I have a 1997 F150 4x2 and my trans went out on me today. What year 4R70W trans can I use in my 97? I know they make them from 97-04 so I would like to put a newer trans in my truck with less miles.

 

In 98 they changed the internal wiring harness to a circuit board type design and changed the wiring in the vehicles to match up to it. The connectors are still the same, but the wiring is different and if you plug the new transmission up to your vehicle you will only end up with 2nd gear. Your transmission will have a white main harness connector at the transmission and the newer ones will have a black one.

You can use a newer transmission though and there are a couple of ways to go about it. By far the easiest is going to be to unbolt the valve body and swap the internal harness from your old transmission to the new one. You will also have to swap the TCC, shift solenoid pack, EPC and temperature sensor too. You won't lose anything by doing this because they really didn't change the sensors, they just changed the connectors on them.

So go for it and if you need any help let me know.

Darrin

 

Kurt, If you want to do that I can help you with the changes. It really isn't that hard.
Alan