pan to transmission spacers

[dillon1340]

does anyone have experience with these? i have read about how important they are but when i rebuilt my transmission i do not remember seeing them and my chiltons doesnt really show how they are held in place, just that they are important. i am going to be replacing my engine in the next few weeks and was wondering if i could just reuse the ones that are in there already. here's something i found online:


Ford Motor Company has developed specific guidelines for installing the oil pan on it's 4.0L engines. On these engines, the transmission bolts to both the engine and oil pan (see diagram). For this reason, before the transmission is
installed, it must be determined what the difference is between the surface of the rear face of the oil pan (at the spacer locations) and the rear face of the engine block.

After installing the oil pan on the engine, position a straight edge on the rear face of the engine block making contact with the transmission mounting machined face on the block. Extend one end over one of the oil pan/transmission bolt mounting pads.

Use a feeler gauge to measure the gap between the mounting pad on the oil pan and the straight edge. Repeat this procedure for the other mounting pad on the oil pan. Select spacers of the required thickness from the chart below.

Install the selected spacers to the mounting pads on the rear of the oil pan before bolting the transmission to the engine.

Failure to install the correct spacer can result in insufficient or excessive clearance between the engine oil pan and transmission. This can lead to oil pan damage and/or oil leakage€

The 4.0L engine is used by Ford Motor Company in Explorer, Ranger and Aerostar applications.

Spacer Selection Chart

Measured Gap Spacer Required Shim Color
mm inch mm inch Code
0.27-0.51 0.011-0.020 0.254 0.010 Yellow
0.52-0.76 0.021-0.029 0.508 0.020 Blue
0.77-1.00 0.030-0.039 0.762 0.030 Pink

 

[dillon1340]

bump. nobody's had to deal with these?

 

[Jack Flash]

not me...I've have many trannys out of Explorers and have never found a spacer.

I can understand the concept, but have never seen any kind of spacer there.

,
,

J...don't believe spacers on the 2 bottom bolts would be super critical.

 

[92exp4x4]

Mine had them and i think i lost them They are important. If the mating surface for the trans is not flush, then when tightening the bolts things get tweaked. The forklifts i worked on had this problem.

The engines (4.3L GM V6) would spit out main bearings within about 50 hours of putting it back together if the pan was installed wrong. The trans bolts would actually twist the block and misalign the crank and camshaft bores resulting in a boat anchor V6.

All you got to do is make sure the back of the pan is flush to the back face of the block when installed and you should not have any issues.

 

[Rhett]

Are you talking about the rear main seal area? Transmission-to-block mount?

I've never heard of a spacer there, but doesn't mean one does not exist on some trucks at least. Spacer = rear main seal?

What I have heard of, is a replacement rear main seal for that location. Perhaps you mean "rear main seal", when you say "spacer"? Perhaps this doc you are quoting is talking about the rear main seal?

The stock rear main seals for 91-94's were notoriously bad, and rear main leaks are a problem in these trucks. You may want to search the old threads on the rear main seal because I could swear there was discussion at one time about a Ford replacement rear main seal that featured several improvements to the seal itself.

I've also heard of guys accidentally crushing part of the seal by not being careful with the bolts. Then the seal ends up leaking later on.

 

[Rhett]

I just did some more checking. It seems that the spacer is not the same thing as the seal itself.

Other than this being a problem area in these trucks, I can't comment much more on it. Are these three spacer sizes even obtainable from a Ford dealer anymore?

 

[92exp4x4]

They are shims to take up the space from the engine oil pan being to far forward of the rear face of the block. If the pan is forward then the bottom of the trans cannot sit flush with the whole surface of the block and pan assembly and it binds. Think of the crankshaft being forced upward at the front main bering of the motor because the block is being drawn downward.

Its hard to describe with out a pic.

 

[IZwack]

The SOHC's bottom design differs from the OHV. But the SOHC does come with shims that go in between the ladder frame and the transmission. They are sheets (2 of em) that are maybe a millimeter thick.

 

[dillon1340]

i'm buying the engine this saturday.if it doesnt come with them on it then i'll try to reuse the ones that are on truck now. if that doesnt work then i'm sure my dad can machine a set for me. i wish i had read this before i had my trans out then i would have taken a good look to see what they were about.

 

[lifeguard379]

so this is a sohc where talking about? or ohv?

 

[IZwack]

Well it sounds like both engines have spacers.

 

[Maniak]

I don't think I've seen spacers on any of the 4.0 OHV motors I've worked on.

The trans was removed on our orig motor at least 4 times and never had the spacer.. The 4.0 I got from Hammer in Phx didn't have it.. and The motor we pulled from DannyBoys 93 didn't have it.. and the motor Dannyboy got from 90ranjo(sp?) didn't have it either.

on 2nd though.. are we talking about the thin piece of metal (seperator plate) that goes between the transmission and the motor. Its just thin sheetmetal? It has always been though of as the spacer (shim) that sets the starter at the right depth. If so, I've always considered them interchangable.. and so far so good

~Mark

 

[IZwack]

on 2nd though.. are we talking about the thin piece of metal (seperator plate) that goes between the transmission and the motor.

No, they are smaller - maybe 2x3 inches. If I remove the ladder frame again, I'll try to remember to take pics. I have a vague recollection that they are somehow clipped or somehow attached to the SOHC's ladder frame.

 

[92exp4x4]

Just bolt the tranny up to the engine block. Do not bolt either of the trans-to-pan bolts. Measure with a feeler guage at the bottom most part of the trans-to-pan seam and put that thickness of shim in before installing the trans-to-pan bolts. This ensures that the motor and the trans centerlines are true to each other.

Most vehicles were put together correctly or within spec and they did not need shimming. There is not an exact number i could find but, if you measure .0005 of an inch or less, leave them out. Any more than that put some in. Ford offers .0010, .0020, and .0030 shims, so there is some wiggle room when sticking things back together.

I hope this clarifies some things and rests some nerves. You can get shim stock from various parts houses or machine shops.

 

[dillon1340]

sounds like a plan. i'll take some photos when it comes time for the engine swap. it's an ohv engine.

 

[ironbandit]

4 years later, these spacers are available, thru a Ford Dealer here in Waldorf MD. They can be substituted as was explained by 92exp4x4, and you can wait until the rest of the bolts holding the bell housing to the block are tight to see if they, or any shim, is needed. Measuring with a straight-edge results in inaccurate results, how it is shown in the books is different than how it should be done, from the back of the cam area to the outer corners of the back of the oil pan.

 

[SleeperBronco]

I know this is an old post, but those things interested me too. How crazy for Ford to have the oil pan to help bear the weight of the transmission.