1994 F-350 - which auto trans? OD swap?

thecarman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Location
Apex, NC
Hey!

My friend has a 1994 F-350 SRW 4-door 4x4 with the 5.8L gas engine. He said it has a 3-speed auto in it now - I didn't realize you could still get a 3-speed as recently as 1994. What would it be, a C6?

This is his veterinary truck, and he will put approx 50,000 miles on it a year. Most of this mileage is lightly loaded - he has a "vet bed" full of supplies (think of it like a slide-in toolbox for the whole bed, with hot water storage, sticks up about 6-inches above the bed), and will rarely pull a trailer. He's currently getting 11mpg, and wonders if swapping in a 4-speed auto with overdrive would be worth it, since he's logging so many miles?

What 4-speed autos would be good candidates for the swap? What was the optional OD auto in 1994? Reliability issues?

I've always had GMs, and he's always had a Dodge, so we're new to the Ford world. Yes, he would have loved to get a diesel, but could not afford it.

Thanks!
Richard
 
the only thing I know ford put in there was the E40D, same thing as a 4r100, except the 4r100's I think were only offered for modular motors (4.6 and 5.4L and diesels, a AOD would work but there are strength issues, they make a upgrade kit which comes with heavy grade clutches, a new forward clutch shaft and a shift kit for the valve body to upgrade the AOD, I would look for a E4OD, might be kinda hard to find one for a windsor motor. With gas going up, I think in the long run it probably would be worth it If you did it yourselves and cut out the installation costs.
 
It's a C6. It was an option up until the new body styles came out in 97 and 98.5. The E4OD or AODE would be a direct swap, sort of. The E4OD was the burlier of the two, but if you fell into a build AODE, there's nothing wrong with them. Mustang guys put lots of power through them.

You'll need the computer from the same MY truck with the same motor and trans that you want to run. You'll also have to hunt through the harness and see how much of it will need to be swapped in order to run the auto trans. Chances are you'll just need an engine harness (transmission plugs were near the rear of the valley), but I dunno for certain. Actually, the transmission plugs might already be there.... basically, you'll need to hunt around.

It's possible that he'll get better mileage with an E4OD... but maybe not. Hell, our 05 Explorer only gets 11mpg sometimes, and it splits shifts.

At $3/gal, it might be worth the time. Best solution would be to find a donor truck, because then you'll get engine crossmembers, harnesses, computers, etc. Those trucks were very plug-and-play, but there's still a lot of work involved.
 
Quick answer is drive slower... 50k/year is a lot, he might think about something newer, he might very well excced the usefull life of a truck like that in the first year...

Ask him how much he stands to loose by being late or missing an apointment..? somthing to consider...
 
I have a 4x4 F-150 with the 5.8 and the E4OD. I'm lucky to get 15mpg and a lot less when I tow my boat with this truck. This truck has 3.08 gears and 30" tires.

With the truck in question being a F-350, 4x4, 4-door and a vet bed in the back I'd say 11mpg is not that bad.

<><Fish
 
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