Do I have a 4R70W for sure?

RF Overlord

Registered User
I realise this is a very n00b question, but I have a '94 SC and was wondering if all '94s got the 4R70W or if there was a mid-year changeover date from the AOD.

152,000 miles and still going strong, knock wood... :)
 
Thanks for the confirmation, guys!

The car had actually been sitting in my driveway for the last 5 years. We replaced it with a Mercury Marauder but the SC had been such a good car I just couldn't bear to part with it and have some punk kid ruin it. As luck would have it, a few weeks ago my niece smashed up her Contour so my brother-in-law gave her his car and I gave him the T-bird. He says it has a slight torque converter shudder so I want to change the ATF out for some Mercon V. I also have a 4R70W pan with built-in drain plug left over from another project and I wanted to be sure it would fit the car. That way I can easily do a few drain-&-fills and get most of the old fluid out.

It's nice to see the old girl on the road again... :D
 
Mercon V

Just an FYI, I am currently having my 4R70W rebuilt right now and mechanic says the best ATF for it is Mercon III. For some reason he says the Mercon V in the older 4R70W just creates goo build up in them. Not sure if this is true, but I'm not taking any chances. Was a Aamco shop manager also for what that is worth.
 
Lets see .. AAMCO shop manager .. versus Jerry W ( 4r70w transmission head engineer ) ...

Use the Mercon V.

Oh .. and is AAMCO rebuilding your transmission to factory spec, or a custom build with the newer updated parts ? None of the transmission shops around here would do anything besides a stock build which is prone to failure.

- Dan
 
Mercon V is superior to Mercon III in every way.

Cheapest place I've found it was actually the Ford Dealer.

Jeramie
 
Whats the thoughts about running Mercon V in an AOD, since Ford now says all AOD's is suppose to use that instead of III now.
 
Fellas, I'm sorry for being a pest, but I'm now confused...

You all say the '94 used the 4R70W transmission. All the online parts suppliers (NAPA, AutoZone, etc) list a different transmission filter for the '94 T-bird than they do for, for instance, the 1998 Crown Vic or my 2003 Marauder, both of which also use the 4R70W.

In addition, the Motorcraft web site lists an FT100 filter for both the '94 and '95 T-bird, but also list an FT105 filter for the '95 only.

Does this have something to do with that "well" that's in the middle of the pan on the newer ones? Is the only difference between the 2 filters that one has that little extension neck on the pickup side? Can I upgrade the T-bird by using the newer filter and installing a newer pan?

Sorry for all the confusion... :(
 
Yes, the 94/95 have a flat pan. THe 96+ have the deep sump. The difference in the filter, is that the 96 has a pickup on the bottom and the 94/95 is just an open element filter.

You can, and should, upgrade to the 96+ Pan and Filter, and while you are in there, upgrade the 1-2 and 2-3 accumulator pistons if they havent been already.

- Dan
 
Well, I actually am only having Aamco install a rebuilt tranny, not rebuild it. Also, being as the Aamco guy tears down ones that have failed and head mechanic tested some but didnt see them after 20 or 30 k miles or more hard to say how he could say with certainty. Also Mercon III is semi synthetic, V is full synthetic. Not exactly your conventional oil to synthetic arguement.

Only reason for swapping my tranny is because car is 14 years old and seals were failing. I figured while it was out , may as well rebuild it. It had 100k miles on it and still shifted fine. It may be prone to problems with guys pumping up there motors far beyond what Ford had intended for the tranny's to deal with. However, I am running stock and intend to keep it that way for a daily driver. If the 4R70W were meant for 300hp+ then it would have been beefed up similar to the later model DOHC mustangs versions. Anyhow to each there own.

As someone who also fools to much with building computers, I'll tell you the more you push something past what it was intended for can get great initial results but for how long? Without a big re-do and beef up to the internals(tranny, remachined head, etc), its no wonder guys blow so many head gaskets and ruin tranny's. Trying to do build ups on the cheap only causes more trouble then its worth. Precisely why I am not fooling with mine. I have not the cash to do it right from the top down, so there is no point to try and squeeze a lil' more out of it. No good could come from it.

/rant off.
 
This rebuilt transmission .. was built as a "stock" replacement, or using newer updated parts ?

Any transmission is prone to failure. Some will last longer depending on useage, and upkeep. Others can fail fairly quickly due to driver abuse.

The early transmissions are very prone to failure due to design flaws - that is why the newer versions with updated parts are better, but can still fail under normal use. Hard to believe, but ALOT of people dont modify their cars at all .. and still, thousands of transmissions have failed with low mileage, under normal operating conditions, with completely stock engines.

- Dan
 
Last edited:
Back
Top