New to me

[Soaring]

I just bought a 1981 Ford F-150 Ranger with an extended cab, an 8' bed, an automatic and a v8 engine that is carbureted. The mileage on this truck is a certified 30,000 miles. Now, what transmission do I have, and what engine do I have? It appears to be a 302 and not a 351. Thanks for any help. If I need to give you the VIN, I can do that tomorrw as I am tired from driving so far today. Thanks guys.

[glc]

The 8th character of the VIN is the engine code. Run it through a VIN decoder. The transmission is not in the VIN.

www.decodethis.com

The tranny is most likely a C4 or a C6, with a C5 or AOD a slight possibility.

C4 Built from 1964 - 1981 17.18" long overall. C4 bell housing is removeable, C6 is not.
Rectangular, almost square pan ( 10" X 9") with slight buldge on front pass. corner. Pan has 11 bolts.
5.0L engines tended to have C4s not C6s.
Not an overdrive tranny. Fairly robust unit. Can take a fair amount of power. Eats about 60 less HP than a C6.

C5 Built from 1982 - 1986 Case length same as C4 but pan has a hump in it whereas the C4 has a flat pan.
Not an overdrive tranny. Not even that widely used. Avoid.

C6 Built from 1966 - 1979 20" long overall including integral bellhousing. -
1966 - 75 have rectangular pan with 17 bolts & long measurement on front and rear edges. Shorter on sides. -
Can have recess on rear pass.corner or slight buldge on pass side near rear edge & 15 bolts.
P1966-75 pan = 1"-1.5" deep. 1975+ pan = 1.75" - 2.0" deep and 4X4 pan 3" deep in center.
Small blocks and big blocks have different bellhousings. 3 different castings total.
P-R-N-D-2-1 pattern. Good, heavy Duty 3 speed Auto, but without OD. Gets 3 thumbs up.

AOD Built from 1980 - 1993. Intregal bellhousing and transmission. Not electronically controlled. 20.5" overall length.
Good, medium duty 4 speed OD tranny. Can be beefed up to handle decent power. Very common.
Rectangular pan like C4 but both rear corners angled slightly. 14 bolts on pan.
When matted with 2.73-1 diff., speedo gear tends to be 8 tooth, otherwise 7 tooth. Came with wide and std gear ratios.
V6 version lighter duty than V8 version but can be modified to equal V8 version in strength.
Has 1 electrical connector to neutral safety switch. Uses TV (throttle valve) linkage & cable on left side to carb/throttle body.
Proper TV adjustment is CRITICAL. Pre-88 models lack rear-lube enhancement - avoid these ones.
Any post-88 version is worthy of use or build-up except those found behind V6s.
1992-93 E & F series trucks have the stronger version of AOD available.
Most Lincolns and some trucks use a 1" longer output shaft than the Mustangs and other vehicles.
Overall length 30 1/4". Shift pattern = P-R-N-OD-D-1. Gets 3 thumbs up.