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after seeing yikes' tranny fail at pismo, i have realized how little i actually know about this piece of equipment. being that i have one in my 4 ton DD van with nigh on a quarter of a million miles, i think i should gather as much knowledge as i can.

philo mentioned something to me about changing the cooler ports on the trans to larger diameter to help flow. can anyone elaborate on this ie what fittings to use?

since it is electronic, are aftermarket plug in type shift kits/controllers worthwhile mods or just gimmicks?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/JET-70704/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BMM-70381/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GBE-62560/

i assume it is a lockup type torque converter, can a switch be added to manually control lockup?

finally, what are some of the most common failures, easy fixes, rebuild tricks and anything else you might know? if you've had good luck with an aftermarket builder please post that as well!

In for the info!

Paul has posted on FSB and GFB about his trans mods (coolers, switches, etc). His is good info.

The main issue with the E4OD is when converting to a C6 or vice. Then stand alone controllers are required to operate the tranny, speedo, and ABS if equipped. Major electrical knowledge is required. One thing I know is 96 is the best year and all the HD units use 96 guts. The aftermarket can make them strong enough for anything you can cook up including modified diesels. Of course big coolers are required in any case especially off road.
The thing that drives heat is the unlocked TC. Great to have the extra tq but the coolers are required to save the tranny.
Lockup switch works fine Search my threads for schematic that was designed by my electrical guru - ChrisW. I tried the resistor gimic and it did not do what is was advertized to do . I think the ecu just ignores it.
How the E4OD works: ( your experience may differ for a vintage E4OD?)
In 1 & 2 the TC is always unlocked In 3 & 4 it unlocks for coast locks for power until it downshifts then it unlocks.and relocks when the transient settles down. This computer controlled strategy works fine for optimizing economy and power. For off road use getting into 3rd is a seldom thing meaning most of the time the TC is unlocked and creating mucho heat. Yes I ocasionaly lock the TC in the sand washes and I see great temp decrease. Trouble is if you get it locked in 1st then stop you kill the engine and get a soft code CEL. The code goes away in a while. Its a little tricky to get the thing to lock in 1st. What is required is to lock in 3rd or 4th then when you slow down it will be locked in all gears. To do this is problamatic because its hard to anticipate when you want the thing locked at such a slow speed. Like in a super soft sand wash.
My conclusion is for the highway Never lock the TC because it works fine.
I suppose some one will link us to a reverse valve body that allows manual control with the defunct Art Car shifter?? Of course an aftermarket shifter will require a switch to lock out 4th just like the stock setup. That switch is for unusual situations like high speed desert travel or towing where the tranny starts to hunt between 3 & 4. I use 4th lockout off road all the time to save tranny wear. It kills fuel economy on the highway.
The answer toyour Q is - Heat is the most common cause of failures. Forget about all stupid upgrades to lines and high capacity pans and just fit the biggest coolers that will fit. None of us have solved heat with NON blower coolers. We just drive to slow when the temp climbs. Spend and get high CFM blowers and use two coolers in series. Wire it reduntantly with a temp switch and a manual override switch. Avoid the temp switch controllers the cooler guys sell . Find an industural switch for higher reliabliity and $ Fuses and relays are needed.
I have no smarts on shift kits, but all the custom trannys come with much improved shifting due to higher line pressures. A common upgrade. Auto trannys wear out they have expendable bands athat wear. Good fluid changes prolong the tranny life. Drop the pan change the filter and drain the TC. If you don't have a TC drain plug the pump the fluid out into a pan until clean using the cooler lines. My 96 has a drain plug. Remember 2wd and 4wd use different filters.
So there. My brain is empty on E4ODs.
PaulW

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magic carpet XLT wrote:after seeing yikes' tranny fail at pismo, i have realized how little i actually know about this piece of equipment. being that i have one in my 4 ton DD van with nigh on a quarter of a million miles, i think i should gather as much knowledge as i can.

philo mentioned something to me about changing the cooler ports on the trans to larger diameter to help flow. can anyone elaborate on this ie what fittings to use?

since it is electronic, are aftermarket plug in type shift kits/controllers worthwhile mods or just gimmicks?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/JET-70704/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BMM-70381/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GBE-62560/

i assume it is a lockup type torque converter, can a switch be added to manually control lockup?

finally, what are some of the most common failures, easy fixes, rebuild tricks and anything else you might know? if you've had good luck with an aftermarket builder please post that as well!

How do you fill the torque converter back up?

hobbyturnedobsession wrote:How do you fill the torque converter back up?

The front pump fills it up once you start the motor. After draining the TC, over fill the trans a little (quart or so) and start the engine. Shift it into reverse, and D, then check fluid level.

It won't hurt it?

hobbyturnedobsession wrote:It won't hurt it?

No, it shouldn't. There will still be a film of ATF for the 10-20 seconds it's dry. I've done it on mine 4-5 times and it now has 195K miles without a rebuild or repair. Still goes forward or backwards but I think it's finally needing a rebuild. I get excess slipping and too much heat in OD. Damn unreliable E4ODs.

Thanks Philo. Since I'm swappin transmissions, and I have the torque converter would it be safer to just fill it before it goes in?

hobbyturnedobsession wrote:Thanks Philo. Since I'm swappin transmissions, and I have the torque converter would it be safer to just fill it before it goes in?

You wont be able to fill it all the way but putting 3-4 quarts in it would be a good idea.

Sounds like a plan, thats what I'll do. Also, I already have a 20 x 7.5 cooler but its not fan cooled. Plus the stock. Should I add a fan? Or should I buy a different cooler with a fan and rid myself of the stock one.

hobbyturnedobsession wrote:Sounds like a plan, thats what I'll do. Also, I already have a 20 x 7.5 cooler but its not fan cooled. Plus the stock. Should I add a fan? Or should I buy a different cooler with a fan and rid myself of the stock one.

The stock one works good, no need to remove it, just add another inline.

A fan on the cooler is a good idea as most heat is made at low speed.

So since I've added a secondary just buy a fan? I had one before but I only had one cooler.

hobbyturnedobsession wrote:Sounds like a plan, thats what I'll do. Also, I already have a 20 x 7.5 cooler but its not fan cooled. Plus the stock. Should I add a fan? Or should I buy a different cooler with a fan and rid myself of the stock one.

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Watch your tranny temp gauge then decide. 140 to 180 F is normal over 200 is not so good. 250 with synthetic ATF is redline. So if you see much over 180 in the places you drive - like a soft sand wash them consider a fan. You can always stop for a picnic when it gets to hot. You won't be the first guy that did that. Remember going slow means the cooler is less effective - hence the blower may be required. You may notice that high revs result in lower tranny temps as a result of more flow thry the coolers. Remember all coolers are not equal, and size is not the determining item. Real data for your circumstance is required.
Now where should you put the gauge sender. Choices choices? Not sure it matters much - just have a gauge. The location debate goes on and on.
PaulW

I thought about running it from where it comes out the tranny to the coolers? Or vice versa so you know whats going back in? I would prefer the output side so you can be a little more cautious

hobbyturnedobsession wrote:I thought about running it from where it comes out the tranny to the coolers? Or vice versa so you know whats going back in? I would prefer the output side so you can be a little more cautious

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Sump T is what the tranny parts see.
Outlet to the cooler T is what the tc creates and is the hotest you can measure.
Cooler outlet is lower T than sump
My sender and T switch is in the sump. Seems ok?
You get to choose. If you have one of those IR temp gauges you can measure to help you decide.
PaulW

I'm sorry Paul but I lost you.

He's still talkin about sender location.

Sender in sump = fluid is at heat level tranny will see.
Sender on the line from the outlet TO the cooler = hottest point of fluid.
Sender on outlet/line from the cooler should be coolest point of fluid.

When he sayd "IR temp gauge" he means an infared thermometer which you can point at something and get a temp reading.

Ok thats what I was thinking about running. Going from the sump to the cooler. Higher reading means more watchful eye for me.

excellent info so far, thanks guys.

mine hasn't seen more than 180* yet with me driving, guess i don't have as much to worry about as i thought. i use the OD lockout quite often and don't actually shift into OD until on the freeway and everything starts to warm up. its got a decent sized cooler, but next order of business will be a blower cooler like you said. i suppose that with 230k on the original tranny i probably shouldn't mess with it too much and be thankful for the life i've gotten out of it...