My daily is a '99 Ford Lightning. Its automatic transmission is the most satisfactory performance automatic I've ever driven -- good ratios, firm shifts, OD, everything I need. I understand that this trans is known as a 4R100, and is based on the Super Duty V10 unit. I also understand that it's huge and heavy. My questions are these: will this transmission bolt behind a SBF? Are any of its desirable features, especially ratios, interchangeable with any of the other Ford transmissions that are more compact? I have a tweaked 4R70W (electronically controlled AOD) in another car, and I find it disappointing. I imagine that it could be adjusted to work more satisfactorily, but I don't know how to do that. Another car is under construction with a SBF, and if I could find a way to replicate the Lightning's shifts, I'd be a happy camper.
The short answer is NO, the Lightning trans has a different bellhousing pattern than a Small block and the bell is part of the trans housing. The longer answer is the 4R100 is basically an E4OD (which is essentially a C6 with Overdrive) that was uprated internally to handle the Supercharge of the Lightning and the Power Stroke Diesel. The E4OD is available in small block Windsor bolt pattern
Thanks, Don. If I found an E40D, would it have the same ratios as those in the 4R100? Can I ***ume that if it were rebuilt with a shift kit, its shifts would be comparably firm to those in the Lightning? Or, wor$t ca$e, could the E40D be rebuilt & uprated to all the components of the 4R100?
Thanks again, Don. Very helpful. To you other two guys: An AOD is basically what I have with the 4R70W, and the ratios are dumb. 1-2 is close, 2-3 is wide, 3-4 is close again. The 4R100 is MUCH nicer to drive, which was the point of this whole conversation.
THE e40d is the same trans. Just too big and heavy. I would use an AOD, or the electronic version, the 4R70W. i WAS A Ford mechanic for years that specialized in trans repair, and that would be my recomendation
Well, now I'm confused. I HAVE a 4R70W in my '56, and I don't like it at all. A 4R100 came stock in my Lightning, and I love it. Is there a way to get those ratios in a SBF-compatible, reasonably compact housing?
The AOD, AODE, and 4R70W can swap gear sets. They are basically the same transmission, but the E got rid of the hydraulic valve body for computer controlled solenoids. The W means wide ratio. The AOD and AODE had 1st: 2.40 :1 2nd: 1.47 :1 3rd: 1.00 :1 4th: 0.67 :1 Rev: 2.00 :1 4R70W went to 1st: 2.84 :1 2nd: 1.55 :1 3rd: 1.00 :1 4th: 0.70 :1 Rev: 2.23 :1 The 4R100 has 2.71, 1.53, 1,.70 sort of in between the others. Swapping an AOD gear set into your current trans may give the tighter shifting your looking for.
First off, the E4OD/4R100 is huge. It'd take major surgery to get it into just about any p***enger car I can think of. Secondly, you say that you have a 'tweaked' 4R70W in another car. What do you mean by 'tweaked', and is it run by the OE computer, or an aftermarket controller? Who did the setup? What don't you like about how it works? What's the engine and final drive in that vehicle? When it comes to automatics torque hides a mul***ude of sins, and the Lightning motor has pretty good torque. The 4R70W is a very capable box, and it sounds to me like the issue is how the controls are set up, not the transmission itself. It has nothing to do with the gear ratios, and everything to do with the controller calibration - the ratio spread on the E4OD/4R100 is basically the same as on the 4R70W.
My 4R70W was rebuilt by Hiro's Transmission in Gardena, CA, using a shift kit of their choosing, and both part- and full-throttle shifts are satisfactory. It's controlled by an aftermarket programmable device (don't recall the maker, who was in the Southeast). The controller was initially set by the guy who did the engine/trans install, and has been re-set a couple of times by the guy at Hiro's who built the trans. I guess that I don't have the words to explain to somebody adjusting that program what's unsatisfactory about it -- I can only compare its function with two other vehicles of mine, one with the 4R100 and the other with a 700R4, both of which are much more satisfying to drive. The engine is the '56 is a 351W, built with heads, cam, and manifold selected for strong low and mid range rather than RPM. The rear end is an 8" with a 3.80 gear. Those were chosen to combine good stoplight grunt and low RPM cruising; those choices also seem to be quite satisfactory. If I accelerate hard, its performance is pretty impressive. It launches pretty well, and shifts hard enough to chirp the tires and get a little sideways on the 2-3 shift. It's driving at small throttle openings and varying speeds that it seems confused and clumsy. The 1-2 shift happens very soon after starting out, 2-3 happens after a reasonable length of time and is followed almost immediately by converter lockup, which feels like another upshift with a very close ratio. The final shift into OD occurs around 45 MPH, which is fine. If I am running at moderate RPM and a small throttle opening in 3rd, and use the kickdown as on a hill or p***ing, I can't get a downshift with a little more throttle, I must step on it hard. The result is a hard downshift to 2nd with much noise and drama. I guess the real complaint is that I can't regulate which gear I'm in by modulating the throttle in small amounts, as I can with the other two transmissions. I often find myself in too high a gear, and have to use large throttle openings to downshift with unnecessarily loud and frantic results. I imagine that it can be set up to behave in a more civilized way by a skilled trans technician, but either I don't know one or haven't explained my issues successfully. That's why I thought that the 4R100 ge****t might be the solution.
I drive a 2002 lightning every day, agree its a sweet trans.Ratios are perfect for that truck. Dont know much about ford automatics. Got a 700R4 thats damn near as good, but wish first gear wasnt as short. Good luck.
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