The E4OD transmission was introduced by Ford in 1989 as a new super duty automatic overdrive transmission for their trucks. At the time, it was the biggest truck transmission made for Ford trucks through the F-350 line-up and larger. It has been updated by Ford many times and now is called the 4R100 automatic overdrive transmission. They can be purchased as used and in a variety of forms as transmissions for sale.
Changes have been subtle and have increased the durability of this unit immensely. Contrary to popular beliefs that this is a crappy transmission, Brian of GotTransmissions.com and I totally disagree with this analogy. While not being exempt from the issues many new designs have during the first few years of production, this is the most popular series of automatic overdrive transmissions Ford has ever built for their truck line. It has been used in the Excursion for about 10 years or more and some of the other truck chassis based vehicles Ford makes.
For the record, every automatic transmission made needs to be updated. Ideally from the day you bought it. The Ford E4OD and 4R100 require an absolutely necessary group of updates when going through the rebuild transmission process, more than most transmissions, but the real culprit is not the transmission as much as the supporting cast.
The supporting cast as in the radiator and the transmission cooling system.
Here is an explanation of what is wrong with the stock Ford radiator and why it causes so much unhappiness. A built in flaw, that is very correctable using the cooler installation techniques described in this post.
Back to the other updates. Transgo makes the best upgrade kits on the market. They are the original company to recognize the need and develop upgrade kits for automatic transmissions. The basic Shift Kit Jr. is perfect for almost all applications. It cures a bunch of problems mostly dealing with the flow of the automatic transmission fluid and the torque converter. Remember to only use synthetic ATF.
The problem being a loss of fluid flow to the radiator under acceleration or with a heavy load attached.. Couple that with the restriction the radiator causes and you have a recipe for a meltdown, particularly in a heavy duty truck.
The most important part of the update kit does not require transmission removal. With that in mind, if your transmission is healthy, you can couple the updates with the cooler modifications and you have a transmission that will last longer a stock Ford transmission, and be trouble free with the proper maintenance.
This advise is not specific to Ford transmissions, I recommend upgrades and coolers for all transmissions. GotTransmissions.com blog is specifically developed with helpful tips to help you keep some extra cash in your pocket . Please read more and enjoy.
