Preach
New member
What all has be modified when you convert E4OD to a C-6.
Tranny conversion
- Thread starter Preach
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
Broncobill78
New member
The bellhousing bolt pattern is the same so you're in luck there, as for the *rest* of it, well..........
You'll need an adapter for the transfer case, unless you luck out & score a C6-NP205 combo (which is a **** of an upgrade from the current xfer case). You'll need to either fab new driveshafts or modify the ones you have since the C6 & the E4OD are different lengths. Never having done this swap myself I can't tell you whether or not you'll need to fab a new tranny crossmember or if it's close enuf to modify what's there.
That's what you'll need to *phsically* bolt in in, now since Ford piggybacks the tranny processor onto the engine processor I really have no idea just what this swap does to how the engine runs. Might be that it just triggers the ck engine light because the box isn't getting the signals it wants from the tranny or it might be that it actually causes some sort of drivability problem. Someone who knows more about this than me will have to comment on that particular aspect.
Having said all that, I know the E4OD can be a bit pricey to rebuild when it starts acting up but truth be told I really don't think you're gonna like the hit your milage takes when you lose that 4th gear. I gave a lot of thought to this myself when I blew out 1st gear in the AOD in my 88'. I didn't get a quote for less than $1500 from the 5 local shops I called and of those same 5 shops 3 flat out refused to do a bench rebuild if I took it out & brought it in to them, 1 shop agreed but said they wouldn't warantee their work and only 1 shop would even *consider* working with someone who did his own removal & instalation. I considered swapping to a nice, sturdy, cheap to repair C6 but by the time I started adding up the time, $$$ & hassle of a custom crossmember, custom shafts & the Xfer case adapter ON TOP of the cost of buying & rebuilding a C6 I had to rethink the whole affair. In the end I wound up going down to the local boneyard & picking up AOD, which it turns out is a Ford remanufactured tranny.
All things considered you might want to think about something similar. I paid $200 for a rebuilt AOD out of an 87' and I have a 60 guarantee with it. Call around to the local yards and you can probably find one that will pull one for a few hundred bux & most yards will give you a month or two to be sure it isn't junk. Figure if nothing else that option probably buys you another year or more to drive on what you swap in & work on getting the original tranny rebuilt on the bench at a local shop.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
bidibronco
New member
I think the older bronco's with the fuel injected engines with the c-6 or even aod just had the comp. for the engine and not for the tranny. But also, I believe you'll loose your speedo if you loose the computer since it's ran off of the rear end witch also switches your gears and so on and so forth. Someone slap me if I'm wrong though but I'm pretty sure about this.
Preach
New member
Thank guys for the help. Can i switch to an AOD.
Broncobill78
New member
Yup, sure can since it has the same bellhousing bolt pattern. The AOD, AOD-E & 4R70W(aka AOD-EW because it's a wide-ratio AOD-E). That would be a better choice, you really *do* want to keep an overdrive tranny in there if it's something you're going to be driving on the street. For a trail rig it really wouldn't matter since you'd probably never see 4th anyway
Preach
New member
The computer will work for both or will i have to chage the computer. I there going to have to be drive shaft issues. Any other problems that I might run into.
Thanks for he info
Last edited by a moderator:
Broncobill78
New member
Well, I would anticipate computer issues with anything *other* than an E4OD because that's what your processor WANTS to see. You should probably be able to swap in any sort of mechanical tranny (C6 or AOD) without any real problems except for the ck engine light coming on because, once again, the processor isn't seeing what it wants to as far as the tranny goes.
Making any sort of electronic OD tranny work will require either a custom chip or a stand-alone processor & they're both in the same price range last time I looked.
To be honest it's hard to say just what sort of driveshaft probs you'll have since I've never done this swap. Might just be that the tranny cases are close enough to not matter or thatyou can get an Xfer case adapter that's a bit longer or shorter and will allow you to use your current shafts but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for one. Advanced Adapters is pretty much the king of the hill as far as adapters go and they'll be the guys to talk to: http://www.advanceadapters.com/index.html
An AOD should be a pretty straightforward swap, the bellhousing should bolt up & the Xfer case shouldn't be any puzzle. You should grab a tape measure & hit the boneyards to ck the lengths. What you *really* want to know is the distance from the front edge of the bellhousing to the tranny mount because that will determine where the crossmember has to be, if it's close enough you can use what you have or maybe fab some sort of bridge otherwise you're looking at a new crossmember so you really want to make what you have work if you can.
You'll also want to measure how far it is from the edge of the bellhousing to the end of the tailshaft ****** because that's where the Xfer case will bolt up and THAT will determine your driveshaft length.
Making any sort of electronic OD tranny work will require either a custom chip or a stand-alone processor & they're both in the same price range last time I looked.
To be honest it's hard to say just what sort of driveshaft probs you'll have since I've never done this swap. Might just be that the tranny cases are close enough to not matter or thatyou can get an Xfer case adapter that's a bit longer or shorter and will allow you to use your current shafts but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for one. Advanced Adapters is pretty much the king of the hill as far as adapters go and they'll be the guys to talk to: http://www.advanceadapters.com/index.html
An AOD should be a pretty straightforward swap, the bellhousing should bolt up & the Xfer case shouldn't be any puzzle. You should grab a tape measure & hit the boneyards to ck the lengths. What you *really* want to know is the distance from the front edge of the bellhousing to the tranny mount because that will determine where the crossmember has to be, if it's close enough you can use what you have or maybe fab some sort of bridge otherwise you're looking at a new crossmember so you really want to make what you have work if you can.
You'll also want to measure how far it is from the edge of the bellhousing to the end of the tailshaft ****** because that's where the Xfer case will bolt up and THAT will determine your driveshaft length.
bidibronco
New member
What's wrong with the E4OD? They put them behind the PSD's didn't they? Seems like they'll hold up pretty good to me?
Preach
New member
Broncobill78
New member
Has a tranny shop looked at it yet ? With a C6 you can have a problem where it won't shift out of 1st unless you manually shift it from Drive to 2nd but once it's in second it won't shift into 3rd for all the world. When it starts acting like that you can be convinced the thing is blown and you're looking at a rebuild but in fact it's nothing more than a torn diaphram in the modulator valve which is the spin on valve at the rear of the case where the vacuum line attaches. It's a $15 valve & it takes 10min to replace with a simple wrench. Had this happen to me a couple times, also, the E4OD is pretty much just a beefed-up, electronically controlled C6 with an overdrive gear added. Might be something as simple as that. I once pulled a TH350 for a bench rebuild, got the new unit in and it was doing the same damn thing & come to find out the problem was in the freaking governor which bolted to the side of the case and was also a 10min job to change.
Now of course there's always the flip-side when you actually DO have a genuinely blown tranny. The AOD that's in my 88' right now has tranny fluid that looks like a pinkish charcoal slurry. THAT one won't shift out of first either (well, it does every now & then but when it does it's so violent & at such high revs that I'm sure I'll snap a U-joint if I do it a few more times) and you really don't have any choice but to replace or rebuild what you've got.
What I'm getting at here in my round-about manner is to just be sure you know what the problem IS before you start talking tranny swaps. If you've had a pro look at it and know for dead-nuts sure that it's blown then you're right to be looking at these alternatives, but if you're not ABSOLUTELY sure it's dead & gone then take the time to BE sure before you get into this up to your ******.
Just my advise, take it for what it's worth.
Preach
New member
thanks for that info. I will look into that. can you tell me how I go about checking that. When I put this tranny in they said that it was a rebuild that was taken out of a totaled bronco. I only got about six hundred miles out of it before this problem can about.
Broncobill78
New member
Well, if you haven't already then try what I mentioned. Take it out for a ride. When the revs start to get up there & you're still in first try manually downshifting into the next gear down & see what it does. In a C6 with a bad modulator it just flat-out won't shift out of 1st on it's own but if you manually shift it from Drive to 2nd once it starts to wind up it will shift into 2nd. It won't shift into 3rd but at least you're in 2nd and you've started to figure out what's what.
If you can drive it there without blowing a piston thru the hood then I'd really suggest getting a tranny shop to take a look at it just to confirm you don't have something simple going on. Automatic transmissions are kinds like black voodoo magic to most of us so a professional opinion isn't something to ignore. If they tell you it's smoked then sure, so-ahead and start planning your swap/conversion but maybe they tell you it's something reasonably simple (well, simple to a Tranny guy) and they can fix it for $300. Who knows ? It's surely worth getting the opinion isn't it ?
I went with the swap option for my 88' because after talking with several shops and looking at the pinkish charcoal slurry on my dipstick it became obvious that I wasn't getting out of it for much less than $1200. I figure the one I picked up from the boneyard will do me long enuf to have my original one rebuilt & then I can swap it back in when I'm good & ready.
