4r70w needs what extras?

[hairj]

Hey guys, I have a line on a 4r70w out of a '96 explorer. It is a v-8 car and the door code under TR says U. Don't know if it is 2 or 4 wheel drive. Does this matter?
Owner drove the car at highway speeds and says it shifts fine. No idea of the miles.
I have never had an auto trans in a bronco and know nothing about them. Just thinking for the future. The guy is scrapping the car and keeping the engine. Are there other parts, computer, electronic controller that I should try to get?
For $10 bucks and an hours drive I feel I can't go wrong? Or can I?
Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[dmoses42]

Some things to keep in mind... If you are going from a 3 speed manual or a C4, the overdrive in the 4R70W will likely necessitate/require changing gear ratios in the front and rear, depending on tire size. It will require a stand-alone electronic transmission controller (probably easiest based on your post) unless you convert to factory EFI, like the Explorer had, but you said you aren't getting the motor, so you'd have to come up with a complete motor and engine harness to do the full conversion. Check out EFI Guy's posts on doing this. All that aside, if you can get the transmission for $10, get it, if you have room to store it until you either sell it or use it. Doesn't matter if it is 2wd or 4wd, because I don't think anyone sells the 4wd only conversion kit anymore, they all come with a new main shaft (I think) now, that has to go in. If I've mis-spoken, someone will correct me I'm sure.

 

[dmoses42]

You will probably want to grab the transmission harness too, if I remember correctly, it connects to the main harness at the firewall. I don't know if you need it for the stand-alone controller, but better to have it than not. If you don't need it, it would be worth the $10...

 

[dmoses42]

Research the bolt patterns to make sure you are getting what is being advertised. I think the SBF housing has 2 bolts for the starter, and the modular motor has a 3 bolt starter. Just double check with a google search, I haven't disassembled my Explorer yet.

 

[hairj]

Research the bolt patterns to make sure you are getting what is being advertised. I think the SBF housing has 2 bolts for the starter, and the modular motor has a 3 bolt starter. Just double check with a google search, I haven't disassembled my Explorer yet.

Thanks so much dmoses42 for the great information. I will certainly check this out!

 

[dmoses42]

Someone will pop in and give you better, more precise information than I have given, but I'm pretty sure what I've posted will get you started in the right direction. Hopefully. I definitely don't want to mislead anyone.

 

[rocknhorse76]

Get the block plate (sometimes called dowel plate) and the removable cover that comes with it. Like dmoses42 said, make sure it’s definitely a sbf bellhousing and it had a 5.0 in front of it.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Make sure it is the V8, not the V6. The V6 trans won't work no matter how hard you try.
As others stated, a bit of harness going to the trans. If there is a wire to the transmission, you want the matching connector. Should be 2 connectors. One going through the case, another to the shift arm on the side of the transmission. Block plate. I would even do the trans mount.
If 4WD, the transfer case is junk, but leave it attached just so you are not spilling transmission fluid and to keep the inside of the transmission sealed.
Dipstick and tube.

Pretty much anything 1 layer out on the transmission itself. If something plugs in, screws in, bolts on. Keep it.

2WD or 4WD? 2WD will require a tear down and rebuild with the right parts. 4WD can be adapted without a transmission rebuild. There are some parts that can be thrown into a '96 to update it.

Contact USshift (the stand alone transmission controller company) for what is needed. I believe that you will already have the correct solenoids. Only the real early pre-93 trans had the wrong solenoids?

That is just the donor collection. What size tires and what axle ratio do you have (or are planning on)? This question matters as must Broncos won't just accept an overdrive ratio tossed on top of "stock" gearing and typical tire sizes. And "stock" has 3 different ratios depending on the option boxes when it was ordered new. 3.50 gears were probably the most common and unusable with the overdrive.

 

[904Bronco]

Transmission Dipstick and tube
As much of the 3/8" cooling lines as you can get, it is a great start to getting a cooler set up.
Starter if he does want it.
As said, inspection cover and backing plate, 4 fine pitched nuts that hold the torque converter to the flexplate, and the flex plate itself if available.
There is early vs, late 4R70W wiring to the solenoids in the pan. So take the short Trans harness, you shouldn't need it for the US Shift controller but you can probably resell it.
Don't pay more than $300 for it, it is still consider a core, unless you drove it yourself. And if it goes into a Bronco you will have to go into it.

 

[hairj]

Transmission Dipstick and tube
As much of the 3/8" cooling lines as you can get, it is a great start to getting a cooler set up.
Starter if he does want it.
As said, inspection cover and backing plate, 4 fine pitched nuts that hold the torque converter to the flexplate, and the flex plate itself if available.
There is early vs, late 4R70W wiring to the solenoids in the pan. So take the short Trans harness, you shouldn't need it for the US Shift controller but you can probably resell it.
Don't pay more than $300 for it, it is still consider a core, unless you drove it yourself. And if it goes into a Bronco you will have to go into it.

Thanks to all. So much valuable information, I really appreciate it!

 

[73azbronco]

Tranny shops are wanting $700 for a core charge if you don't have one to turn in, ouch.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Flex plate is good if you have a newer engine. But the wrong balance for an original engine.

And take the flex plate to crank bolts. They are a little shorter than flywheel bolts.

 

[904Bronco]

Flex plate is good if you have a newer engine. But the wrong balance for an original engine.

And take the flex plate to crank bolts. They are a little shorter than flywheel bolts.

Good points...

 

[Bajabrewer]

Tranny shops are wanting $700 for a core charge if you don't have one to turn in, ouch.

It's worth it to see if you can find a core on FB or CL - I see them for $100-300 around me

 

[nvrstuk]

Only other thing I can think of is to call Kevin at US Shift and make sure they can rewire the controller BEFORE you buy it as I don't know if any of their controllers come wired for pre '98.

It's not that hard to change a few wires on the connector but it would be great if they would do it for you to save you some problems because your trans will default if the wiring isn't changed.

 

[904Bronco]

Only other thing I can think of is to call Kevin at US Shift and make sure they can rewire the controller BEFORE you buy it as I don't know if any of their controllers come wired for pre '98.

It's not that hard to change a few wires on the connector but it would be great if they would do it for you to save you some problems because your trans will default if the wiring isn't changed.

I just ordered a controller from US shift, Kevin is a great guy to chat with. Rig I'm working on has an older Ron Francis wiring harness with the provision plug for the US shift power... They haven't built one in about two years, but they built it up without issue. You really just need to tell him what color the plug is on the pass side of the transmission - white early, black late. Late 97-98 is about the cut off point for the change.

 

[nvrstuk]

Not too late tho. I built one from August '97 which had the black plug.

 

[904Bronco]

Not too late tho. I built one from August '97 which had the black plug.

Yeah, you can find 97's with the 96 stuff on it, but it is real early 97's until they ran out of that configuration on the line...