What is a flex plate and where is it?

I read in a post that you can tell the difference between the Romeo and the Windsor by counting the bolts on the flex plate...

Didn't the Windsor quit coming in the F series in 97?

I thought the Windsor engine was one of the old pushrod engines...

This is my first Ford I have EVER built, so I am a bit unfamiliar with the engines. Please forgive my ignorance. I thought I knew quite a bit about automobiles until owning my Ford now.

 

The flex plate is connected to the tourque converter. So you would have to drop the tranny to count the bolts. Check the 8th digit on the VIN:
W=Romeo plant
6=Windsor Plant

 

To expand a little, if you have a flex plate, it means you have an automatic transmission.

The following is based off the knowledge i have gleaned from my older vehicles (specifically my 74 Nova), but I'm sure our new trucks are similar enough.

The Flexplate connects directly to the crankshaft with several bolts (5 bolts in my case), which then connects to the torque converter. The TC's job is to provide the fluidic coupling between the engine and the transmission (its what lets your transmission slip compared to the engine speed, and when you rev it up, it keeps the engine in its power band).

Maybe the trucks are different, but why would you need to drop the tranny to count the bolts? Just turn the engine at the flexplate and count them as the go by. Unless you cannot even access the flexplate/TC w/o dropping the tranny which would seem very odd.

 

The flexplate bolts that you have to count are the bolts that bolt the flexplate to the crankshaft. You can't see these with the tranny in there unless there is a little space between the torque convertor and flexplate that you might be able to see through with a mirror or something. I have never tried to see them though. The VIN would be way easier to go by. Windsor is the engine plant where some engines are built, like the 351 windsor for instance. I think some 4.6s and all 5.4s are built at the windsor plant.

 

When you all say flex plate, are you all talking about the flywheel? The only thing I have ever unbolted from a torque converter on any vehicle, was the fly wheel. What I define as the fly wheel is the round plate bolted on the back of the engine that has gear teeth that is turned by the starter and therefore turns the crank. It is bolted to the torque coverter as well.


If the Romeo flywheel/torque converter has 6 bolt holes and the Windsor set-up has 8 bolt holes and you are installing a Windsor engine with a Romeo torque converter, why can you not just use 6 of the eight bolt holes in the Lightning (Windsor) flywheel to bolt the 6 bolt hole torque converter?????????

 

A flexplate and flywheel have the same end result, but by different methods.

The flexplate is what you are thinking of. A flywheel is used on a standard transmission, and has a flat surface on the side towards the transmission, and the clutch presses against that.

 

Old timers like me will recognize the 'flex-plate' as the 'skeleton-flywheel'. jUst showed my age I guess. The only one I ever changed was on a 1955 Ford Victoria.

 

So, is the flex plate the same as the flywheel? I know what the flywheel is and I was taught that the flywheel also plays a role in keeping the engine balanced while it is in operation.

Also, are there any difference in HP output in the windsor engine and the Romeo engine?

After concurring with my VIN, I found out I have the Romeo engine. I guess this is the common engine in the 00 F150 w/ a 4.6 auto.

Also, was/is the Windsor still available in the 98-03? Also, wasn't the Windsor a pushrod engine?

I have learned quite a bit of knowledgeable info on here, keep the tips and facts coming.......

 

They are in the same place, but are different things.

And some engines are externally balanced, and the flexplate/flywheel then has to have weights on it. Other engines do not.

 

Windsor is not a specfic engine name and no it doesn't have to be a pushrod motor. It's more like a series or a model. Like someone said early, that just indicates where it was made at. Now for example the 4.6 windor and the 4.6 romeo do differ as the 351 windosr and the 351 cleaveland did.

If you say flexplate, then you have an AT, if you call it a flywheel then you are talking about a manual. The purpose of a flexplate is that it holds the ring gear so that the starter has something to engage into to turn the motor over. They can be weighted just like a flywheel to help balance an engine.

Now I'm not sure if the 6 bolt hole Romeo TQ or flexplate will fit the 8 bolt hole 4.6 windsor or 5.4 motor. It may or may not, depends on the bolt pattern.