4R70W - 2000 or 2001 valve body?

[shoon]

I am in the process of rebuilding my 4R70W transmission, and have just installed a Sonnax and Transgo kit in the valve body. The problem I have, is that I lost the old valve body gasket and now I am stumped trying to figure out which of the new gaskets I am supposed to use. The rebuild kit comes with 2 gaskets, one for 2001+ and one for 2000 and down. Both gaskets are very similar but the instructions supplied indicate the 2 gaskets are not interchangeable. The orfices in the cover plate line up with both gaskets, and neither gasket seems to be blocking anything critical on the valve body itself.

The transmission is out of a 00' f-150, I don;t want to assume its a '00 valve body- I would rather know for sure. Does anyone know what the differences are between the 2 styles of valve bodies or if there is a way to figure out if the transmission is in fact a 2000 year?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mmerlinn]

There will be a partial VIN number somewhere on the transmission, often near impossible to find. That will tell you the exact model year of the original installation.

If the transmission still has a READABLE tag on the side of the case, that would also tell you the year.

If the solenoids in the transmission have not been previously replaced, the date codes on them will give you a good approximation of the year within a month or so.

The model number stamped on the side of the valve body will help, too, if you can find someone to decode it for you.

Casting dates on the aluminum parts are not a fool-proof way of determining year, but they will help. For example, if the casting dates are 2001, you know that it is not a 2000, but if the dates are 2000 or earlier, they will not help at all, as parts may be cast days, months, or even years before they are used.