Writeup: E4OD Removal/Installation

[stangmata]

Ok. Here it goes. Something for all you guys to go by...I hope.

I'm assuming that everyone has some experience with working on vehicles. So make sure that you practice proper safety. If you are not mechanically inclined, this isn't a project for you, however, it is not REAL difficult.

DISCLAIMER: I am by no means a mechanic. Follow these guidlines at your own risk. Some tools used for parts may be different for you vehicle as each individual vehicle can be unique. In a case where you feel you have a better method, please post that or PM me the info.

I managed to pull off a good amount of the tranny removal without jacking the truck up. However, make sure your wheels are chalked.

Remove the Rear Driveshaft

Remove the 4 driveshaft bolts from the rear axle using a 12mm or 1/2" 12-point socket or wrench.


Remove the 4 driveshaft bolts from transfer case using a 12mm or 1/2" wrench. You will not be able to remove the bolts using a socket. There's isn't enough clearance.


Once the bolts are out, pound the rear driveshaft out. I used my foot to accomplish this, just make sure someone is there to catch it.

Remove the front driveshaft

Remove the front driveshaft.Take the 4 nuts off the t-case yoke and the 4-nuts of the yoke on the front axle side of the front driveshaft. You will probably need a 1/2" wrench. Don't plan on re-using the u-bolts...so go ahead and try and beet them out. Once the nuts are off, use a prybar to pry the driveshaft free from the yokes.


In some instances, it may be necessary to cut the u-bolts with a grinder. It is best to cut them so that the "u" part of the bolts falls off. This allows you to pull the rest of the bolts out with vice-grips.


Remove the Starter

Remove the two bolts holding the starter to the bell housing. Be VERY careful not to break these. It will cause many headaches if you do.
Once the bolts are removed, you can leave the wires connected to the starter and set the starter aside, allowing the frame to support it. DO NOT LET IT HANG BY THE WIRES! Otherwise, remove the wires and drop the starter out of the truck.

Remove Gaurd Plates

Remove the splash gaurds on the front of the tranny. This will give you access to the torque converter. Also, remove the black rubber plug on the bottom of the bell housing.

Remove Torque Converter Bolts

There are four nuts holding the t-converter to the flexplate. To access a nut, get a big flat-head screwdriver or a flywheel-grabbing tool, and spin the flywheel until a nut is visible where you once had the gaurd plates. Remove a nut and repeat the process until all nuts have been removed.


Remove Linkages, Wires and Lines

Remove the black plug on the driver's side of the tranny. This is accomplished by sticking a small common screwdriver into the side of the plug housing (there is a rectangular shaped space for it) while pulling the plug upwards.


Pull the shift linkage off (seen in above picture) by using brute force to pop it off.

Remove the linkage and cable from the tranny by pinching the tabs together on the cylindrical cable housing and pulling off.

Remove the grey plug on the passenger's side of the tranny by pushing in the tab, on the side, and pulling the plug upwards.


If you have an electronic t-case, disconnect the plug on the back. Otherwise, disconnect your shift linkage.

On the passenger's side of the tranny are two tranny lines running to your cooler. Disconenct both of those and be prepared to catch alot of fluid. They will drain from the converter.

Remove cross-member bolts

Prepare a floor jack or tranny jack underneath the transmission.

2 center nuts used an 11/16" socked


Remove the x-member bolts. Using an impact gun or breaker bar will make this much easier. 3 bolts on the drivers side used a 11/16" deep well socket.


3 bolts on passenger side used a 15mm socket


BellHousing Bolts

Remove the lower bell housing bolts. There are 3-4 that are easily accessible. Once those are out, lower your jack to tilt the rear of the tranny down. The top housing bolts are now accessible. Once all the bolts are out, remove the dipstick and tube from the passenger's side of the tranny. This just pulls out.

Removal

This part gets a bit tricky. A tranny jack is best. However, this can be done with a couple of guys and a floor jack. Once you are sure everything is clear of the tranny and all your tools are out of the way, slide the tranny and jack backwards to seperate the tranny from the back of the engine. Be careful about the torque converter!

Once you have seperated the tranny from the motor and all is clear, lower the tranny to the floor and you are done!

Reinstallation

Set your torque converter

I'[m not going to claim how to do this because I usually end up screwing it up somehow. I'll find a detailed procedure and post it. You can't just slap it on and be done!

"Stabbing" the Tranny

With the tranny on a jack and the torque converter in place, roll the tranny under the truck. I REALLY prefer to do this with the t-case unbolted, however, it is doable with it still bolted up.

Jack the tranny up to the desired hight and slide forward. As it approaches, line the torque converter studs up with the holes in the flywheel. Slide the tranny to the engine and put in a few bellhousing bolts.

At this time, ensure the torque converter has mated itself to the flywheel.

Once you are sure it has, install your dipstick and install all bellhousing bolts, starting wtih the top ones. Don't forget that your dipstick is held in place with a bell housing bolt!!!!!

After the top bellhousing bolts have been tightened, lift the rear of the tranny and install the lower bellhousing bolts.

Cross member

Bolt the x-member to the frame and gussets. Bolt the tranny to the x-member.

Torque Converter Bolts

Install all torque converter nuts.

Install starter

Install your starter and all gaurd plates on the front of the tranny.

Plugs linkages and Lines

Reinstall all plugs, linkages, and lines removed earlier.

Driveshafts

Install both the front and rear driveshaft. Be careful when installing the front driveshaft that the shaft doesn't fall while strapping in the u-joint. You will pull the cap off the u-joint. Hold the shaft up by hand until both straps have been tightened.

Almost there!

Fill your tranny with fluid CAREFULLY making sure not to overfill it. Reconnect your battery. Lower the vehicle....and off you go!

Not so bad, right?

[Chuck]

Good write-up. You missed a few steps, though -- I remember a few steps that could be summed up as "Cuss like a sailor."

There are four torque converter/flexplate bolts.

I've had mine in and out twice. I always remove the transfer case before I pull the tranny. I know I'm going to have it off anyway. More importantly, the first time I pulled the E4OD with the case attached, the little jack we were using at the time wasn't up to the job, and it damn near took my roommate's hand off when it dropped three inches under the weight of E4OD+BW 13-56. Ever since, we've just borrowed his shop's OTC jack overnight -- the one that usually comes with an adaptor for Eaton Roadrangers -- and oddly enough we haven't had a problem like that since.

There are a few more steps involved between "fill" and "off you go". You have to make sure you have the clutches full before you'll be able to read the level right, particularly if the transmission has been rebuilt. Otherwise, you can fill to the dipstick mark if it's dry, and you won't even be at 1/2 capacity. The truck won't move. Proper procedure is, fill it to the mark, start truck, put foot on brake, and cycle the shifter through all positions at 2 seconds per. Return to park, turn off truck, fill to line. Start truck and repeat the gear cycle, but this time take the level reading afterward with the vehicle running in park, which is the normal operating procedure. Once you've repeated this enough to get the level reading about stable, take the vehicle for a drive, get the tranny warmed up to normal operating temperature, and then check and fill one last time -- since the dipstick is only accurate with the vehicle running and the tranny at operating temperature.

A pair of tips for pulling and reinstalling, particularly after you have the torque converter seated. The easiest way by far to turn the torque converter to get to the four nuts is using a socket and 1/2" drive ratchet on the harmonic balancer bolt. Just make certain you only turn the engine clockwise and you'll be fine. Second, once the TC nuts are out, secure it to prevent it from falling off by bolting a wrench to the bellhousing. I want to say the right size is about 7/16", but you want a combination wrench just the right size for you pass one of the inspection plate bolts through the box end. Turn it so the offset angle leans the open end of the wrench up against the converter, and bolt 'er down. This does not require much torque, just enough to keep it from falling off when you're putting the tranny in/out.

Don't forget that there's also a ground strap that attaches to the top passenger side bellhousing bolt, and if I remember right, I think a fuel line clip on the top left. Don't remember for sure. Just check before you unbolt, and don't forget to replace. Forgetting that your dipstick bolts to the middle right bolt is a pain in the rear, too, but you already covered that one.

All things considered, the best tip I could give in the R&I is -- removal: follow steps above to remove E4OD. Installation: Throw away E4OD (or sell to willing sucker) and install good manual. I regret rebuilding the E4OD the first time. I would regret rebuilding it the second time, but it was free. It wasn't a problem with workmanship -- the rebuilder was a friend who has done about 200 E4OD's.

[Shadofax]

Very nice writeup Ian!

What was the teardown for, just a bad Tconvertor or ?

Chuck, certainly the E4OD is large, automatic, electronic, and therefore tends to be expensive and prone to potential problems, not unlike many other autos as complex. I agree a manual is simpler, lighter, and a HD one will potentially be less prone to problems, and cheaper to fix. But, offroad, for me, you would need to add one more piece to it being manual...some sort of added reduction gear box. And this added gearing tends to put lots of added stress on all downline drivetrain components. There usually are tradeoffs to everything.

[equin]

Excellent write-up. The biggest troubles I came across when I did mine are:

- torque converter cover plate bolts were frozen solid. I ended up rounding off each and every one of those damn little 3 mm bolts. Had to eventually cut the cover plate off with a dremel tool, and I noticed the same thing had been done to the replacement E4OD.

- sliding the old E4OD out from underneath the frame rails and sliding the new/rebuilt back in. It just wouldn't fit while sitting on a tranny jack and after jacking up the side of the truck as high as it would go using another floor jack. I had to stack blocks of wood and jack the front of the truck by the driver side axle beam to get it high enough off the ground so the tranny could slide in and out from underneath the frame rails. Never was comfortable with the truck jacked up like that.

- the dipstick tube just wouldn't yank out. I eventually dropped the tranny with it still intact and luckily it didn't catch on anything

I'd also add that before you re-install the new/rebuilt E4OD, be sure to clean out the transmission cooler lines very well with a couple of spray cans of trans line cooler flush. The cans are usually sold at NAPA.

Also, Ford TSB calls for the installation of an in-line transmission filter due to the potentially high incidence of scaly gunk left in the cooler lines and in the in-radiator cooler. I added the in-line filter and went the additional route of bypassing the in-radiator cooler and instead using two aftermarket auxiliary trans coolers.

And most importantly - whatever you do - DO NOT leave the wiring harness that runs along the top of the tranny (which is attached to a metal bracket that bolts up to the two top bellhousing bolts) dangling down after you re-install the new/rebuilt tranny. I forgot about that bracket when I re-aligned the tranny's bellhousing up to the back of the engine, and after I noticed it, I just left it dangling on the side of the tranny. The t-case was left in 4wd and that bracket got caught up in the spinning front driveshaft, which in turn caused the bracket and the wiring harnesses that were attached to it to wrap themselves around the driveshaft. It was a spaghetti-like mess that tore up the fuel lines, brake lines, tranny cable linkage and pretty much all wires heading to the rear of the truck.

Anyway, great write-up with good pics!

[stangmata]

Originally Posted by Shadofax

What was the teardown for, just a bad Tconvertor or ?
.

The first time was for a blown pump seal and this time it was for some internal damage.

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by Shadofax

...Chuck, certainly the E4OD is large, automatic, electronic, and therefore tends to be expensive and prone to potential problems, not unlike many other autos as complex. I agree a manual is simpler, lighter, and a HD one will potentially be less prone to problems, and cheaper to fix. But, offroad, for me, you would need to add one more piece to it being manual...some sort of added reduction gear box. And this added gearing tends to put lots of added stress on all downline drivetrain components. There usually are tradeoffs to everything.

Noted. I have a mix of manuals and automatics, and deal with both a lot -- I'll admit there are a lot of things I like an automatic for. I've rebuilt a couple of AOD's and had good luck with them in fairly low-performance applications. I'm just becoming addicted to the utter reliability of my manuals.

As for the additional gear reduction -- it's really more a matter of having the right manual in the first place. I just picked up a good condition NP435 for $75 with the intention of rebuilding it for the Bronc, though now I'm thinking of using it in a build for a somewhat more expendable trail truck. The key with any transmission is total ratio, which is the ratio of the lowest gear divided by the highest gear. In the case of the NP435 this is 6.69/1, or simply 6.69. The E4OD has a 2.71 first and 0.67 final gear. Even if you take the torque converter as an additional 2:1 reduction, which is about typical for this type of calc, you still only have an 8.08 total ratio. For a lot of things, the two are close enough for me to be comparable. If you keep your BW transfer case with the excellent 2.7 or so low range, either will give you a crawl ratio of over 65 or so even with 3.55's, which I would think is often enough if you're not doing tight, technical trails or a lot of rocks.

[/thread hijack] Didn't mean to really go automatic vs. manual here, threw that in more as a joke anyways.

[stangmata]

Originally Posted by Chuck

Good write-up.

Thanks.

There are four torque converter/flexplate bolts.

Noted.

I've had mine in and out twice. I always remove the transfer case before I pull the tranny.

I can't be bothered and have never had an issue. To each his own.

There are a few more steps involved between "fill" and "off you go".

Correct. However, the writeup was more concentrated on the removal and installation. Thank you though for putting it in.

Don't forget that there's also a ground strap that attaches to the top passenger side bellhousing bolt, and if I remember right, I think a fuel line clip on the top left. Don't remember for sure. Just check before you unbolt, and don't forget to replace. Forgetting that your dipstick bolts to the middle right bolt is a pain in the rear, too, but you already covered that one.

Thanks. My truck has neither, so i didn't know.

All things considered, the best tip I could give in the R&I is -- removal: follow steps above to remove E4OD. Installation: Throw away E4OD (or sell to willing sucker) and install good manual. I regret rebuilding the E4OD the first time. I would regret rebuilding it the second time, but it was free. It wasn't a problem with workmanship -- the rebuilder was a friend who has done about 200 E4OD's.

The E4OD is a shit tranny...and if this blowup wasn't such a surprise, i'd be doing my swap. however, there are plenty of upgrades that can be done. i will try and include some links of tranny upgrades and accessories.

[AudiTech]

Very nice write up. I have an E4OD and I always thought the tourque converter locked up too soon and the engine would bog down when driving through back roads, even with the 4.56's. I added a toggle switch onto the purple/yellow wire in the tranny wiring harness to shut off the tourqe converter solenoid. The drivability is much better when it douesn't lock up. I added a tranny temp gauge to keep an eye on the temp.

[69SCJ]

Originally Posted by AudiTech

Very nice write up. I have an E4OD and I always thought the tourque converter locked up too soon and the engine would bog down when driving through back roads, even with the 4.56's. I added a toggle switch onto the purple/yellow wire in the tranny wiring harness to shut off the tourqe converter solenoid. The drivability is much better when it douesn't lock up. I added a tranny temp gauge to keep an eye on the temp.

Do you, or anybody else, know if the torque converter will lock when the shift selector is in "D"?
Thanks
Tyler

[c-dub]

Originally Posted by equin

-
- sliding the old E4OD out from underneath the frame rails and sliding the new/rebuilt back in. It just wouldn't fit while sitting on a tranny jack and after jacking up the side of the truck as high as it would go using another floor jack. I had to stack blocks of wood and jack the front of the truck by the driver side axle beam to get it high enough off the ground so the tranny could slide in and out from underneath the frame rails. Never was comfortable with the truck jacked up like that.

anyone find a better way to do this?

[stangmata]

I put the transmission on the jack while both were underneath the truck. So.wheel the jack under the truck, slide the tranny underneath, and then strap the tranny to the jack.

[equin]

Originally Posted by stangmata

I put the transmission on the jack while both were underneath the truck. So.wheel the jack under the truck, slide the tranny underneath, and then strap the tranny to the jack.

How do you get that heavy transmission on the jack while underneath the truck? I forget what I used, but I had to place that heavy trans on the jack first, and then slide the whole combo underneath the truck. No way I could lift it up onto the jack by myself while scrunched underneath the truck.

[stangmata]

Originally Posted by equin

How do you get that heavy transmission on the jack while underneath the truck?

I'm a man. And I had a friend helping.