I have an 04 f150 w/ 4.2 v6 and I'm in the process of a transmission swap. The one coming out is a 4r75e I found a replacement of the same transmission and but it came off a 4.6 or 5.4 ( but didn't know this at the time) so as I was putting the bellhousing bolts in I realized that things weren't looking right so did some investigation and that's when I came to the conclusion of the 4.6/5.4 . So I removed it and was talking to a friend and he suggested if I mounted the starter before mounting to the engine so I tried that but no such luck . So the issue is the starter won't bolt up mine is a 2 bolt pattern and the new one uses a 3 bolt pattern so my question is if I was to get a starter for a 4.6 would that work besides the old starter could use replacing anyway and it would be the cheaper route other than paying another $350 for another transmission and trying to sell the first one. Any knowledge would be appreciated

 

You cannot put a 4.6/5.4 transmission on a 4.2 no matter what you do. You need a 2004 or earlier 4R70W out of a 4.2 2wd assuming your 2004 is a Heritage 2wd model.

 

are you sure that's the transmission I need because I did a lot of checking and everything I found said the 04 f150 heritage 4r75e but that would explain the issues I ran into. Is that what the #70 that's casted on the top of the bellhousing? Thank you for the info

 

The 4R75E was only used in the new body style, not the Heritage. There was no 4.2 offered in the 2004 new body style. If you found one out of a 2005-2008 4.2 it will NOT work, electronic differences. I believe you could use a 4R70W out of a 2001-2004 4.2 2wd, assuming yours is 2wd.

 

yes it is 2wd ... When I first ran into this issue and after removing the old one and the new one I sat them side by side and they were identical except for the bellhousing I mean everything connections cooling lines the exact same casing I had even thought about swapping out the insides but decided that wasn't a good idea being that I live in an apartment and doing this in the underground garage thankfully they haven't said anything thank you for the help....by the way on the bellhousing from of the original it has a 70 on the very top does that have any significance

 

Careful doing that in apartment complexes... If you live in GA (specifically Atlanta), they'll sticker it for tow. Codes are strict to the property managers... and they don't need to get fined for junk cars.

 

no I'm good I'm in minnesota I only have to watch out for rioters lol