A question of interest.

[heptofite]

How many of you would be interested in a controller that would allow you to use a 4r55 or 5r55 behind any engine it could physically bolt to, in any year truck?

further, it would be able to turn both of them into six speeds, with two reverse speeds (if you so wanted).

the idea came to me when i was thinking about how there are so many xR55E transmissions rotting in junkyards that we would use but couldn't because of the inability to shift them behind a 2.9 or anything with an old computer.

so i talked to my friend and he can make a controller that will operate independently of the ECU and shift these transmissions.

So, who all would want to buy something like that?

 

[strvger]

wow. with 6 forward speeds i probably would have went with 5.13 gears instead of 4.56's!!

 

[fordwheelinman]

how exactly do you intend to get 6 forward speeds from a 4 speed transmission? and 2 reverses?.........im calling bs on this one.

 

[heptofite]

how exactly do you intend to get 6 forward speeds from a 4 speed transmission? and 2 reverses?.........im calling bs on this one.

it's not a four speed transmission, it's a 3 speed transmission with an overdrive

you can engage the overdrive in any gear, thus turning each gear into two
therefore, you have six forward speeds, and if you engage the overdrive while in reverse you have two reverse speeds.

 

[Ranger Kip]

personally, I have never heard of a 3spd with overdrive, I could be very wrong, but I want some proof first =P

If this is true, it will be pretty neat though, I might want one for my 2.8 if possible

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

The 5r55e is a 4 speed with over drive...making it a 5 speed tranny....

The 4r44e is a 3 speed with overdrive making it a 4 speed. (same as the a4ld)

 

[heptofite]

The 5r55e is a 4 speed with over drive...making it a 5 speed tranny....

The 4r44e is a 3 speed with overdrive making it a 4 speed. (same as the a4ld)

my bad, i thought the 5r55e just split another of the gears with overdrive.

in that case, this system could technically get 8 forward speeds out of the 5r55e, but i don't know why you'd want to.

 

[strvger]

i've had a Saturn Overdrive in an old military jeep i once owned. it had 5.38 gears, of course, and the overdrive made it a real dd while keeping it's excellent off road capabilities. and yes, i had 6 forward speeds and 2 reverse speeds in it. always wondered about hooking up an old Dana 18 or 20 tc to a ranger just to get that overdrive. it was great and well worth the expense for that old war horse... imho.

 

[feellnfroggy]

4 speed or 3 spd with over drive almost the same thing. The 4tyh gear is just gear alot higher for highway use, your not really gettin 6 speeds either, witht he OD engaged with each speed its just adding more range to the gear, a six speed has 6 individual gears. Least as far as I know, and it would be way more money put into it than you would get out of it, I think. Not a bad Idea, I just dont think the practicality is there.

 

[Ranger Kip]

Alright, I was thinking there for a second, mine ONLY has 3 gears XD

 

[heptofite]

well, you're missing the bigger picture, that's just an added bonus, the real joy here is that you can stick a 5r55e behind anything you can get a bellhousing for.

 

[cody93]

hmm, seems tempting, how much will he sell em for? and how dose it work exactly? could we get kits to build one, or download schamatics?

 

[heptofite]

the hardware it will use is relatively cheap, but the coding itself is going to run into a couple thousand dollars to get him to write it.

so, the more people who wanted one, the cheaper each unit would be.

if he sold ten units, they could be about 120 dollars.
if he sold 20, they could be 60, etc.

the hardware driving this is cheap, it's the code that makes it all work that's expensive.