4R44E (Door Code "T") - Let's make this a 5R44E please... [Magic Happened!]

[Fredness]

Dropping in all the scalars, then removing them as I go...

 

[Fredness]

@Dirtman, Explorer 4.0L 5R55E has a removable bell housing, as does the 2.3L 4R44E.

The ONLY things that aren't a one-for-one swap are the Torque Converter and the Pressure Booster Valve. Those stay with the engine you are bolting to.

4.0L 4x4 5R55E gives me extra clutches, deep pan and the double the planetary gears.

First though, I'm going to tweak the 4/5R44E and run it as is, the 2.3L 5R55E comes later...

 

[Dirtman]

Yes the bell housing is removable but removing and installing them is not just a matter of unbolting and swapping over. The bell housing is bolted behind the pump so when you pull the bell housing your also pulling the pump and input shaft which then need to be realigned and shimmed.

 

[Fredness]

...and there is a tool for that.

Make sure you read THIS.

 

[8thTon]

I'm not sure where the concern for the 2nd gear being "fake" come from. It's a gear box, and gears are highly efficient so if two gears sets are run to make an effective 3rd ratio it's not any different than a single gear. It doesn't matter to me at all how many actual gears a transmission has, only how many effective ratios - as long as the shifting mechanism is fast. My 5R44E definitely uses the virtual 2nd most of the time, and if it skips it when that makes sense then fine. When I drive a manual I do not mindlessly use every gear, rather I skip gears often - 1, 3, 5 or 1, 2, 3, 5. It all depends on the terrain and situation.

 

[RonD]

Yes, if you are driving down hill most manual drivers skip gears

I think the point of the difference in the 4R and 5R, is there a big enough reason to swap out a 4R for a 5R, I don't see it
Not sure having that 2nd gear would be beneficial enough
If you were swapping a transmission to get Overdrive or a Granny gear for towing, I can see it

 

[8thTon]

Yes, if you are driving down hill most manual drivers skip gears

I think the point of the difference in the 4R and 5R, is there a big enough reason to swap out a 4R for a 5R, I don't see it
Not sure having that 2nd gear would be beneficial enough
If you were swapping a transmission to get Overdrive or a Granny gear for towing, I can see it

I bet my Ranger would be pretty pokey without it. It rips off nice neat shifts all the way to 5k in each "gear" if I get on it, or less if I'm not on it as hard, but not having that gear would make a big difference.

 

[Fredness]

When an empty bed 2.3L Ranger snags "Fake 2nd gear" on a turn things get interesting real quick.
Even on dry pavement.
It will be awesome in the Foxbody Convertible!

That being said - the 4R44E isn't going to put up with doubling the engagement of the OD Drum for long.
Ford knew this and upgraded bushings in the 4R to roller/Torrington bearings in the 5R.

This is a "Proof of Concept" and the ultimate plan is to replace the 4R44E with a 2.3/2.5L bellhousing on a 4x4 5R55E.

But it does work, over 70 miles logged without issue.

 

[Dirtman]

That fake gear almost never happens. You've probably driven your truck your entire life and had it engage once. When i sober up illl take my truck for a ride with my laptop plugged in to show the shift paterns.

 

[8thTon]

That fake gear almost never happens. You've probably driven your truck your entire life and had it engage once. When i sober up illl take my truck for a ride with my laptop plugged in to show the shift paterns.

In the year I used the Ranger for commuting I know quite well it ran 2nd gear nearly every day. That's because I have at least one interesection where I must pull out onto a busy road where the traffic is usually moving pretty well. I watched the tach run up through every gear, sometimes to 4k or 5k, and I know it used 2nd.

I do know that before I cleaned the MAFS it was often confused about load and what gear to use.

 

[Dirtman]

When you "count" gears 1,2,3,4,5... what you think is 5 is most likely the lockup which feels like another gear and even drops rpms like a gear shift.

When you actually hook a scanner up you'll see 1,3,4,5, lock up. (5 shifts but no second)

 

[Transman304]

“That being said - the 4R44E isn't going to put up with doubling the engagement of the OD Drum for long.
Ford knew this and upgraded bushings in the 4R to roller/Torrington bearings in the 5R.”

Curious as to what parts got upgraded?

 

[8thTon]

When you "count" gears 1,2,3,4,5... what you think is 5 is most likely the lockup which feels like another gear and even drops rpms like a gear shift.

When you actually hook a scanner up you'll see 1,3,4,5, lock up. (5 shifts but no second)

Quite unlikely as lockup is not happening in the lower gears at all, and is pretty obvious in 5th when it happens. There's a noticeable delay after the 5th gear shift before lockup.

That 2.47 to 1.47 1-2 shift in the 4R44E is a huge hole, it's a 40% ratio change. My 3.0/5R44E runs up through the first 3 gears very quickly when you push it from a stop, there's no way that hole is there. No doubt at other times it skips it, which makes sense.

 

[Fredness]

Not sure if this is a reading comprehension issue or the alcohol, but - I am NOT using a Ranger 5R55E shift strategy, it is the Sport Trac 4x4 5R55E strategy.
Here is the data log, it is 100% repeatable with every acceleration from a dead stop.

 

[8thTon]

Not sure if this is a reading comprehension issue or the alcohol, but - I am NOT using a Ranger 5R55E shift strategy, it is the Sport Trac 4x4 5R55E strategy.
Here is the data log, it is 100% repeatable with every acceleration from a dead stop.

I think this is an important point, in that the shift profile is programmed in the ECU rather than the valve body of the transmission so it need not be the same in every engine/transmission combination. Dirtman's is a 2009 2.3 2wd, which was a very common fleet vehicle setup on the lightest version of the Ranger. It would be the mileage leader of the line and it's quite possible this is programmed differently than my 2004 3.0, which would be used on heavier versions.