4r44e or 5r44e????

[whoy210]

Is there anyway to look at one of these tranmissions while its still in the truck and identify it? Thing is , i'm not exactly sure what model my truck is.. vin says its a 2002 with the 4 cylinder.... but it has the 3.0 in it, and i had to get the older style oil pan gasket and plug wires at one time as the ones for and '02 would not fit it... so i know its older. I just really need to figure out which trans i have because i've got to buy another one for it .

[Fordtruckman80]

IIRC, there is no way to tell by looking at the outside case. The only way to tell is by noticing the shift pattern while driving. The 4 at the beginning of 4R44E and the 5 at the beginning of 5R55E have to do with the "gear range". The 4R44E is considered a 4 speed auto, while the 5R55E is considered a 5 speed auto. However, you have to really know what you're feeling for to recognize what trans you have. The shift patterns on automatic overdrive transmissions are weird, as they aren't just a 1, 2, 3, 4, etc deal. The shift pattern for a 4R44E is something like 1-2-3-OD3, with the 4th gear being an overdriven 3rd gear. The 5R55E is something like 1-OD1-2-3-OD3, which means that the truck is overdriven in first gear, with the "fifth" gear being an overdriven 3rd, just like the 4R44E. However the 5th gear in the 5R55E is actually the overdriven 1st gear. It's just simple computer trickery, as the internals of the 4R44E and the 5R55E are nearly the same. The computer just adds an extra line of code to trick the transmission into overdrive after 1st gear. Simply, the 4R44E and the 5R55E are almost the same transmission with a few minor differences, the code from the computer is where they really differentiate.

Make sure you grab a 4R44E or a 5R55E from another 3.0 truck, as the 3.0 has it's own bellhousing pattern. A 2.3/2.5 or 4.0 trans will not bolt up to your 3.0 without a bellhousing change.

[whoy210]

Originally Posted by Fordtruckman80

IIRC, there is no way to tell by looking at the outside case. The only way to tell is by noticing the shift pattern while driving. The 4 at the beginning of 4R44E and the 5 at the beginning of 5R55E have to do with the "gear range". The 4R44E is considered a 4 speed auto, while the 5R55E is considered a 5 speed auto. However, you have to really know what you're feeling for to recognize what trans you have. The shift patterns on automatic overdrive transmissions are weird, as they aren't just a 1, 2, 3, 4, etc deal. The shift pattern for a 4R44E is something like 1-2-3-OD3, with the 4th gear being an overdriven 3rd gear. The 5R55E is something like 1-OD1-2-3-OD3, which means that the truck is overdriven in first gear, with the "fifth" gear being an overdriven 3rd, just like the 4R44E. However the 5th gear in the 5R55E is actually the overdriven 1st gear. It's just simple computer trickery, as the internals of the 4R44E and the 5R55E are nearly the same. The computer just adds an extra line of code to trick the transmission into overdrive after 1st gear. Simply, the 4R44E and the 5R55E are almost the same transmission with a few minor differences, the code from the computer is where they really differentiate.

Make sure you grab a 4R44E or a 5R55E from another 3.0 truck, as the 3.0 has it's own bellhousing pattern. A 2.3/2.5 or 4.0 trans will not bolt up to your 3.0 without a bellhousing change.

yes, i have read before that they are essentially the same transmission... now thing is, are they interchangeable ? i read somewhere on here that the newer one (5r44e or 5r55e whichever its called ha) has an extra speed sensor or something on the back that wouldn't allow them to be interchangeable.. Anyways i have located a reasonably priced trans out of an 03 edge (a truck that i see you are familiar with..ha) with the 3.0 engine. But i'm guessin that if i did put that newer trans in the older truck (assuming mine is older than 2001.. again , i'm not really sure what it is) that it would work, it would just be a 4spd rather than 5 right?

[Fordtruckman80]

Originally Posted by whoy210

yes, i have read before that they are essentially the same transmission... now thing is, are they interchangeable ? i read somewhere on here that the newer one (5r44e or 5r55e whichever its called ha) has an extra speed sensor or something on the back that wouldn't allow them to be interchangeable.. Anyways i have located a reasonably priced trans out of an 03 edge (a truck that i see you are familiar with..ha) with the 3.0 engine. But i'm guessin that if i did put that newer trans in the older truck (assuming mine is older than 2001.. again , i'm not really sure what it is) that it would work, it would just be a 4spd rather than 5 right?

Looking at your vehicle info, your vin is either missing a digit, or you've read it wrong. The 2.3 and 2.5 were never offered in a 4x4 truck after 92?, so there is a good chance your 3.0 is the original motor in your truck. Being that your truck is a 4x4, i'd be willing to bet you have the 5R55E. One way to tell is to open your driver's door and look for the vehicle info sticker. It should be on the cab. It has your tire size, vin, etc. Look at the very bottom of the sticker, to the right side. You will see a line going across the bottom of the sticker. There will be letters like T, and A. Look for the bold T. The T stands for Transmission, and below the T should be another letter. On my truck, it's D, which means my truck has the 5R55E. If you can't find this info, take a picture of the info sticker, post it here, and i'll tell you what you have. If you can find the T, then post back here and tell me what digit was below the T.

But to answer your question for others, that extra speed sensor shouldn't make a difference in my opinion, because the 4R44E equipped truck isn't equipped with the connector for that plug, and the computer shouldn't be programmed to recognize that sensor. Therefore it should just be a dead sensor. If you were to add the 5R55E to a 4R44E equipped truck, then the 5R55E will just become a 4R55E, since the 4R44E computer does not have that extra line of code to be sent to the TCU. But I think any vehicle equipped with a 4R44E would not have the same bolt pattern as the 5R55E anyway, so that swap would not work, unless the bellhousings are interchangeable.

I think the problem with swapping transmissions is going from a 5R55E to a 4R44E. The 5R55E equipped truck has that extra line of code in the computer, and it is also programmed to recognize that extra speed sensor. So if you put the 4R44E transmission in, the 5R55E computer would not be getting a signal from that last sensor, which will either cause the O/D Off light to illuminate and put the trans in fail safe mode, and/or the transmission's normal operation will be affected due to no information from that sensor. Shifts may be off, or harsh because of it. But i'm not too sure on that aspect. There will definitely be an O/D Off light illuminated though.

[shane96ranger]

Thinking out loud here......

But would the ECU even work with the extra solenoid/speed?

[Fordtruckman80]

Originally Posted by shane96ranger

Thinking out loud here......

But would the ECU even work with the extra solenoid/speed?

Which ECU, and which trans are you talking about? 4R44E ECU with a 5R55E trans?

The computer itself may work, but would probably have to be re-programmed to accept the signal from that extra speed sensor. In other words, that extra line of code would have to be written into the new program. I'm not too sure on the computer side of things.

[whoy210]

Originally Posted by Fordtruckman80

Looking at your vehicle info, your vin is either missing a digit, or you've read it wrong. The 2.3 and 2.5 were never offered in a 4x4 truck after 92?, so there is a good chance your 3.0 is the original motor in your truck. Being that your truck is a 4x4, i'd be willing to bet you have the 5R55E. One way to tell is to open your driver's door and look for the vehicle info sticker. It should be on the cab. It has your tire size, vin, etc. Look at the very bottom of the sticker, to the right side. You will see a line going across the bottom of the sticker. There will be letters like T, and A. Look for the bold T. The T stands for Transmission, and below the T should be another letter. On my truck, it's D, which means my truck has the 5R55E. If you can't find this info, take a picture of the info sticker, post it here, and i'll tell you what you have. If you can find the T, then post back here and tell me what digit was below the T.

But to answer your question for others, that extra speed sensor shouldn't make a difference in my opinion, because the 4R44E equipped truck isn't equipped with the connector for that plug, and the computer shouldn't be programmed to recognize that sensor. Therefore it should just be a dead sensor. If you were to add the 5R55E to a 4R44E equipped truck, then the 5R55E will just become a 4R55E, since the 4R44E computer does not have that extra line of code to be sent to the TCU. But I think any vehicle equipped with a 4R44E would not have the same bolt pattern as the 5R55E anyway, so that swap would not work, unless the bellhousings are interchangeable.

I think the problem with swapping transmissions is going from a 5R55E to a 4R44E. The 5R55E equipped truck has that extra line of code in the computer, and it is also programmed to recognize that extra speed sensor. So if you put the 4R44E transmission in, the 5R55E computer would not be getting a signal from that last sensor, which will either cause the O/D Off light to illuminate and put the trans in fail safe mode, and/or the transmission's normal operation will be affected due to no information from that sensor. Shifts may be off, or harsh because of it. But i'm not too sure on that aspect. There will definitely be an O/D Off light illuminated though.

well i've run my vin before (and did it again this morning for the heck of it) and it comes back as an 02 with the 2.3 in it.. and the engine code is D, and i know for sure that that the 3.0 is a U. it also says 2.3 on my fan shroud... which at first i thought meant that they had put the front cap off of a 2.3 on it because they told me it had been wrecked.. but i'm pretty sure now that its an 02 cab sitting on whatever year model chassis it is with the 3.0 in it. But anyways, i think i'm just gonna go for it. I think i'll be fine as long as the trans comes from a 3.0 equipped truck. If mine is a 2001 chassis like i'm hoping it is..... it'll all the same connectors as the 03... if not , i'm hoping i'll just have an extra sensor sitting there thats not hooked up. In any case, i really don't have too many options.... and i'm definitely not gonna give some shop 1300 bucks to half ass rebuild it again.

[shane96ranger]

Originally Posted by Fordtruckman80

Which ECU, and which trans are you talking about? 4R44E ECU with a 5R55E trans.

Yes

[shane96ranger]

Originally Posted by whoy210

well i've run my vin before (and did it again this morning for the heck of it) and it comes back as an 02 with the 2.3 in it.. and the engine code is D, and i know for sure that that the 3.0 is a U. it also says 2.3 on my fan shroud... which at first i thought meant that they had put the front cap off of a 2.3 on it because they told me it had been wrecked.. but i'm pretty sure now that its an 02 cab sitting on whatever year model chassis it is with the 3.0 in it. But anyways, i think i'm just gonna go for it. I think i'll be fine as long as the trans comes from a 3.0 equipped truck. If mine is a 2001 chassis like i'm hoping it is..... it'll all the same connectors as the 03... if not , i'm hoping i'll just have an extra sensor sitting there thats not hooked up. In any case, i really don't have too many options.... and i'm definitely not gonna give some shop 1300 bucks to half ass rebuild it again.

How many plug wires do you have?

[whoy210]

Originally Posted by shane96ranger

How many plug wires do you have?

ummm... i'm pretty sure i've got six. its the 3.0 vulcan v6 in there... and i can tell its factory because i had to swap it after i got it because the block was cracked.... the trouble i have had with this truck... 'sigh'....