Stock Transmission any good?
 

Are the stock automatic transmissions that Ford put in the early 4x4 powerstrokes any good? I've been very unimpressed with the E40D that they used with the IDI. I'm looking to by my first used diesel on a budget and I'm a little leary about the reliability of an older AT with +150K on it. I'm just looking for a truck to drive back and forth to work, haul an occational boat, and haul my firewood with. I'd prefer a stick shift, but that really narrows down the availability.

Thanks,
Mark

The trans should be ok if your keeping it stock

There not bad when left alone... My 97 went 130k before biting the dust, then the new one with a superchip and a few other mods went another 130k before I sold the truck. If you plan on tuning it get a tugger kit or a good valve body and you will be fine. Any more then that you will need to build it.

as stated above

Wow, my standards must be too high. I've always thought a transmission should last at least as long as a gas engine (200K).

Leave the truck stock and you might make it 200k... Diesels have TQ, TQ eats autos up...

TQ eats up the converters like crazy.

94-97 has the E40D.

Ahhh, that explains it. I was under the impression that Ford started using a real transmission when they made the switch to the power stroke. I have yet to find an original E40D that had to do any kind of work during it's life that's still in one piece. :booo:

im 35k on my rebuild and that is beatin the hell outta it
:choochoo:

Mine towed ALOT from 22k to 130 when it went out... then the second went from there to about 250 when I sold it...:rocking:

mine had 150 when it toasted the converter

i had the rebuild done at 126k now well into 165k now. Have yet to hit the 200* mark after puttin the cooler and gauge in but i rarely tow much.

yeah mine went at about 96000 miles and its got a brand new one it it with about 3000 miles, anyone notice a rough shift in the gears between 2-3

yeah mine does a rough shift between those gears, my trans is also to the point of skipping gears now with the new turbo, but all that will be taken care of saturday when the built trans goes in

yeah i cant figure it out, the damn thing is brand new and even with my chip on economy it does it. i just hope it hold up to my new stage 1 injectors and turbo:humm:

Meh, I am not a fan of the stock automatic transmission. my parents went though 4 of them. I put a shift kit in it this last time and its ran so much better and it sifts smother and quicker. And hauling is much better since then, it doesn't search for gears on hills or going over the mountains. But we use that truck a lot and haul a lot of stuff around.

If you want it to hold up to the stage 1s and a larger turbo your gonna have to be easy on it, I just put in my D66 this past weekend and my trans instantly turned worse, I do have slightly larger injectors but still

The early E4OD's suffered from a design issue that showed up due to what FoMoCo bolted in front of them...

Big block gas V8's and diesels.

An E4OD/R100 is basically a C6 with an overdrive built into it. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear are pretty strong. 4th (overdrive) was a weak link, as was the TQ.

3rd gear clutch pack in a E4OD has IIRC 8 sets of frictions & steels......the overdrive pack has 2 sets. I'm going off memory here as it's been a few years since I had one torn down...

More clutches = more holding power. Where does a diesel or BB gas engine make torque? Down low...right where the OD gear put the engine...and FoMoCo set the downshift parameters to make the trans go 4th-3rd-4th-3rd-4th-3rd etc etc etc all the time while pulling...PITA, lots of wear, lots of heat....

That much torque through a small set of clutches spelled disaster....then there was the heat issue. AT's build heat. You've got a big powerful low rpm grunt motor hauling a bunch of weight--these trucks are over 7k empty--coupled with a huge trailer, etc all through a weak clutch pack, weak TQ and one of the most worthless excuses for a factory AT cooling system ever developed.......not good.

Built properly with a good transmission cooler the E4OD is hell for stout.

It's been awhile since I had one apart but the internals--drums, planetary set, etc--- are very good for a stock production transmission.