AOD to 4r70w swap in an 86 Bronco

  Both!

Now you guys know why I build my own transmissions.

Wow, I've looked at Monsters products before and thought it may have been a viable option in the future if the need arose but I'm glad my dad went through automatic transmission school and taught me enough about them to know how to rebuild automatic transmissions myself. I think we all now know why they call themselves Monster transmission. They are monsters to deal with apparently. I don't think I'll ever buy anything from them after reading this thread.

Hey Nickelplate,

I'm sure you mentioned it earlier, but you're using a US Shift Quick4 controller to run that 4R70W aren't you?

Yeah, FordFETruck, I would definitely not recommend them! LOL. Everything they do is just marketing and NOT building quality transmissions (unless it's required for marketing, like when they deal with TV shows or big YouTubers.)

Yeah, Rembrant, I am. I am actually struggling right now with where I want to mount it in the car. The Edelbrock Pro-Flow ECU is already mounted in the stock ECU location and there is just not any more room for hiding computers under the dash! Especially not a computer you need to take out and press a button on periodically. I may just end up having to sacrifice some of the meager glove box space for this one. I measured the glove box and the Q4 unit does not fit vertically. It's gonna be annoying.

And for an update to the thread:

I got the transmission installed and almost everything connected up. I connected the old neutral safety switch wiring to the new Range Sensor, got the transmission wiring done and wrapped. The wiring instructions from US Shift are really good and comprehensive, so it was a breeze.

What I have left to do:

I need to fully seat the dipstick tube. The dipstick tube from the AOD will fit the 4r70w, and when they are inserted into the transmission, they measure the same fluid levels in the pan. So they are interchangeable, but I just like how the Bronco one fits in the engine compartment better. When I was checking over everything, I noticed that the top o-ring was not fully pushed in. Just something to look for.

I need to build my new cooling hoses. I have all the AN fittings and PTFE braided hose ready, I just need to find a good routing for them that does not take them too close to the catalytic converter, or touch any of the exhaust.

I need to route the wiring through the firewall to the final location of the trans controller. I'll probably agonize over this a bit. I really want everything to look like a mostly-original bronco, like it was when I was driving it in High School in the 90's, so I don't want little computers hanging around all over the place. And I am also concerned about it getting too hot in some locations or getting kicked by me or a passenger.

I'll be sure to post some pics soon!

Nickelplate wrote

Yeah, Rembrant, I am. I am actually struggling right now with where I want to mount it in the car. The Edelbrock Pro-Flow ECU is already mounted in the stock ECU location and there is just not any more room for hiding computers under the dash! Especially not a computer you need to take out and press a button on periodically. I may just end up having to sacrifice some of the meager glove box space for this one. I measured the glove box and the Q4 unit does not fit vertically. It's gonna be annoying.

I need to route the wiring through the firewall to the final location of the trans controller. I'll probably agonize over this a bit. I really want everything to look like a mostly-original bronco, like it was when I was driving it in High School in the 90's, so I don't want little computers hanging around all over the place. And I am also concerned about it getting too hot in some locations or getting kicked by me or a passenger.

I also agonized over where to install the Quick4 controller in my '52, with even less real estate than a Bullnose interior/dash/firewall. I did end up installing it on the interior firewall, sort of behind the dash...it's a nice little unit, but it is not ideal for mounting in a visual area with the 50 wires hanging out of it. In hindsight, I wish I had installed it somewhere I could see it, but I'm trying to keep the '52 interior at least somewhat stock in appearance.

FYI, I reached out to US Shift a couple days ago asking if there was any way to use a remote screen, and they replied and said they are currently in design/development of just such a device and it should be available later in 2023. I will likely just drive around with my laptop for a while so I can see what gear I'm in, and also view the transmission temperature. Once I have everything set up and all the bugs worked out, I'll probably be OK without being able to see the display (but I still kinda wish that I could).

I'll be following your thread to see how you make out with this. My Quick4 is all installed and wired up with the trans, but I still have to finish wiring the truck which includes the input wiring of the Quick4 (like the TPS, power supply, etc).

Did your Quick4 come with the correct 4R70W map(s) already loaded up and ready to go? My intent is to run mine with whatever stock (smoothest shifting) map is available, and I bought a B&M shift handle with a button so I can use it to disengage O/D if need be.

I haven't even switched mine on yet, so I'm not sure about the maps. They did say they loaded it because I gave them all the info ahead of time, but I have not had time to check.

I was thinking of putting a push button on the underside of the little storage space to the right of the steering column for the od on/off. And my "emissions" light in this truck was never connected to anything, so I just extended some wiring from that and it will be the "OD on/off" indicator.

Sorry if you mentioned this already, what did you need to to to fit the 4r70w in the place of the aod? I understand that a controller is needed.

My 82 bronco had a c6. I had it swapped for an aod that has never worked so i am thinking of going down the 4t70w path like you and trying to see how much work it would be.

Gsmblue wrote

Sorry if you mentioned this already, what did you need to to to fit the 4r70w in the place of the aod? I understand that a controller is needed.

My 82 bronco had a c6. I had it swapped for an aod that has never worked so i am thinking of going down the 4t70w path like you and trying to see how much work it would be.

Nickleplate with know for sure on the 4x4, but the 4R70W should be all dimensionally the same as the earlier AOD. Mechanically, it should be a direct swap, but you'll need controller and a TPS for the carb.

The 4R70W, at least the SBF version, is actually an AODE-W. So it's an AOD plus the "E" for electronic, "-W" for wide ratio. The names are used interchangeably in the later 90's depending on who you're talking to. Mine is a 1996 2wd version, and while it was sold as a 4R70W, it actually says AODE-W on the metal tag on the side of it.

According to some people, the trans didn't officially become a 4R70W until they put the mod motor bellhousings on them for the 4.6L that replaced the 5.0L.

Heya!
The 4r70w is actually 7/8" of an inch LONGER than the AOD. The crossmember has slots in it that are about 2/5" to 3" long so there are really no changes needed in that respect. I haven't seen if any changes are necessary with the driveshafts or not, yet, but they do fit. The front one is just stretched 7/8" longer than normal, and the back one is compressed to 7/8" shorter.

The bronco AOD dipstick tube and the 4r70w dipstick tube will measure the exact same fluid level when installed, BUT the length increase of the 4r70w is in the bell housing, which means that the dipstick tube from the AOD's mounting bolt hole will be in the wrong place when it's installed. You will either need to modify your old dipstick tube mounting point, or use one from an auto that had a 4r70w stock. I figured this out by breaking my old dipstick tube and ended up using the newer one to fix it.

The shifting linkage will be different. The throw of the lever is different, so I had to take half of my AOD lever and half of the 4r70w one and weld them together. The 4r70w is also clocked differently than the AOD one was, but the linkage between there and the steering column has a few inches of adjustment that can account for this.

Nickelplate wrote

The bronco AOD dipstick tube and the 4r70w dipstick tube will measure the exact same fluid level when installed, BUT the length increase of the 4r70w is in the bell housing, which means that the dipstick tube from the AOD's mounting bolt hole will be in the wrong place when it's installed. You will either need to modify your old dipstick tube mounting point, or use one from an auto that had a 4r70w stock. I figured this out by breaking my old dipstick tube and ended up using the newer one to fix it.

Ha! I was wondering why the tube was off. I bought a new dipstick tube from Summit, but it didn't quite line up with the mounting hole on the bellhousing so I ended up adding a spacer, I think about a 1/2" to get it to fit. Glad to know it will read correctly though...I'll be filling it soon.

Filling mine tomorrow! Can't wait!

Nickelplate wrote

Filling mine tomorrow! Can't wait!

Congrats man! What fluid are you using? I have a bit of a dilemma with mine 4R70W. Mine is a used transmission from a 1996 F150 (2wd). The trans has been drained...the seller did that before shipping it, and I later replaced the pan gasket and filter, so it's definitely dry. Problem is, I didn't pull the torque converter, and I don't know if the seller pulled it and drained it either. I guess my point is, I'm not 100% sure how much to put in it for fluid. I think I'll ask about that in my own thread lol. Sorry Nickelplate, I'm following your stuff closely here for the 4R70W and US Quick4 content!

I used this fluid: Motorcraft xt5qmc mercon v. It's kind of expensive but I got a good deal on a 12pack in a closeout sale.

Here's a chart with the fluid capacities. https://www.jegs.com/jegs/jegsautotranscapacity.html

Looks like even if you have the biggest tc available, you still can add 9 q to the pan and not have it overfilled. I'd add 9, then start the engine and fill to the level while running and warm to perfect it. Then once you run it through the gears, you'll already have a very safe amount.

Update:
I created all the cooling lines and got them hooked up, filled the transmission, and started it for the first time in months.

The cooling lines seem really nice. I did PTFE braided steel with -6an fittings.

I put 2 qts in the torque converter, and 9 in the transmission. I used the remaining one from my 12-pack while filling the transfer case. I still need to add a few more quarts, as it's not really showing on the dipstick yet.

I was able to start the Bronco, but I did not want to cycle through gears or anything else, as the computer it still not plugged in.

I am having a really tough time trying to find a place to bring the wires through the firewall, AND finding a place to put the poorly-designed US Shift computer. The computer has wires permanently coming out of 2 sides of it, a USB port on one side that is used for tuning, and the flat front side of it has the little screen and dial, which need to be accessible. I am thinking I will need to run the wires through the firewall in one of the existing grommets down by the passenger's feet. Then I will probably fab up a mount for the computer that will put it right above the passenger kick panel. I'm really dreading taking everything apart to accomplish this. It seems like just yesterday that I did all the wiring for the Pro-Flo 4. Now I will need to hack the harness again to splice in a bunch of stuff.

Update on Monster:
After my last dispute paperwork on 2/10, the CC company gave my money back as a provisional credit, and tried to contact Monster. Today I got an email from the CC saying that they still have not heard back from Monster. I wonder if they are swamped with all the other folks who are dissatisfied with their products, LOL! Or maybe they just delay for as long as possible to increase the pain for those who would dare to dispute charges like this. I can imagine that there are a lot of people who are not fortunate enough to have $2900 tied up and a car sans trans for months like this. I was able to just buy another trans from a more reputable shop and wait for this to be resolved, but for a lot of folks, the prospect of waiting for months might be enough to get them to let Monster get away with it.

Another thing: I have read a lot of reviews on Monster since this happened to me, and there are TONS of similar stories out there, and a lot of them mentioned being sent the wrong torque converter. I think the reason I had to take this back out (which is how I discovered the break) in the first place was because the TC was not fitting no matter what I did. I wonder if they also sent me a wrong TC. Is there any way to tell by looking at it? The one that Transmission Depot sent to me fit perfectly, first try, no problems.

I finally found a place to mount the trans controller, and got a bracket made for it. Last thing to do is just get the wiring brought into the cab, and tied into the vehicle harness. In the pics below, you can see the bracket, and that I chose to mount it above the passenger side kick panel. I used the 10mm bolt that holds up the dashboard, and the top, right-hand corner screw of the cowl block plate to mount the custom bracket. I put a bit of 3M Strip-Calk between the bracket and the other metal to eliminate any rattling or movement of the bracket.

UPDATE on the Monster Transmission issue:

I just got an email from my credit card company saying that the dispute is resolved, and I get my money back. I don't think the fight is over, because now I have the money AND the transmission. They said they will be sending me to collections if this happens. I think what I will do is just send the transmission back without permission and then if I get contacted by a collections agency, I can just tell them I no longer have the transmission and offer them the paperwork that it was shipped and accepted.

Even if they continue to fight this, I feel good about this win.

That does seem like a win.  Congrat's!  

By the way, I referred several people to this thread from Facebook.  And others have said they agree - don't use Monster.

Thanks, Gary! And yeah, they really screwed up. I have a lot of car-enthusiast friends who now have Monster on their blacklist.