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4R70W Tear down

6K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Slagburn 
#1 ·
Does anyone know of a book/video for the tear down of a 4R70W. I've seen a book on generic ford transmissions but a few reviews said it really focuses on the C4 or c6's and not really anything new. I'd really like a video, but anything to give me and idea would help
 
#2 · (Edited)
not a trans for noobs, if you can't even figure out how to get it apart how do you think you'll get it back together ?

you can get a atsg manual, very helpful

its one thing to put it back together, another to have it actually work!

and if you ever want to get it back together and have it work you NEED these

http://transmissioncenter.net/tools.htm

scroll down to the end of that webpage, they have the manuals and cd's your looking for
 
#4 ·
well it's not a dd truck and hasn't moved in a few months actually. I'm basically tearing it down to swap the output shaft to a 4x4 shaft i can buy the shaft and output housing for $100 or I can buy an entire transmission for around $500 (both JY Parts) I'm just trying to decide if I want to convert this transmission to 4x4 or just swap transmissions since I've swapped 4R70W's before and know how easy it is. maybe I'll buy the 4x4 tranny and tear down the 2wd just to see if I can, heck it's the summer and school doesn't start back for another 2 months. I've done gear swaps, engine rebuilds, and tranny swaps, just never tranny rebuilds. So the 4R70W is really that bad of a transmission to start on?
 
#5 ·
Don't let these other guys scare you. Yeah, you might screw it up, but hey, if you have the time and patience-go for it! As long as you are ok with the idea that if you mess it up you may have to pull it out and tear it apart again, then you can only learn from trying it yourself.

One thing you will find is the 4R70W is very modular (ie, pump assembly, valvebody, clutch packs), and if you are doing a simple teardown to just swap the output shaft then you aren't dealing with a thousand individual parts, but groups of parts that come out self contained. From there, the level of difficulty increases based on what you want to do (simple rebuild-clutch plates and shift kit, performance mods-adding clutch plates, upgrading internal parts; each process makes it more difficult).

If you are going to try it, there are a couple things that are VERY helpful to make sure you do it right.

1) Contact ATSG as mentioned and get their manuals/videos.

2) Contact Helm Publishing. They are the Ford's authorized publisher. When I rebuilt mine, I got a teardown/assembly binder for the year of my tranny-extremely helpful!

3) Spend at least a week or two on as many boards as you can find that are oriented towards working on these trannys. Find out all the tips and tricks you can from the experienced builders. Also use this time to figure out if you just want to swap the shaft, do a mild rebuild, performance build, etc., and then plan ahead and get all your parts ready. Also find out what tools you will need to buy or make.

4) Once you tear into the tranny, try not to walk away for a month and then come back to it. The more fresh the process is in your mind, the easier assembly will be, and mistakes will be minimized.

5) A good size, cleared off bench is a must, but I found it was most helpful to tear it apart on the floor and work on individual things on the bench. Go get a cheap tarp, and lay out the tranny as you take it apart like an exploded diagram. This will make life a lot easier.

6) As you take it apart go slowly-springs and clips love to pop out, and then when you're putting it back together you'll find asking yourself, 'Which detent did this clip anchor to?' Pay attention to the orientation of things as this is crucial as you re-assemble it. Pay attention to the orientation of EVERYTHING-bands, clips, springs, clutch packs, etc. Even take pics as you go along for reference.

BTW-shameless plug. When I was doing mine, I had a hard time finding stuff online as it related to rebuilding AOD/4R70W's. So, I started a Yahoo group specifically about that. We now have about 240 members and several of them are transmission rebuild shops. It's really become a good repository for knowledge about these trannies.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/AODominators/

Good luck!
 
#6 ·
One thing you will find is the 4R70W is very modular (ie, pump assembly, valvebody, clutch packs),
Every american rear wheel drive trans is modular like that.

Mercedes aren't cool like that, when you remove the valve body about 10 different springs and balls underneath the valvebody fall out. Not fun if you weren't expecting it

There's a reason i get $2k to build a AOD or 700 or whatever, but definatly have at it.(i love 4r100's in big fords, $3200 a pop) You NEED the seal tools tho.
 
#7 ·
Couple things to pay attention to- some of these trans have an anti-rattle spring against the intermediate clutch steels- the first clutch pack you'll see, it's a big one, keys to the case. Also down below that there is an anti-clunk spring that wedges the center support over to one side.

4r70 is nice in that the check balls all stay in the valve body, they don't ride in the case like a 4r100. Like all auto trans they are VERY bitchy about having the right number of check balls in the right places.

Pump can be disassembled and inspected- reassemble without the special guide pin tools by flipping pieces over and using the torque converter as an alignment tool.

Torque everything to spec, creep up on the valve body torque; don't hit it all at once, find and perform the so called J-mod to the valve body. If the 2-3 accumulator is aluminum with o-ring seals, pony up the 10 bucks and get the steel/ bonded rubber accumulator. Use a late model mechanical diode instead of a sprag on the intermediate drum.
 
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