Autoanatomy.Com

Ford Resources

C3	Rectangular pan w/13-15 bolts. Can also have a slight bulge on front pass. side. Used on 4 cylinder & V6s only. Strictly light duty applications. Not an overdrive transmission. Makes a good boat anchor. Shift pattern = P-R-N-D-2-1
C4	Made from 1964 - 1981?. 17.18" long overall. C4 bell housing is removable, C6 is not. Rectangular, almost square pan ( 10" X 9") with slight bulge on front pass. corner. Pan has 11 bolts. 5.0L engines tended to have C4s not C6s. Not an overdrive transmission Fairly robust unit. Can take a fair amount of power. Eats about 60 less HP than a C6.
C5	Built from 1982 - 1986. Case length same as C4 but pan has a hump in it whereas the C4 has a flat pan. Not an overdrive transmission. Not widely used. Avoid.
C6	Made from 1966 - 1979. 20" long overall including integral bell housing 1966 - 75 have rectangular pan with 17 bolts & long measurement on front and rear edges. Shorter on sides. Can have recess on rear passenger corner or slight bulge on pass side near rear edge & 15 bolts. P1966-75 pan = 1"-1.5" deep. 1975+ pan = 1.75" - 2.0" deep and 4X4 pan 3" deep in center. Small blocks and big blocks have different bell housings 3 different castings total. P-R-N-D-1-2 pattern. Good, heavy Duty 3 speed Auto, but without OD. Gets 3 thumbs up.
A4LD	Basically a C3 with OD. Electronically shifted. Strictly light duty ( I.e. A 4 Light Duty) Through 1994 used a combination of hydraulic and electronic shifting. 95 up - electronic shift. Uses vacuum modulator instead of TV linkage. Not for performance usage. Shift pattern = P-R-N-OD-D-2-1
AOD	Made from 1980 - 1993. Integral bell housing and transmission. Not electronically controlled. 20.5" overall length. Good, medium duty 4 speed OD transmission. Can be beefed up to handle decent power. Very common. Rectangular pan like C4 but both rear corners angled slightly. 14 bolts on pan. When matted with 2.73-1 differential., speedometer gear tends to be 8 tooth, otherwise 7 tooth. Came with wide and std gear ratios. V6 version lighter duty than V8 version but can be modified to equal V8 version in strength. Has 1 electrical connector to neutral safety switch. Uses TV (throttle valve) linkage & cable on left side to carb/throttle body. Proper TV adjustment is CRITICAL. Pre-88 models lack rear-lube enhancement - avoid these. Any post-88 version is worthy of use or build-up except those found behind V6s. 1992-93 E & F series trucks have the stronger version of AOD available. Most Lincolns and some trucks use a 1" longer output shaft than the Mustangs and other vehicles. Overall length 30 1/4". Shift pattern = P-R-N-OD-D-1. Gets 3 thumbs up.
AODE	Made from 1991 - An electronic/computer controlled AOD but with other improvements as well. Came with wide and std gear ratios. Through 1995, same ratios as AOD, except 94-95 T-bird 94-95 F & E series trucks, 95 full sized cars and 93-95 Lincoln Mark VIII. 1996 and later are all wide ratio. 1992 only cars have AOD shift pattern (as above) with no OD cancel switch, otherwise shift pattern = P-R-N-OD-2-1 V6 equipped AODEs have one less clutch plate than V8 models. Can be modified to add the extra clutch plate. Some trucks and possibly Lincolns have a 1 inch longer output shaft than Mustangs & other vehicles. Some have larger output bushing. Casting mark = F3LP or F3UP. The smaller std bushing version has casting marks F2TP or E0AP Has more than one wire connecting to it versus AOD with only one. Has OD button on end of gear selector. Various different bell housing patterns used. You want this transmission. 4 thumbs up.
4R70W	1994-up trucks w/ overdrive cancel switch and P-R-N-OD-2-1 can be 4R70W transmission. F150 door tag trans code = U . This transmission is computer controlled. Pan length just under 15". New and improved AODE. Wide ratio AODE w different output shaft. Avoid the version used on V6s.
E40D	Built from 1989 - 1998. Found only in trucks. Replaced C6. Electronically controlled w OD. Medium to heavy duty. Pan is wider than it is long 20.5" X 13.5" w/ a notch out of right front corner and has 20 bolts. Electronic OD on a 351W would be likely be this transmission. F150 door tag w/ trans code of E = E40D. 1989-93 truck with P-R-N-OD-2-1 pattern = E40D. Non-removable bell housing. Electronically controlled. 1994-up trucks w/ overdrive cancel switch and P-R-N-OD-2-1 can be E40D Pan length approx. 20". Overall transmission length 37 1/2". 1995 up units are better. Older units can be updated to same level. Gets 4 or 5 thumbs up.
4R100	1999 - (Formerly the E40D/DE) HD transmission. Used on the Ford Lightning.
4R44E	Light duty. Used on 4 cylinder Rangers and Explorers. Electronically controlled.
4R55E	Light duty. Used on 6 cylinder Rangers and Explorers. Electronically controlled.
5R55E	5 speed auto used only on SOHC 4.0L engine.