How do you honestly feel about ford.

[scotts90ranger]

My friend that's a general mechanic also does mostly transmissions and is NOT a fan of the 5r55 trans, it's just an update on the A4LD from what he says... the 4R70W on the other hand that's in my Explorers he doesn't have any problems with other than we should have just used my original trans as a core since EVERYTHING inside it was worn out...

He's also mostly a GM guy but knows everything has it's ups and downs, when I said I wanted to build a V8 explorer he scoffed a bit but didn't complain too much when I had him build the trans, he said he wouldn't have supported it if it had a 5r55...

One of the downfalls is likely the squishy shifting to please soccer moms, I'm sure they would last longer if they had a shift kit and solidly shifted between gears...

 

[19Walt93]

I wanted one of these when they first came out... of course portal windows were pretty popular then too

View attachment 62207

A cool thing about the Pinto cruising wagon was the rally dash. They had a big speedo and tach on either side of the steering column and a row of gauges in the center of the dash.

 

[19Walt93]

I've owned 2 and they were goofy looking but they were great cars. How many other engine designs have lasted 50 years? There are still TONS of Pinto powered rangers on the roads today. The engines are still popular in dirt track racing as well, companies still manafacture Pinto race engines. The Pinto rack and pinion setup was also so good you can still buy brand new variants today for custom/race cars. Pretty amazing for such a horrible death trap...

The Mustang II front suspension all the street rod guys love is the same one that was under Pintos but they'd be shocked to hear that.

 

[Snoranger]

 

[19Walt93]

My friend that's a general mechanic also does mostly transmissions and is NOT a fan of the 5r55 trans, it's just an update on the A4LD from what he says... the 4R70W on the other hand that's in my Explorers he doesn't have any problems with other than we should have just used my original trans as a core since EVERYTHING inside it was worn out...

He's also mostly a GM guy but knows everything has it's ups and downs, when I said I wanted to build a V8 explorer he scoffed a bit but didn't complain too much when I had him build the trans, he said he wouldn't have supported it if it had a 5r55...

One of the downfalls is likely the squishy shifting to please soccer moms, I'm sure they would last longer if they had a shift kit and solidly shifted between gears...

The A4LD and 5R55 are both descendants of the Pinto C3 which came from Cologne, Germany. The 4R100 descended from the E4OD which was based on the C6, the 4R70w evolved from the AOD which looked to me like a cross between an FMX and a TH350. They're all planetary gear transmissions like the mechanically operated one Henry used in Model T's. Keep the fluid changed and don't let them overheat and they'll most all last a long time. An E250/350 with a 4R70W, not so much.

 

[19Walt93]

No, local shop. But again, I see enough people (pretty much everyone) on the Sport Trac boards having them fail that it's not an accident. Basically it's gonna break sometime between 100k and 150k. If someone gets more than that, they're the exception. On mine the reverse band cracked which I doubt had anything to do with the fluid being changed or not but the shop said the whole thing was pretty toasted inside and they get several Explorer trannys a year, it's just a weak design. If Ford is going to tell you that you don't have to change the fluid until 150k then I'd like to see them warranty the trannys for 150k.

I rebuilt transmissions myself from 75 to 82 and ran the shop until 2017,I've never seen a cracked band. If the lining on the band cracked I'd definitely wonder about the fluid.

 

[JohnnyO]

I rebuilt transmissions myself from 75 to 82 and ran the shop until 2017,I've never seen a cracked band. If the lining on the band cracked I'd definitely wonder about the fluid.

We're going to have to agree to disagree. I say many Ford transmissions are garbage and seen enough evidence to back it up. You're entitled to your opinion. I have mine and there is nothing that will change my mind. Ford automatic transmissions are garbage. Period.
BTW, I forgot to mention my 84 T-Bird with a C5 that crapped out while it was still on the original 3/36 warranty. At least rebuilding it didn't cost me a dime. Two years later it started slipping again but it was no longer on warranty so I traded it in.
Remember too, you only see the people who come to the dealership. Most people who are off warranty go to independent trans shops so you may only be seeing a small portion of trans failures. Nothing runs forever, I get that. But on Sport Tracs and Explorers there seems to be a time bomb inside that goes off at right about 100,000 miles.

 

[racsan]

I thought the AOD was just a C6 with overdrive. Ive never been a fan of overdrive automatics, seems like the old full hydraulic 3-speeds held up longer than the od models. The E4OD in dads 96 bronco felt like it slipped between each shift while the 77 F250 had good solid shifts. Granted the 77 was a 400 with 4.10’s and the 96 was a 351 with 3.55’s

 

[JohnnyO]

I thought the AOD was just a C6 with overdrive. Ive never been a fan of overdrive automatics, seems like the old full hydraulic 3-speeds held up longer than the od models. The E4OD in dads 96 bronco felt like it slipped between each shift while the 77 F250 had good solid shifts. Granted the 77 was a 400 with 4.10’s and the 96 was a 351 with 3.55’s.

My take is that modern transmissions are built for light weight and good mpg and not so much for strength and durability. My Ranger has a 10-speed so that's 7 more things that can break compared to a 3-speed C6 or Turbo 400.

 

[sgtsandman]

A big issue with many automatic transmission is they are designed to shift smoothly for comfort. That is hard on a transmission and heats up the fluid. Stiff or firm shifts are more efficient and there is less wear and tear and the clutches and components. Like all the electronic crap loaded in vehicles now, blame the average consumer for demanding it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I thought the AOD was just a C6 with overdrive. Ive never been a fan of overdrive automatics, seems like the old full hydraulic 3-speeds held up longer than the od models. The E4OD in dads 96 bronco felt like it slipped between each shift while the 77 F250 had good solid shifts. Granted the 77 was a 400 with 4.10’s and the 96 was a 351 with 3.55’s

AOD is based off the old FMX IIRC, it is more like the old C4 in terms of size. The E4OD is based off the C6.

My brother is a Ford tech and has had several run ins with 5R55's that had the misfortune of being put behind a V8. He doesn't speak highly of the combination.

 

[NIGERIAN RANGER]

How do you guys honestly feel about Ford motor company.

I'm getting to the point im about to walk away from them. I made the mistake of buying a triton f150. As you well know. Turned out to be the worst Ford truck I ever owned. I miss the old in block cam engines. I don't like overhead cam engines at all.

GM proved that they are inferior. Well the Ford ones anyway. Simple proof is the LS swap the world guys. I haven't seen anyone dig out junkyard 5.4s for their hot rods.

So tell me what you see/think/feel. I honestly value the opinion of the people on this forum.

Same here. It somehow appears Ford does not think through a lot before jumping in to making some of their vehicles. I'd never work on a Triton engine again. That was the worst engine I have seen. A whole lot of issues with that truck.

Some of their modern vehicles are filled with electrical or electronic stuffs, that are just complex, and at any slight problem, you got to take it to a dealer. It appears all their vehicles are not mechanic friendly. You've to get it to a dealership for expensive repairs.

Their olden days vehicles seems to be more reliable, and durable. Also easy to work on by anyone.

If they don't opt their games, import vehicles would overtake them.

I think that's y Asian vehicles are doing well in North America.

 

[scotts90ranger]

A big issue with many automatic trans mission is they are designed to shift smoothly for comfort. That is hard on a transmission and hears up the fluid. Stiff or firm shifts are more efficient and there is less wear and tear and the clutches and components. Like all the electronic crap loaded in vehicles now, blame the average consumer for demanding it.

That's what I was getting at and once my friend mentioned it, made perfect sense... on a manual trans if you slip the clutch to shift smooth all the time you will go through a clutch and flywheel way faster than if you just dump it and go... sure it's harder on other things but find a balance and you get better performance...

I blame most of it on the sissy owners, some jackhole that doesn't know anything wanted them to shift smoother and someone said they could make them shift smooth but either they didn't mention it wouldn't last as long or found a balance that would make it past the 100k warranty stuff so no one cared so that's what we get...

My friend compared the 4R70W with the 4L60 which makes sense... since I have two running vehicles with a 4R70W that are near identical I can make a good comparison, the one with a shift kit is a hoot to drive, it's a true 4x4 with a shimmed up limited slip, solid shifts and just goes, the other one is just kinda squishy and going from one to the other will get ya, punching the throttle and expecting it to kick around a corner and it just marshmallows around... it doesn't help that they're the same color interior just different on the exterior with different stereos... after putting 40k+ miles on the one with the shift kit I kinda know what it's going to do...

 

[JohnnyO]

That's what I was getting at and once my friend mentioned it, made perfect sense... on a manual trans if you slip the clutch to shift smooth all the time you will go through a clutch and flywheel way faster than if you just dump it and go... sure it's harder on other things but find a balance and you get better performance...

I've had a Capri, two Mustangs, a Tempo, an Escort wagon, and a Ranger with manual transmissions and the only problem I had with any of them was a seal replacement on my first Mustang. I'd prefer a manual but you can't hardly get them in this country anymore.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Mine said 150k but I had it serviced at 50k, 100k, and 130k and it crapped out at 132k. I lost reverse but the trans shop said the whole thing was toasted and on borrowed time. Pretty much everyone on the Sport Trac boards loses their tranny between 100k and 150k.

I had 260000 on my 2005 sport trac and never had a problem. Guess I was lucky. Only thing I ever had to do to that thing was a thermostat housing around 200000. Transmission and motor on that thing was still going strong. Took it to a local trans shop to get it serviced once and guy looked at me and said if it's not having problems not to touch it. He said the fluid from the factory would last 500000 miles if untouched. So that being said I never once changed the trans fluid or filter. Now oil was changed every 5000 miles. Damn good truck