught traction and "Snap" one broken shaft.
I believe more transmission fail from heat (hence forth the coolers are needed) then anay other single cause. It's amazing how much heat a trans can make in a vrey -I mean very short distance while pulling hard.

By the way I can spell I just have DBF and it interfears with my typing
DBF? Darn big fingers!

 

[david85]

Remebered a couple more things. The OEM front silicone main seal between the pump hub and the torque converter hub is vulnerable to overheating. In some cases a hot situation causes only a temprary leak, while in other cases one overheating event is enough to cause a perminant leak and now you are facing pulling the transmission for a $15 part. Aftermarket "blue" seals address this problem and can survive rediculous amounts of heat without leaking.

There is also an orifice/check valve that regulates lubrication flow to the overdrive section. This part uses a plastic body that - like the OEM seal - is vulnerable to overheating (melts and eventually restricts fluid flow). A replacement is available from a few sources that replaces the plastic body with a steel one. I think sonnax is one company that makes a good kit with many small fixes including this one. Your transmission builder will know about those two parts, if he doesn't - walk away.

Bear in mind these upgrades are not really 100% mandatory if you have an oversized cooling system for the transmission and run a temperature gauge. Under even sever conditions, the transmission should not overheat but if it does there WILL be warning before it happens. Having temperature resistant parts are just an extra cheap insurance for those cases when things aren't always perfect.

 

[warmblood58]

John Woods is the man in CA for a built proof E4AOD. He gets paid well for what he does though.

Who is he and where located?

 

[hesutton]

Who is he and where located?

Here ya go......... John Woods Automotive



Heath

 

[icanfixall]

I think Holtville is near the ca mexican border...

 

[warmblood58]

Might have got lucky - spoke to John Woods (great guy, very informative and knowledgeable and really knows IDIs) He encouraged me to pull pan and look for debris, busted stuff, plastic, etc and check filter. No debris, a fair amount of metal shavings at the magnet (typical) but the filter, as my indie expressed, was "about 1000% clogged"! Installed new filter after cleaning pan and will add new atf tomorrow . . . . pray for me. My indie seems to think all will be well. If so, bypass filter and external cooler will be installed immediately! Hope lady luck is with me . . . .