Protecting the 4R trans pan

HISSIN50 · Mar 22, 2008

Howdy folks.

I don't venture over here too often but if anyone will have some ideas, it's you.

I recently tossed a 4R trans pan on the 94 GT (AODE) and the pan's pick-up cavity hangs below my exhaust. With a Prokit, I drag the exhaust over speedbumps already. Now I'll be dragging my trans pan instead.

I figure you guys might have a similar situation (though I have only been under manual trans mod-motor cars). What have you guys come up with as a solution or means of protecting the pan?

Thanks a bunch.

P.S. I tried a search but might have missed something. If so, please direct me to such threads and accept apologies.

HISSIN50 · Mar 24, 2008

Bump off the second page. I had been thinking you guys came up with a skidplate type thing or something like that.

Anyone?

HISSIN50 · Mar 25, 2008

One more bump before I give up.

Do mod motors sit higher up in the chassis (ergo the trans pan isn't very low and this isnt something anyone has to worry about)?

5spd GT · Mar 25, 2008

JT, I am going to bump this for you

CobraRed_96_GT · Mar 25, 2008

That's correct, the 96+ have a different bell housing, and therefore sit at a different level. Although many people set the bare tranny down on the oil pan, the pan isn't really meant for stress. There are aftermarket pans you can buy that are designed wider instead of taller, why did you put the 4R pan on instead?

HISSIN50 · Mar 25, 2008

David, thank you for the bump.

CobraRed_96_GT said:
That's correct, the 96+ have a different bell housing, and therefore sit at a different level. Although many people set the bare tranny down on the oil pan, the pan isn't really meant for stress. There are aftermarket pans you can buy that are designed wider instead of taller, why did you put the 4R pan on instead?

Thanks for the info. AFAIK, the OEM 94-95 AODE pan was superceded by your pan (I tried to buy another OEM-style AODE pan and was told the only part number that comes up is the 4R pan). That made sense given the cavitation issue the early pans had. The same is true for accumulators and other trans parts.

My OEM pan was overtightened by a PO and the bolt-bosses are pulled up higher than the rest of the pan. I am not that good with a hammer/dolly to get the pan-rail perfect again. ThusI got a 4R pan and filter. I knew it was going to be close with regard to ground-clearance, but that stupid cavity is well below my cats. Basically the entire cavity is below the lowest point in the exhaust (which I drag on good sized speed bumps, no matter what I do). The first speed bump I hit with any forward speed is going to either crush that cavity or rip the pan apart.

Thanks again guys. I post a little bit on other peoples' Stangnet threads and it's always nice to get some replies on the occasional thread that I start.

For anyone who contemplates this same move in the future and is searching in 4.6 land: As far as comparing parts with your combo, I have a Prokit and an aftermarket catted H-pipe on the 94.

CobraRed_96_GT · Mar 26, 2008

Yeah, that cavity does hang a bit lower - but it's no where near as low in order to scrape on my car. Must be the 94/95 bell housing, T-45 wont fit in there where the T-5 is so it has to be a different size pushing the AOD down a bit making the pan hang. As i said you can buy aftermarket pans, i noticed this when building my tranny and looking for a larger pan for more fluid capacity.
There is the AOD/AODE/4R70W cast aluminum shallow and deep pan. Almost midway down this page: http://www.transmissioncenter.net/aode.htm#Performance Parts
They make a low profile and a +3(AOD)+2(4R) pan:
View attachment 325099

Not the cheapest thing, but i know they carry nice stuff. My hardened shafts were top notch. I'll let you know if i see a different make

HISSIN50 · Mar 31, 2008

CobraRed, thank you for all the info.

Those pans are nice but a bit steep for poor folk like me. If I had the cash, I'd go that route though.

I still haven't figured something out yet. But I did get a pic for future searchers (so they can see how the 4R pan fits on a 94GT). You can see how it hangs as the low point in no-man's land there. That scares me because that pan strikes me as being as robust as a soup can.

CobraRed_96_GT · Mar 31, 2008

yup, that's no bueno. Any chance the tranny is sitting a bit low? The crossmember fully tight?

HISSIN50 · Mar 31, 2008

CobraRed_96_GT said:
yup, that's no bueno. Any chance the tranny is sitting a bit low? The crossmember fully tight?

Good ideas. I'd been through the mounts and pinnings initially and didn't find anything obvious. I do have a set of poly engine mounts and a poly trans mount I can toss on at some point, though it ain't gonna do a whole lot in terms of getting that beast moved up.

From what I gather, that's how they sit. I also put up a thread in 94-95 Land and the guys had similar issues to mine. Towards the bottom of the thread are pics by Wes (he has LT's) and Eddie (with a stout pan, though it sits low too). You can really see how low they hang.

I have the feeling the AODE pan was a compromise because of the lack of ground clearance with the 5.0 Drivetrain. I bought the 4R pan and 4R filter some time ago, based on the ubiquitious recommendations on another forum. I don't recall ever seeing anyone mention the ground clearance issues, which is one reason I put up a pic and wanted to get a thread or two going. Had I known this ahead of time, I would not have even bought the pan.

Thanks again to everyone for the great replies.

Here's the 94-95 thread.

CobraRed_96_GT · Mar 31, 2008

HISSIN50 said:
Good ideas. I'd been through the mounts and pinnings initially and didn't find anything obvious. I do have a set of poly engine mounts and a poly trans mount I can toss on at some point, though it ain't gonna do a whole lot in terms of getting that beast moved up.

From what I gather, that's how they sit. I also put up a thread in 94-95 Land and the guys had similar issues to mine. Towards the bottom of the thread are pics by Wes (he has LT's) and Eddie (with a stout pan, though it sits low too). You can really see how low they hang.

I have the feeling the AODE pan was a compromise because of the lack of ground clearance with the 5.0 Drivetrain. I bought the 4R pan and 4R filter some time ago, based on the ubiquitious recommendations on another forum. I don't recall ever seeing anyone mention the ground clearance issues, which is one reason I put up a pic and wanted to get a thread or two going. Had I known this ahead of time, I would not have even bought the pan.

Thanks again to everyone for the great replies.

Here's the 94-95 thread.

That's rough man, wish i had a better answer for you. I think the 4R's on the crownvic's and thunderbirds have the same pan as well - why cant you use your stock AOD pan?

d98gt · Mar 31, 2008

His original pan was messed up if I read his post correctly and when he went to purchase another--the only part that came up was for the 4r's

CobraRed_96_GT · Mar 31, 2008

d98gt said:
His original pan was messed up if I read his post correctly and when he went to purchase another--the only part that came up was for the 4r's

What im saying is pull a stock AOD pan off a car at a junk yard

HISSIN50 · Mar 31, 2008

I had thought the AOD pan was different than the AODE pan and that they were not swappable. I very well could be wrong.

I'm afraid that other pans will be in as bad a shape as mine was. Most folks don't get the embossed gaskets and then the bolts get overtorqued.
It's just tough to find any 87-95 stangs in the J/Y's out here (e.g. I haven't come across 5 speed swap parts............even from even a Fox III!). And 94-95 parts are just plain tough to find anywhere locally. I'll keep an eye peeled in the classifieds...........

urban96 · Mar 31, 2008

damn... i wish i still had the AODE i pulled from my 95 when i swapped to a 5speed. The pan on it was in perfect shape

Protecting the 4R trans pan

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