I've got a 97 150 with a 4.6L and a weak 4R70W (it shudders in 1st gear leaving a stop once the fluid is warm). I bought it with 140k on it, some pulling a light camper trailer, and the previous owner never did a fluid/filter change on it. After I got it I replaced the fluid/filter, but after a couple thousand miles the shudder is back and slowly getting worse. At the fluid change, it had about 1/4" of "mud" on the pan magnet and the old fluid was dark red but no burnt smell.

Unless someone here has other suggestions on repairing it I'm looking at replacing the tranny...with a low-mileage used (if I can find one) or a Motorcraft reman.

I've got a couple conflicting reports on what I can swap in to replace the tranny though.
Is the 97 4R70W a one-year only transmission or what years can I shop for to find a replacement tranny?
I'm also thinking about installing a FactoryTech separator plate when I replace the tranny and I'll be adding an external cooler too.

The truck will be used to pull a light 14' boat and an occasional trip with a 20' car trailer plus light off-road use during hunting season.

Thanks!

 

i seen the same thing when i dropped the pan during my motor swap, this only occured for me after i did a shift kit with new steel accumulators. im not a trans guy but i assume some may have been from break in of the accumulators. the trans is holding up to the sc'd 5.4 so far.

as far as the 1 year trans, i dont think it is. it should be the same for the rest of the years until they went to 4r75w. dont hold me to it though im not positive. i do know they do dumb things like this, my 93 probe with manual transaxle was a 1 year transaxle.

 

You will need to get a 94-97 [early design] 4R70W because from 98-00 the electrical connectors changed and from 01-03 the electrical connectors changed again.

 

But the 94-96 trannies have the SBF/300 bolt pattern. Isn't the 97 with the mod motor bolt pattern different?

 

StrangeRanger, you've got a good point. Seems like I've read that they are the same bolt pattern but I could be wrong. Sounds like for 97 better play it safe a find another 97.

 

That sounds about right. But I've pretty much decided that for not much more than a junkyard tranny I'll go for a Motorcraft rebuild instead. 3yr/100k vs 60-day warranty sounds much better!

On that early vs late subject...
Are there any mechanical or electrical improvements in the 98-00 over the earlier model? If so, would it be possible or worthwhile to consider changing the wiring to go with the newer one?


Yup. different bolt pattern. After having argued with changing the sparkplugs in the 4.6L in this truck and the folks' Lincoln, I'd love to gut the whole drivetrain and drop a 5.8L/E4OD in there instead!


Thanks for the info!
And glad I stumbled into this place...one of the most civilized & helpful Ford boards I've found! I'll be sticking around a while.

 

The changes that were made in the 98 up aren't worth the trouble because you also could run into some PCM programing issues on top of the wiring connectors. I think you have already made the best decision going with the Motorcraft. Check www.motorcraft.com for any discounts or specials they are running.

 

Only a 97 trans will work in a 97. I had my trans harness repinned so I could run a 4R75W.

 

Update:
Well, I've got a Motorcraft rebuilt sitting in back of the truck and it's waiting to go to the shop for the swap. (I'd do it myself but have a really hectic work schedule this summer.)

Also have a FactoryTech separator plate sitting here, but I think I'm gonna hold off with installing it until I know the reman tranny is installed and running a few miles first just so I don't pooch the warranty. Will probably wait til the first fluid change to install it...and yeah I know all bets are off on the warranty after then but by that time I should know if the rebuild was okay.

I broke down and went with Mobil1 synthetic ATF instead of Purple...$6/qt vs $11/qt, that was a no brainer for me.

 

Good move give us a update after the install.

 

Update...
The Motorcraft rebuild is in and the truck is back from the shop. I haven't had a chance to put more than 30-40 miles on it yet but everything is running great except for those super-soggy factory shifts. Picked up a little mileage on that short trip home because the shift points are back to normal, but we'll see how much better after a tank or two.

A guy I went to high school with works at the Ford dealer I picked the tranny up from and he's got the FT separator plate installed in his personal '02 5.4 4x4. He let me take it for a spin and I'm impressed with the shifts...gonna be hard to wait til I install the kit on my truck!