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
Early 1989 E4ODs…
The first E4OD had 16 checkballs.
Do you notice something conspicuous
with the chart? The first model had
some checkballs missing. Notice it
doesn’t use CB2, CB10, CB11, or a
BS4.
Having seen some preproduction
transmissions, my guess is Ford used
these four checkballs in their original
design and then eliminated them for
production units. In fact, if you look
closely you can see two locations that
could house a checkball but don’t (fig-
ure 2). My guess is they were used in
the original design but were omitted
when it went into production.
So why would Ford have omitted
these checkballs? Well, there are only
three reasons a manufacturer makes
changes:
• Durability (warranty costs are too
high)
• Cost savings (the accountants are
beating up the engineers)
• Added features (they’re looking to
cash in on consumer interests)
For whatever reason, the first
change in checkball configuration
occurred prior to production.
Late 1989 E4ODs…
The next change occurred shortly
after the first release of the E4OD, in
mid-year production. This change omit-
ted CB3, 4 and 5 (figure 3). These are
orificing checkballs for the intermedi-
ate, overdrive and direct accumulators.
When these checkballs were omitted,
8 GEARS January/February 2005
Figure 3
so were the separator plate holes where
they seated.
Leaving these checkballs out on an
early 1989 model would cause a slide-
bump during the shifts.
1990 – 1993 E4ODs…
In 1990, Ford omitted CB12 and
BS5 (figure 4). BS5 was a shuttle for
direct clutch oil and would shuttle
between the direct clutch accumulator
feed and engagement control valve
feed. The thing is, the ball didn’t do
anything in reverse, and wasn’t needed
for third because the engagement con-
trol valve blocked any leak backtrack-
ing through the system.
CB12 worked with BS5 in that it
was part of the direct clutch feed cir-
cuit. It simply forced any oil on one
side of BS5 to go through the engage-
ment control valve during the apply,
and then allowed for a quick drain of
the circuit during release (reverse only).
When Ford eliminated the separator
plate hole for CB12, there wasn’t any
need for BS5. These two checkballs are
a matched set; that is, it either has both
or neither. If you install them on models
that don’t use them it’s no big deal; they
won’t interfere with anything.
But if you leave out BS5 on mod-
els that require it, direct clutch oil will
leak from the CB12 plate hole in third
gear — regardless of whether you
install the CB12 ball. When they elimi-
nated CB12 they got rid of the hole in
the plate for it. If your plate doesn’t
have a hole for CB12, leave both balls
out (CB12 and BS5).
Figure 4
Still, these are early changes and
everybody’s hip to them. If you leave
out CB12 on models that use it, it’ll
bypass the engagement control valve
during reverse engagements, resulting
in a more aggressive engagement in
reverse… if you can call it that. So far,
accountants 2, engineers zip. But these
were good changes, so we can all agree
with them.
1994 – 1995 E4ODs…
In 1994 Ford worked a bit of
“slight of hand” in terms of nomencla-
ture. That is, they omitted CB13 and
added CB12. So you might think:
“what, they brought back CB12 that
really didn’t have any value at all?” No,
they simply renamed CB13 as CB12.
It’s still the same ol’ checkball in the
lower valve body section that’s been
around since the beginning (figure 5).
1996 – On E4ODs…
Okay, now let’s get to the good
stuff; the change in 1996. Two check-
balls were added (CB15 and 16) and
BS6 was moved from the case to the
lower valve body (figure 6). This
change was to prime the low/reverse
circuit in 1st gear, park and neutral.
Moving BS6 to the lower valve
body put it near the SS2 (shift solenoid
2) circuit, so low/reverse clutch oil
would dump when SS2 came on for the
shift to 2nd. In addition, the 1-2 manu-
al transition valve prevents SS2 oil
from reaching the 1-2 shift valve until
the low/reverse clutch is fully drained.
CB16 is part of that circuit.
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BTB-dennis.qxd 1/3/05 12:47 PM Page 10
Check those Checkballs: The E4OD and 4R100
If you forget to install CB16, you
may not realize it for a while. That’s
because it’ll only leak low/reverse oil in
manual low; reverse will be fine. Yet
another reason to check all the ranges
during the road test.
BS6 was eliminated for the 4R100
and the reverse circuit to it was
eliminated. But if you leave it out on a
1996-98 E4OD, the transmission will
shift 1-4, or in some cases (depending
on condition of SS2) you’ll get a 1-3-4
shift. The 4R100 doesn’t use B6, but it
won’t cause any problem if you acci-
dentally install it, because the hole in
the separator is oblong, so the ball
10
Figure 5
Figure 6
won’t seal the hole.
Now for CB15: It’s in the exhaust
circuit of the L/R modulator valve (fig-
ure 7). The idea is that anytime you
block off a regulator valve exhaust cir-
cuit it’ll open fully to line (or whatever
is feeding the circuit). So in park or
neutral the L/R modulator valve primes
the L/R clutch circuit, and CB15 allows
the L/R modulator valve exhaust circuit
to drain.
When you go to reverse, reverse oil
begins to flow through the circuits,
pushing CB15 into the L/R modulator
valve exhaust, and BAM! — the
low/reverse clutch applies. Applying
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
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
the release. If you leave it out, you’ll
get a clunk on a 4-3 kickdown.
CB8: It’s an orificing checkball for
the coast clutch apply. If you leave it
out, you’ll get a clunk when the coast
clutch applies for engine braking.
CB9: It’s an orificing checkball for
intermediate servo apply. If you leave it
out, the intermediate band will apply
more aggressively during a manual 3-2
downshift.
CB14: It’s an orificing checkball
for intermediate clutch release. If you
leave it out you’ll get a clunk on the 2-
1 kickdown.
BS1: It shuttles between reverse oil
and manual 2/low oil to stroke the coast
clutch shift valve. If you leave it out,
GEARS January/February 2005
GTEC-New FP Ad1-05.qxd 12/31/04 10:32 AM
parts, however, are specifically identi-
INTRODUCING
fied as services, and as such, can be dis-THE
ly to gain an
increasing foothold TTCF-7A
marketplace. Not long ago the ATRA
tributed state-to-state without restric-
tion.
Industry Application And
Effect
A while back I was contacted by a
highly successful member of the trans-
mission/torque converter rebuilding
industry who told me something that
caught my interest. He had been in
touch with a state prison system admin-
istrator in regards to creating a torque
converter remanufac-
turing operation inside
one of their facilities. The administrator
was very enthused about the proposed
project, and spoke of the considerations
such a program would receive, should it
be brought into being.
It was the intent of this entrepre-
neur to create a sizable operation for the
purpose of selling the finished product
in large numbers through established
distribution channels.
Transmission and torque converter
remanufacturing fit well into the format
Page 11
of many prison industries, and are like-
NEW
in the Larry told me the name of the company
distributing the prison-made torque
IBO received a call from Larry
St.Armand, the owner of Florida
Torque Converter in Cape Coral,
Florida. Larry made us aware of a
Florida prison industry that rebuilt
torque converters and sold them to cus-
tomers in his market area – at a price
that was lower than he could match for
the quality product he manufactured.
“It’s frustrating to know that I have
a competitor that uses my own payroll,
property and income tax to create a
product that competes against me,” he
said when we spoke. When asked,
Larry estimated that the program in
nearby Florida State Prison at South
Bay produced somewhere near 600
torque converters per month, which in
his opinion, were “not very good” in
terms of quality.
What I found to be of particular
interest was information discovered
during research for this article, beyond
what this one business owner provided.
converters in his area was “Global
Outsourcing.” He had no other infor-
mation about the business, aside from
its prison connection. During an
Internet search I found reference to
Global Outsourcing as a corporate enti-
ty affiliated with Florida prison indus-
tries. Even then, information on their
sales and distribution of torque convert-
ers was very limited. I found this to be
very curious. After all, what manufac-
turer or wholesale dis-
tributor fails to “Get
their name out there” and promote their
products at every opportunity?
I began to look at the Florida
prison system and their affiliated indus-
tries in general. I located a report that
shed considerable light on the topic:
“Special Report 03-68,” dated
December of 2003, and generated by
the Office of Program Policy Analysis
and Government Accountability
(OPPAGA); an office of the Florida
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