4R70W a good transmission?
 

I'm new to the F150 world and I just figured out I have the 4R70W tranmission. In the world of 1/2 ton trucks, is this a good transmission? At 44k miles the dealer put a new transmission in immediately after I bought it but it could be that the previous owner hammered it.

Would you call the 4R70W, heavy duty?

Someone in another thread said you can "bullet proof" them. I went through all the tranmission threads here and didn't see any info. What can I do to bullet proof it?

Thanks. Just trying to figure out what I have here. :)


2001 SuperCrew 4x4, 5.4 with Kenne Bell Supercharger, 45k miles

that tranny is not the HDuty one...the 100 is...which is in the Harley and lightnings.....and the 7700gvw....half tons.

The majority f series, expy, explorer have that...including mine....

It is decent....some had bad luck...but not the norm.

I have a towing package on mine...so have a aux tranny cooler on mine...

Hello Fordlinks

My S'crew has the 4R70W tranny with cooler. I have had the truck since new, and it now has a little over 30k miles on it. I have not had any trouble at all with this tranny. I have towed a pretty heavy bass boat with it, and it has performed flawlessly. When towing I recommend turning the O/D off. It will stop the tranny from hunting gears too often AND it will keep your O/D band from wearing out. Also the tranny cooler will really keep the fluid in good shape. I would say that your tranny will, for the most part, do what your truck overall is designed to do. My truck came with the Class III towing package AND the tranny with cooler, so it's designed to do some pretty respectable towing. What matters is how well you take care of your vehicle. If you keep servicing it as per your scheduled maintenance guide, chances are you will be fine.

Years ago Ford had a heavy duty tranny in the half tons. It was named the C-6 and was a 3 speed. Then they came out with the A4OD which had 4 speeds but wasn't quite as strong. Now we have the 4R70W which is even wimpier than the A4OD. Years ago the half ton shared the C-6 with the one ton trucks, now we share the same transmission as the grocery getters (Explorer). My truck has 40K miles and shifts like crap. The whole truck has a high frequency buzz in overdrive running 60-70 (you can see it in the rear view mirror). I have to keep the overdrive locked out just to get the thing to shift decent, otherwise it's constantly locking up into overdrive even as slow as 30-35 mph. My truck is real nice to look at and to ride in, but it ain't gonna be as rock solid reliable as previous models. For the first time in my life, I'm not willing to have a Ford truck as my sole means of transportation. I love it but I don't trust it for long term reliability. Gonna keep my 94 Ranger for work and 'backup'.

Thanks for the comments. I have the Class III towing package also but I don't see any extra coolers in front of the main radiator. Would a transmission cooler be in a different spot? I'd like to check if it has one and maybe put one on if it doesn't.

Yea, whats the deal with that? I was talking to a tranny guy the other day and he went through the same tranny evolution as you did and he also said that the C6 was the superior tranny as far as reliability. Makes me want to buy an older truck.

The c6 evolved into the e40d and now the 4r100. Build a c6 with 4r100 parts and it is bulletproof. c6's got crappy gas mileage, but they last forever. The a40d you speak of does not exist it was the fiod otherwise knows as aod you are talking about. The 4r70w evolved from that transmission. As far as reliability goes a ranger with a manual transmission is IMO the most reliable machine on the planet. The 2.3 might have been weak ,but you just can't kill them. I have over 150k on my 97 and it still runs great with no major repairs. 4r70w's are good transmissions, but they are known to have some problems that can be fixed.
Alan

I had my '99" 4R70-W tranny RACE built about 4.5 years ago, custom valve body, ALTO clutches, TEFLON rings......... Just recently installed a 3000 stall from PI. I have over 200 passes down the 1/4 mile, twice that in street racing and also just general beating the crap out of it. No probems here at all. I run 2 tranny cooler, one with 10" electric fan, tranny temp gauge, REDLINE D4 synthetic fluid, transgo shift kit set higher than their highest setting, and a external aux tranny filter.

92 K and all is well
 

My '00 R/C F150, 4.6, 3.55 ls, trailer package has pulled a 3700 lb. (dry weight) travel trailer approx. 25% of 92 k-miles and no problems. Had the tranny flushed twice at the dealership, a 30k nd 62k.