A4LD to 4R44E Swap

[Flandry]

Hi everyone. I know my first post should be in the New Members forum. But since that's a more involved story, I'll write it up tonight when I get home.

In the meantime, can anyone tell me if it's possible to replace an A4LD tranny in a 93 Explorer Sport (V6) with a 4R44E? I know I'd need to change to a 4R bell housing and separator plate. But will the computer be okay with it? If not, can the ECU from a 95 be easily swapped in?

Thanks!

 

[jah81592]

Hi everyone. I know my first post should be in the New Members forum. But since that's a more involved story, I'll write it up tonight when I get home.

In the meantime, can anyone tell me if it's possible to replace an A4LD tranny in a 93 Explorer Sport (V6) with a 4R44E? I know I'd need to change to a 4R bell housing and separator plate. But will the computer be okay with it? If not, can the ECU from a 95 be easily swapped in?

Thanks!

Since the 4r and 5r are essentially the same I would recommend going with the 5r55e from the Explorer. This is a heavy duty unit (Explorer unit). The stock computer will not shift this tranny but I do offer a unit that will. Additionally your speedo will not work because the speedo for your truck is cable and the newer units don't even have a provision for a cable. If you had a guage my controller has a provision to drive a electronic speedo.-jh

 

[Flandry]

Hi James! Thanks for the quick reply. I'd love to put in a 5R, but the contortions required had me looking at the 4R instead. Do you have anything that would control a 4R so I could keep the speedo? The Sport I have is not a far cry from the condition it was in when it left the dealership. So I'd like to keep it close to stock. But I need more reliabilty.

Right now I'm actually sitting with TWO 93 Explorers that have transmission problems. Having also had A4 transmission problems before, I'm getting pretty fed up with the trans. I've never done transmission work, so I don't feel capable of doing anything like a Frankentranny. But I was hoping I could just swap a few things and improve things.


FYI Everyone: If I'd looked a few posts down, I'd have seen this:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194030

I've been lurking for a few days to make sure I didn't ask a question that's been asked over and over again. But this site's vast content is overwhelming and I did just what I was trying to avoid. My apologies.

 

[Big Red]

Hey, I was looking at your post and I realized that you made the same mistake that I made. If you are planning on doing the swap you will want to get the 4R55E not the 4R44E because the 4R44E is out of a 3.0L Ranger (I've been told) whereas the 4R55E is out of a 4.0L Explorer (95-96). Just an fyi. I agree that I don't have enough knowledge about trannies to do a frankentranny, and getting extra computers to work just sounds like a hassle and $$$ pit. I think the best thing to do, if you want to stay with a first gen and not do it yourself rebuilds or combinations of trannies, then the best thing is to take it to the best tranny shop you can find and have them rebuild it. Also take out the best warranty you can. If you figure anything out that might help, please let me know. I will do the same.

Big Red

 

[Flandry]

Hey, I was looking at your post and I realized that you made the same mistake that I made. If you are planning on doing the swap you will want to get the 4R55E not the 4R44E because the 4R44E is out of a 3.0L Ranger (I've been told) whereas the 4R55E is out of a 4.0L Explorer (95-96). Just an fyi. I agree that I don't have enough knowledge about trannies to do a frankentranny, and getting extra computers to work just sounds like a hassle and $$$ pit. I think the best thing to do, if you want to stay with a first gen and not do it yourself rebuilds or combinations of trannies, then the best thing is to take it to the best tranny shop you can find and have them rebuild it. Also take out the best warranty you can. If you figure anything out that might help, please let me know. I will do the same.

Big Red

Thanks, you're right about the 4R55E. And, yeah, swapping is a no-go because it turns out the computer only controls the OD and TCC in 1st gen Xs, while the 4R55E is computer controlled on all gears. So here's is what I've decided to do after reading as much as I can here and talking with an Explorer owner who used to be a certified Ford mechanic and now runs a local repair shop:

I'm replacing the A4LD with a remanufactured tranny instead of a rebuilt one. This costs more, but it guarantees all Ford's A4 updates will be installed and more than just visually worn parts will be replaced with like-new ones. I'm getting the remanufactured unit from Ford (though I also considered Jasper engines). The Ford unit is designated A4LD-HD (HD for Heavy-Duty). It comes with a 3 yr./75,000 mile warranty.

I'm also installing the external transmission oil filter assembly Ford uses on the F-250/350 Superduty trucks. This part is $69 and will give me better filtration and an additional 1/2 qt. or so of capacity.

Since my X has the towing package, this is it. Otherwise I'd be adding a tranny oil cooler as well.