BTB-dennis.

qxd 1/3/05 12:47 PM Page 6

by Dennis Madden
BEYONDTHEBASICS

Check those Checkballs:

The E4OD and 4R100
R
epeated failures are caused by Ball Location Early 1989 Late 1989 1990-93 1994-95 1996-on 4R100
only two types of problems:
CB1 X X X X X X
parts or technique. Now first,
CB3 X
let’s qualify failure. The failure I’m CB4 X
talkin’ about is where a transmission’s CB5 X
lasted a fair amount of time — say, CB6 X X X X X X
100,000 miles — and now all of a sud- CB7 X X X X X X
den you can’t make it last more than CB8 X X X X X X
5000 miles. Or maybe it’ll last 30,000 CB9 X X X X X X
miles; the point is… what you’re doing CB12 X X X
isn’t working! CB13 X X X X X
If a part is causing the failure, it CB14 X X X X X X
should be no surprise that using the CB15 X X
same no-good part causes the same fail- CB16 X X
ure.
If the problem is technique, it BS1 X X X X X X
means a process that you think you BS2 X X X X X X
BS3 X X X X X X
should be doing is actually causing the
BS5 X X
failure. An example would be drilling
BS6 X X X X X
out a separator plate hole, changing the
servo size, or leaving a checkball out.
Sure, there are valid reasons for making
modifications. In fact, there are compa- and the
nies in this industry that do just that: complaint
make products that offer modifications was inter-
to what the OE did. esting. So
But not all parts and modifications if you’re
do what you might think. In this edition wondering
of Beyond the Basics, we’re going to why we’re
explore the changes Ford has made covering
over the years in the E4OD and 4R100 E 4 O D
series transmissions, specifically as it checkballs
relates to checkballs. 15 years
Checkballs are one of those tech- after the
nique issues: “yeah, leave that check- fact, this is
ball out for a better 2-3 shift.” We’ve all why… and
heard it, and we’ve all done it at one I think Figure 2
point or another, sometimes successful- you’ll find
ly, sometimes maybe we’re not so sure. the results just as interesting as I did.
But what we can be sure of is what So let’s start at the beginning with the first E4OD model, built in 1989. Follow
those little checkballs do, and what along with the chart in figure 1 as we go through the lineage of the E4OD; it can get
effect leaving them out will have. confusing. And if you really want to make sense of all of this, break out the oil
Recently, I took a HelpLine call on charts… here we go!
an E4OD related to missing checkballs,

6 GEARS January/February 2005

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BTB-dennis.qxd 1/3/05 12:47 PM Page 8

Check those Checkballs: The E4OD and 4R100

Figure 3 Figure 4

Early 1989 E4ODs… so were the separator plate holes where Still, these are early changes and
The first E4OD had 16 checkballs. they seated. everybody’s hip to them. If you leave
Do you notice something conspicuous Leaving these checkballs out on an out CB12 on models that use it, it’ll
with the chart? The first model had early 1989 model would cause a slide- bypass the engagement control valve
some checkballs missing. Notice it bump during the shifts. during reverse engagements, resulting
doesn’t use CB2, CB10, CB11, or a in a more aggressive engagement in
BS4. 1990 – 1993 E4ODs… reverse… if you can call it that. So far,
Having seen some preproduction In 1990, Ford omitted CB12 and accountants 2, engineers zip. But these
transmissions, my guess is Ford used BS5 (figure 4). BS5 was a shuttle for were good changes, so we can all agree
these four checkballs in their original direct clutch oil and would shuttle with them.
design and then eliminated them for between the direct clutch accumulator
production units. In fact, if you look feed and engagement control valve 1994 – 1995 E4ODs…
closely you can see two locations that feed. The thing is, the ball didn’t do In 1994 Ford worked a bit of
could house a checkball but don’t (fig- anything in reverse, and wasn’t needed “slight of hand” in terms of nomencla-
ure 2). My guess is they were used in for third because the engagement con- ture. That is, they omitted CB13 and
the original design but were omitted trol valve blocked any leak backtrack- added CB12. So you might think:
when it went into production. ing through the system. “what, they brought back CB12 that
So why would Ford have omitted CB12 worked with BS5 in that it really didn’t have any value at all?” No,
these checkballs? Well, there are only was part of the direct clutch feed cir- they simply renamed CB13 as CB12.
three reasons a manufacturer makes cuit. It simply forced any oil on one It’s still the same ol’ checkball in the
changes: side of BS5 to go through the engage- lower valve body section that’s been
• Durability (warranty costs are too ment control valve during the apply, around since the beginning (figure 5).
high) and then allowed for a quick drain of
• Cost savings (the accountants are the circuit during release (reverse only). 1996 – On E4ODs…
beating up the engineers) When Ford eliminated the separator Okay, now let’s get to the good
• Added features (they’re looking to plate hole for CB12, there wasn’t any stuff; the change in 1996. Two check-
cash in on consumer interests) need for BS5. These two checkballs are balls were added (CB15 and 16) and
a matched set; that is, it either has both BS6 was moved from the case to the
For whatever reason, the first or neither. If you install them on models lower valve body (figure 6). This
change in checkball configuration that don’t use them it’s no big deal; they change was to prime the low/reverse
occurred prior to production. won’t interfere with anything. circuit in 1st gear, park and neutral.
But if you leave out BS5 on mod- Moving BS6 to the lower valve
Late 1989 E4ODs… els that require it, direct clutch oil will body put it near the SS2 (shift solenoid
The next change occurred shortly leak from the CB12 plate hole in third 2) circuit, so low/reverse clutch oil
after the first release of the E4OD, in gear — regardless of whether you would dump when SS2 came on for the
mid-year production. This change omit- install the CB12 ball. When they elimi- shift to 2nd. In addition, the 1-2 manu-
ted CB3, 4 and 5 (figure 3). These are nated CB12 they got rid of the hole in al transition valve prevents SS2 oil
orificing checkballs for the intermedi- the plate for it. If your plate doesn’t from reaching the 1-2 shift valve until
ate, overdrive and direct accumulators. have a hole for CB12, leave both balls the low/reverse clutch is fully drained.
When these checkballs were omitted, out (CB12 and BS5). CB16 is part of that circuit.

8 GEARS January/February 2005

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BTB-dennis.qxd 1/3/05 12:47 PM Page 10

Check those Checkballs: The E4OD and 4R100

In 1994, Ford omitted CB13

and added CB12. They sim-
ply renamed it. It’s still the
same ol’ checkball in the
lower valve body section
that’s been around since the
beginning (figure 5).

the L/R clutch before the direct clutch

in reverse makes for a much smoother
apply. The L/R clutch will still apply if
you leave out CB15, but not as quickly,
so you may get a bang going from park
to reverse. These were all great
changes: engineers 2.

The Rest of the

Figure 5
Checkballs…
So far we’ve only talked about the
checkballs that have changed over the
years. Let’s do a quick rundown on the
ones that haven’t changed:
CB1: It blocks manual 2 and L oil
going to the 4-3-2 manual timing valve
from leaking through the reverse cir-
cuit. Leave it out and it’ll dump line oil
out of the manual control valve.
CB6: It’s an orificing checkball for
the direct clutch exhaust. During a 3-2
kickdown it forces direct clutch oil to
drain through an orifice, slowing the
release. If you leave it out, you’ll get a
clunk on a 3-2 kickdown.
CB7: It’s an orificing checkball for
the overdrive clutch exhaust. During a
4-3 kickdown it forces overdrive clutch
oil to drain through an orifice, slowing
Figure 6 the release. If you leave it out, you’ll
get a clunk on a 4-3 kickdown.
If you forget to install CB16, you won’t seal the hole. CB8: It’s an orificing checkball for
may not realize it for a while. That’s Now for CB15: It’s in the exhaust the coast clutch apply. If you leave it
because it’ll only leak low/reverse oil in circuit of the L/R modulator valve (fig- out, you’ll get a clunk when the coast
manual low; reverse will be fine. Yet ure 7). The idea is that anytime you clutch applies for engine braking.
another reason to check all the ranges block off a regulator valve exhaust cir- CB9: It’s an orificing checkball for
during the road test. cuit it’ll open fully to line (or whatever intermediate servo apply. If you leave it
BS6 was eliminated for the 4R100 is feeding the circuit). So in park or out, the intermediate band will apply
and the reverse circuit to it was neutral the L/R modulator valve primes more aggressively during a manual 3-2
eliminated. But if you leave it out on a the L/R clutch circuit, and CB15 allows downshift.
1996-98 E4OD, the transmission will the L/R modulator valve exhaust circuit CB14: It’s an orificing checkball
shift 1-4, or in some cases (depending to drain. for intermediate clutch release. If you
on condition of SS2) you’ll get a 1-3-4 When you go to reverse, reverse oil leave it out you’ll get a clunk on the 2-
shift. The 4R100 doesn’t use B6, but it begins to flow through the circuits, 1 kickdown.
won’t cause any problem if you acci- pushing CB15 into the L/R modulator BS1: It shuttles between reverse oil
dentally install it, because the hole in valve exhaust, and BAM! — the and manual 2/low oil to stroke the coast
the separator is oblong, so the ball low/reverse clutch applies. Applying clutch shift valve. If you leave it out,

10 GEARS January/February 2005

GTEC-New FP Ad1-05.qxd 12/31/04 10:32 AM Page 11

parts, however, are specifically identi- of many prison industries, and are like- what this one business owner provided.
INTRODUCING
fied as services, and as such, can be dis-THE
ly to gain an NEW
increasing foothold TTCF-7A
marketplace. Not long ago the ATRA
tributed state-to-state without restric-
in the Larry told me the name of the company
distributing the prison-made torque
tion. IBO received a call from Larry converters in his area was “Global
St.Armand, the owner of Florida Outsourcing.” He had no other infor-
Industry Application And Torque Converter in Cape Coral, mation about the business, aside from
Effect Florida. Larry made us aware of a its prison connection. During an
A while back I was contacted by a Florida prison industry that rebuilt Internet search I found reference to
highly successful member of the trans- torque converters and sold them to cus- Global Outsourcing as a corporate enti-
mission/torque converter rebuilding tomers in his market area – at a price ty affiliated with Florida prison indus-
industry who told me something that that was lower than he could match for tries. Even then, information on their
caught my interest. He had been in the quality product he manufactured. sales and distribution of torque convert-
touch with a state prison system admin- “It’s frustrating to know that I have ers was very limited. I found this to be
istrator in regards to creating a torque a competitor that uses my own payroll, very curious. After all, what manufac-
converter remanufac- turer or wholesale dis-
turing operation inside tributor fails to “Get
one of their facilities. The administrator property and income tax to create a their name out there” and promote their
was very enthused about the proposed product that competes against me,” he products at every opportunity?
project, and spoke of the considerations said when we spoke. When asked, I began to look at the Florida
such a program would receive, should it Larry estimated that the program in prison system and their affiliated indus-
be brought into being. nearby Florida State Prison at South tries in general. I located a report that
It was the intent of this entrepre- Bay produced somewhere near 600 shed considerable light on the topic:
neur to create a sizable operation for the torque converters per month, which in “Special Report 03-68,” dated
purpose of selling the finished product his opinion, were “not very good” in December of 2003, and generated by
in large numbers through established terms of quality. the Office of Program Policy Analysis
distribution channels. What I found to be of particular and Government Accountability
Transmission and torque converter interest was information discovered (OPPAGA); an office of the Florida
remanufacturing fit well into the format during research for this article, beyond legislature. The detailed report
BTB-dennis.qxd 1/6/05 4:15 PM Page 12

Check those Checkballs: The E4OD and 4R100

line oil dumps through
the manual control
valve in all of these
ranges… not to men-
tion the coast clutch
won’t apply for engine
braking, except in drive
when you cancel OD.
BS2: Here’s a
good one. It shuttles
between SS2 oil and
manual 2 oil to stroke
the 1-2 shift valve and
L/R modulator valve. If
you leave it out, the
transmission will shift
from 1st to 4th. That is,
when the computer
commands 2nd it stays
in 1st. When it com-
mands 3rd, it goes to
4th (just like BS6
on 1996-98 model
E4ODs). The problem
is, if the SS2 is stuck
off it’ll cause the same
thing, so be careful.
One more thing, depen-
ding on the condition
of SS2, and how well it
flows, you may get a
1-3-4 shift.
BS3: It shuttles
between reverse/manu-
al 2 oil and the coast Figure 7
clutch solenoid to
Ball Location Comments Complaint
stroke the coast clutch shift
CB1 Low line in Manual 2 and L
valve. If you leave it out,
CB3 1-2 Slide Bump
you won’t have any engine
CB4 3-4 Slide Bump
braking when you cancel CB5 2-3 Slide Bump
overdrive. You’ll also lose CB6 Harsh 3-2 kickdown
engine braking in reverse, CB7 Harsh 4-3 Kickdown
manual 2 and manual low, CB8 Clunk when applying the coast clutch
just like leaving out BS1. CB9 Harsh manual 3-2 coastdown shift
Well, there you have CB12 1989 only Harsh Reverse
it. Even though the CB12 1994-95 Aggressive forward engagement
accountants got their way CB13 Except ‘94-95 Aggressive forward engagement
on a few of these changes, CB14 Harsh 2-1 Kickdown
I think the engineers CB15 Bump into Reverse
earned their pay in the long CB16 Repeat Low/Reverse Clutch Failure
run. As an added bonus,
figure 8 has all of the BS1 No Coast clutch apply. Low line in Reverse, Manual 2 &L.
checkballs listed and the The coast clutch will work in Drive when you cancel OD.
BS2 Shifts 1-4*
complaints you get when
BS3 No coast clutch apply
you leave them out; it’s a
BS5 Slips in third and fourth, Burnt Direct Clutch
good thing to keep in your BS6 1989-95 Low line in Reverse and Manual 2
back pocket. BS6 1996-on except 4R100 Low line in Reverse and Manual 2, Shifts 1-4*
*Can shift 1-3-4 depending on the condition of SS2 Figure 8

12 GEARS January/February 2005