Hey guys, I was curious as to whether or not a c6 transmission could be swapped into my 1998 f150. I have a 4.6, and my transmission now (4r70w) is currently losing overdrive so I decided I was going to rebuild it. So I decided to talk to a friend of the family who has rebuilt transmissions for decades and he recommended that I try to swap in a c6 due to the fact that its mostly mechanical and can handle harsher acceleration due to it being 3 speed. Ultimately I plan to switch my supercharged 4.6 over to a supercharged 5.4, but my trans issue needs to be dealt with first. He said he would help me install the trans and get everything I need parts wise, but I was wanting to know if it will bolt up? If so, then I would love to use the c6 that I have at the shop because all I would have to do is rebuild it. Thanks guys.

 

I know a lot of guys use them in dedicated desert race trucks but I have heard they are pretty clunky and not great for DD / street driving. One guy I know has a fully built supercrew that he beats on and he is running a c6 behind a built 351 with an aftermarket gear vendors overdrive so maybe that is an option. It would be nice though because I think you can eliminate a bunch of the electrical stuff (not 100% sure because most desert guys are running fully manual with art carr style shifters) and then maybe just get a comp out of a truck that came with a manual trans and it would probably be happy

 

Thats good info! I dont plan on turning it into a desert truck but it does have long travel . I just want something that can take a little abuse is all. I have a c6 transmission out of a 1990 f150 that had a v8 but I am not sure which one(5.0 or 5.8). I wasnt planning on switching over to a 302 or a 351, but I have never entertained the thought of doing so really. I was going to run a procharged 5.4, but I have to address the trans issue now. I have heard of switching over to a 4r75 but I think I could make a 4r70 that much better with the extra I would have to shell out for the 4r75. The guy that will be rebuilding it said that there would be no problems building up the 4r70 and putting it back in, but if I want a serious transmission that he would recommend I swap in something like a c6. I was hoping that someone had swapped one into a 2v.

 

have you talked to darrin burch?

 

I tried but he wouldnt answer me.

 

i would email him to ask him questions or set up a time to call. thats what i had to do.

 

Emailing him was exactly what I did. I told him my predicament, and asked him a series of questions about my current transmission and different ways of beefing it up. Two days later.. no answer.

 

oh. well i dont know man, he must be busy or out of town.

 

ya just keep in mind that he could be really busy...hopefully he will answer both of our questions, he def sounds like the guy to ask on here! anyway I am hoping my 4r100 swap goes well, if it does you should try to pull off the same thing im doing as the 4r100 should hold up just fine! what kind of long travel are you running?

just realized you are still running a 4.6? thats a lot of work to make a trans work with a motor you dont plan on keeping! can you baby the trans and make it last for a bit? hell I drive without my od on all the time unless I get on the freeway or cruising over 55-60 for more than a few mins.

 

if you are going to run the 4.6 for awhile still and plan to swap to a 5.4 then I think your best bet is to have someone like darrin (who is known for building these exact trannys) build the hell out of your 4r70w. look at Klitch's truck, that thing is a BEAST and he is happy with darrins built 4r70w, I am doing the 4r100 because I was lucky enough to score a full running truck with the motor/trans/rear end with low miles for cheap, I am hoping I can swap it all and keep it happy in the silver truck! if you use the right person and they build your current trans THE RIGHT WAY you will probably never look back. you could prob sell that c6 on desertrangers or racedesert to get back some of your money spent building yours. thats what I would do if I was in your shoes anyway

 

Well, I don't plan on running the 4.6 for much longer at all actually. If I still have the 4.6 in my truck by spring break then I will be extrememly suprised/disappointed. I dont know how much longer I will be able to baby it, but driving with O/D off is something I can do. I drive 22 miles one way (all highway 65-70mph) to work. When the 4r100 in the excursion went out we had a friend of the family build it up and he did an excellent job with it, so I had already ask him to help me with the current 4r70 problems I am dealing with. He said he has rebuilt quite a few of this exact transmission, but he believes that they are pretty weak in their stock form. He knows what I will need to beef it up, but he said that he would rather see me use a stronger transmission due to the fact that I will be trying to squeeze horsepower out of my truck often. He said if I want to that he will put any parts in there that I want, and we could build it up for as much as I want to pay for the parts. Jake hooked me up with a site that has race built 4r70s for $1700, but I am not sure what darrins pricing is like. Everyone I ask about how much they spent acts like they are scared to tell people how much they spent on something. Like its nobodys businees or something . I am trying to keep the trans repairs to a cost minimum which would be why I want our friend to help me so that it is cheaper. I have ALOT I want to do to the 5.4 I am putting in it. I want heads, cams, and long tubes to put on it and I only have 4k to play with until my income tax comes in. So the more I save on building the trans the more I get to put into my engine and supercharger set-up. I STILL havent put my wastegate on.

 

Oh well hopefully he answers soon. If his built trans isnt too bad $$$ wise I may do it. I just want more money to put into my engine.

 

you already have the 5.4? sounds like a cool build, I am hoping to do the same thing to mine eventually! well I sent you the info on my trans, you could grab it, run it for a bit while you sit on the other one and build it up and then pull mine and sell it for prob close to what you buy it from me for, but if you can afford to have someone like darrin build it, and have it down for that time thats prob what I would do because you probably wont ever have to look back, do it once and do it right!

 

Dude.. check these out.. I may just buy this.

http://racetransmissions.com/store/p...roducts_id/273

Says they handle 600 horses.. I doubt ill hit 450-5

 

looks like a stout trans but Id make sure they are building them for trucks...sounds a little more like drag car stuff but I could be wrong. I doubt darrin would be more than that to build yours, and hes building it for your application...just something to think about