We return to the ultimate entry in our Cruise-O-Matic and C transmission collection, at a time when the previous’s Fifties-tastic identify had light from the reminiscence of most. The C household was the wave of the longer term when it arrived as a rework of the Cruise-O-Matic in 1964. The first of the road was the C4, a medium-duty field that was adopted two years later by the heavy-duty C6.
Because C4 and C6 had been each for heavier functions, the FMX arrived within the late Sixties as an amalgam of the FX and MX. It took one of the best attributes of each extinct transmissions, however nonetheless had its foundation within the Fifties. Its substitute was C3, a light-duty transmission for four- and six-cylinder automobiles. But by the mid-Eighties, the three-speed automated was overdue for a rethink. Ford added one other gear, and the C3 turned the A4LD in 1985. But even with 4 gears, one thing was nonetheless lacking: Technology.
The last 12 months the A4LD noticed widespread software was 1994 when it completed up responsibility within the Ford Ranger, Explorer, and Aerostar. That was additionally its last European utilization, because the outdated Scorpio and Granada III had been merged collectively into the completely hideous Scorpio Mark II. By that point the A4LD acquired an electronically-controlled torque converter clutch, in addition to digital shift management for the transition from gears three to 4. Both of these had been firsts for a Ford automated, because the Blue Oval moved with the instances and embraced the transfer away from transmissions that had been managed by way of hydraulics.
Ford was prepared in 1995 with two variants of the A4LD, the 4R44E and 4R55E. Both transmissions had the identical A4LD structure beneath however had been totally electronically managed. They had been totally different sufficient from the A4LD to be thought of an all-new transmission household by Ford. The new naming scheme meant 4 ahead gears, rear-drive software, 440 lb-ft torque score, and digital shift operation. In the case of the 55, it was rated for as much as 550 lb-ft of torque. Both transmissions had been additionally utilized in four-wheel drive functions with a revised tail housing.
Ford of Europe rejected the naming change for his or her utilization of the 4R44E and referred to as it the A4LDE as an alternative. It noticed minimal utilization within the new Scorpio Mark II via 1998, till that mannequin was axed as Ford of Europe exited the manager finish of the market. From then on, the Mondeo was the biggest and most luxurious European market sedan.
In North America, the 4R44 and 4R55 unfold throughout Ford’s rear-drive choices that weren’t full-size. The Explorer, Ranger, and Aerostar used the containers via the Nineties, and so did the Ranger’s rarer sibling the Mazda B-Series truck. The 44 model was most frequently used with four-cylinder examples or with the smaller 3.0-liter Vulcan V6. The 55 was utilized in heavier automobiles like Explorers and Rangers that had the 4.0 Cologne V6.
Explorer was the primary automobile in North America to maneuver away from the 4R44, in 1996. The Aerostar adopted go well with in 1997. The stalwart and slow-moving Ranger held onto its model of the automated till 2001. The 4R55 noticed shorter service life, because it was used solely from 1995 to 1997 earlier than it was changed mid-year by the subsequent technology of the 55-duty transmission.
Like the Eighties noticed the transition from three- to four-speed automatics, the Nineties and 2000s noticed the transfer from four- to five-speed containers (except you had been GM). Shortly after the 4R collection was launched Ford began work on the subsequent technology of R automatics, to be referred to as 5R. Together they had been 5R44E and 5R55E. Based on the 4R and tracing their roots to the C3, the 5Rs had been mechanically similar to their predecessors.
The most important development this time was the addition of the necessary fifth gear. Ford was on the ball with the changeover, because it turned the primary American automaker to implement a five-speed automated in 1997 (5R55E). The 55’s heavier responsibility use made development in its operation a precedence over the outdated 4R44. When it arrived, it had extra trendy laptop controls that had been essential to encourage the excessive amount 5 ahead gears (2022 says LOL) and had a brand new sort of shifting expertise: Friction-to-friction.
Once the 5R55 was in manufacturing, Ford’s engineers used it as a foundation to create the lighter-duty 5R44. That was a change within the prior methodology, the place each variations had been developed on the identical time. The new five-speeds had been utilized largely to the identical engines as they had been beforehand, just like the long-lived 3.0 and 4.0 V6 mills. Variants of the 5R transmission had been constructed on the Bordeaux transmission plant in France, and on the Sharonville, Ohio facility north of Cincinnati. Though Bordeaux closed in 2019, Sharonville remains to be alive and effectively, and your creator drives by it on a regular basis.
The 5R was used to improve the ultimate 12 months of the Aerostar in 1997, because the mannequin transitioned to the front-drive Windstar in 1998. It additionally debuted within the Ranger and B-Series in 1997, in addition to the Explorer. The Mercury Mountaineer joined in on the 5R enjoyable for its first 12 months in 1997.
But these weren’t the one 5R variations, as additional improvement was warranted. Far from its fundamental roots a decade prior, Ford had entered the Premier Automotive Group period. Suddenly there have been new issues beneath the Ford umbrella: Luxury automobiles that required additional refinement, a flowery model of the Explorer for Lincoln, and the resurrection of the Thunderbird as a retro Boomermobile. Time to remodel the 5R!
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2000-Jaguar-S-type-610x406.jpg?resize=610%2C406&ssl=1)
2001 Jaguar S-Type.
First up was the 5R55N, which appeared in 2000 for the DEW platform Lincoln LS, and its much less dependable British cousin the Jaguar S-Type. Two years later the aforementioned Thunderbird would additionally use the N, as your creator ponders a few long-lost LS coupe or maybe Mark IX. The N was tuned for semi-sporty luxurious utilization however was mechanically similar to the 55E. The Thunderbird ditched the N after one 12 months, nonetheless, as the brand new 5R55S was obtainable.
The S was a modification on the 55E that added an non-obligatory SelectShift perform, as Ford resurrected a really outdated advertising and marketing time period from the C4. The S stood for synchronic shift and had a special overdrive gear ratio. A sportier drive, the 55S was additionally carried out within the Mustang for 2005. The Mustang was by no means supplied with the SelectShift function whereas it used the 55S, regardless of the transmission being tweaked for the aim particularly. The short-lived 2003 to 2005 Lincoln Aviator based mostly on the Explorer additionally used the 5R55S (with out SelectShift), and was the one SUV to make use of the S.
One last model of the 5R55E arrived in late 2000, and was utilized in the previous couple of mannequin 12 months 2000 Explorers: The W. Like the S, the W had a special overdrive ratio however was used solely in truck-based functions. It appeared in 2001 for the Ranger.
Usage of the five-speed 5R lasted via the mid-2000s for DEW platform automobiles from Lincoln and Jaguar, and 2010 or 2011 for many different functions. The 5R was by no means utilized in any European automobiles however did make its approach to Australia for a short time. In 2008 it was launched on the FG technology of the rear-drive Falcon, a mannequin that used 5 totally different transmissions dependent upon the engine. Specifically, the 5R55S was paired to the 4.0-liter Barra inline-six. Like the Thunderbird, in Falcon utilization, the S had a SelectShift function.
With the outdated Ranger’s 2011 discontinuation, the C transmission household actually met its finish. Considering it debuted in 1973 and had supply materials within the Fifties, its household variants motivated a wide selection of Ford automobiles for a really very long time. The outdated Cruise-O-Matic stepped apart for the C, which branched into the 4R and 5R. Eventually, all had been changed by extra trendy transmissions just like the FX/MX-based AOD (rear-drive) and AXOD (front-drive). Maybe Abandoned History will cowl these too. Until subsequent time.
[Images: Ford]
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Source: www.thetruthaboutcars.com