Ford 6R transmission

6R
Automatic Transmission ZF 6HP 26 cutaway
Overview
Manufacturer	Ford Motor Company
Production	2005–present
Model years	2005–present
Body and chassis
Class	6-speed longitudinal automatic transmission
Related	GM 6L ZF 6HP Aisin AWTF-80 SC
Chronology
Predecessor	5R 44-E · 5R 55-E/N/S/W Ford AOD
Successor	Ford 10R 60 · 10R 80 · 10R 140

The 6R is a 6-speed automatic transmission for longitudinal engine placement in rear-wheel drive vehicles. It is based on the ZF 6HP26 transmission ^[1] and has been built under license by the Ford Motor Company at its Livonia Transmission plant in Livonia, Michigan. The 6R debuted in 2005 for the 2006 model year Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer.

It uses a Lepelletier gear mechanism, ^[2] an epicyclic/planetary gearset, which can provide more gear ratios with significantly fewer components. This means the 6R is actually lighter than its five-speed 5R 44-E and 5R 55-E predecessors.

The 6R 80 was available in 2009–2017 Ford F-150 trucks (and 2018–2020 only paired with the 3.3L V6 engine). It features an integrated "Tow/Haul" mode for enhanced engine braking and towing performance. For the 2011 model year, the transmission was revised to provide smoother shifts, improved fuel economy, and overall better shift performance. Most notable of the improvements was the addition of a one-way clutch that provided smoother 1–2 up-shifts and 2–1 down-shifts. The transmission has a relatively low 1st gear and two overdrive gears, the highest of which is 0.69:1. This provides exceptional towing performance when needed, while maximizing fuel economy by offering low engine speeds while cruising.

The 6R 80 can be found behind the 3.7L V6 all the way up to the 6.2L V8. Ford has stated that while the transmission is used in multiple applications, each transmission is optimized and integrated differently depending on the engine it is mated to. The 6R 80 features "Filled for Life" low viscosity synthetic transmission fluid (MERCON LV), though a fluid flush is recommended at 150,000  mi (241,000  km ) if your truck falls under the classification of "Severe Duty" operation. The transmission, as used in the Ford F-150, has a fluid capacity of 13.1  US qt (12.4  L ) and weighs 215  lb (98  kg ).

Gear Ratios ^[a]

Model	First Deliv- ery	Gear							Total Span			Avg. Step	Components		Nomenclature
		R	1	2	3	4	5	6	Nomi- nal	Effec- tive	Cen- ter		Total	per Gear [b]	Gears Count	Cou- pling	Gear- sets	Maximum Input Torque
Ford  6R 60 · 6R 80	2005	−3.403	4.171	2.340	1.521	1.143	0.867	0.691	6.035	4.924	1.698	1.433	3 Gearsets 2 Brakes 3 Clutches	1.333	6 [b]	Installation R [c]		600  N⋅m (443  lb⋅ft ) · 800  N⋅m (590  lb⋅ft )
Ford  6R 140	2005	−3.128	3.974	2.318	1.516	1.149	0.858	0.674	5.899	4.644	1.636	1.426						1,400  N⋅m (1,033  lb⋅ft )
ZF   6HP  All	2000 [d]	−3.403	4.171	2.340	1.521	1.143	0.867	0.691	6.035	4.924	1.698	1.433				H [e]	P [f]	400  N⋅m (295  lb⋅ft ) – 750  N⋅m (553  lb⋅ft )
Differences in gear ratios have a measurable, direct impact on vehicle dynamics, performance, waste emissions as well as fuel mileage Forward gears only Rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive first transmission to use the Lepelletier 6-speed gearset concept Hydraulic torque converter · German: Hydraulischer Wandler oder Drehmomentwandler Planetary gearing · German: Planetenradsätze

Specifications

Combined Parallel and Serial Coupled Gearset Concept For More Gears And Improved Cost-Effectiveness

Main Objectives

The main objective in replacing the predecessor model was to improve vehicle fuel economy with extra speeds and a wider gear span to allow the engine speed level to be lowered (downspeeding). The layout brings the ability to shift in a non-sequential manner – going from gear 6 to gear 2 in extreme situations simply by changing one shift element (actuating clutch E and releasing brake A).

Extent

In order to increase the number of ratios, ZF has abandoned the conventional design method of limiting themselves to pure in-line epicyclic gearing and extended it to a combination with parallel epicyclic gearing. This was only possible thanks to computer-aided design and has resulted in a globally patent for this gearset concept. The 6R is based on the 6HP from ZF, which was the first transmission designed according to this new paradigm. After gaining additional gear ratios only with additional components, this time the number of components has to decrease while the number of ratios still increase. The progress is reflected in a much better ratio of the number of gears to the number of components used compared to existing layouts.

Gearset Concept: Quality

The ratios of the 6 gears are nicely evenly distributed in all versions. Exceptions are the large step from 1st to 2nd gear and the almost geometric steps from 3rd to 4th to 5th gear. They cannot be eliminated without affecting all other gears. As the large step is shifted due to the large span to a lower speed range than with conventional gearboxes, it is less significant. As the gear steps are smaller overall due to the additional gear(s), the geometric gear steps are still smaller than the corresponding gear steps of conventional gearboxes. Overall, therefore, the weaknesses are not overly significant. As the selected gearset concept saves up to 2 components compared to 5-speed transmissions, the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages.

It has a torque converter lock-up for all 6 forward gears, which can be fully disengage when stationary, largely closing the fuel efficiency gap between vehicles with automatic and manual transmissions.

In a Lepelletier gearset, ^[2] a conventional planetary gearset and a composite Ravigneaux gearset are combined to reduce both the size and weight as well as the manufacturing costs. Like all transmissions realized with Lepelletier transmissions, the 6HP also dispenses with the use of the direct gear ratio and is thus one of the very few automatic transmission concepts without such a ratio.

Applications

6R 60

• 2006–2008 Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer w/ 4.6L V8

6R 75

• 2007–2008 Ford Expedition

6R 80

• 2009–2017 Ford F-150 (except 2017 with 3.5L EcoBoost)
• 2018–2020 Ford F-150 3.3L
• 2009–2018 Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator
• 2009–2010 Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer w/ 4.6L V8
• 2011–2016 Ford Territory (SZ TCDi) ^[3]
• 2011–2017 Ford Mustang V6, GT, 2015–2017 EcoBoost
• 2011–present Ford Ranger (on 3.2L and 2.2L single-turbo diesel engines)
• 2011–present Mazda BT-50 (on 3.2L and 2.2L single-turbo diesel engines)
• 2015–present Ford Everest (on 3.2L and 2.2L single-turbo diesel engines)
• 2015–2019 Ford Transit

See also

• List of Ford transmissions

References

1. "2011 Ford Territory's Diesel Heart Revealed". The Motor Report. 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
2. Riley, Mike (2013-09-01). "Lepelletier Planetary System". Transmission Digest. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
3. "Review: Ford SZ Territory (2011–16)". AustralianCar.Reviews. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

External links

• "Ford Shifting Six-Speeds into High Gear". Ford Motor Company press release. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2006.
• "2009 F-150 Technical Specifications". Ford Motor Company presskit. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.