Riddle me this...
The E4OD tranny went out on my truck the other day, or so I thought.
It has been running a little rough, then, turning a corner, it shifted into 3rd and suddenly lost the gear. I limped the truck home in 2nd, about 3 miles. It would shift into 3rd, but just rev, no forward propulsion.

I have had plenty of problems with my Ford trucks/vans E4ODs... They all have that tranny and give issues, so I instantly thought "oh no, not again".

The truck ran okay home in 2nd gear, and I shut it down.

Knowing that if I had lost a gear, the fluid would be full of black dust, if not burnt and brown too, I checked the trans fluid (engine off).

Surprise... It was crystal clear, clean red... no black dust, no smells, no discoloration at all. Not even milk or bubbles (aeration).

I then decided to start the truck up again and do a proper level check.

NO FIRE!

The fuel pump cycles, the engine spins like crazy, but you'd think someone had taken out the rotor! It won't hit a lick, won't even try, not a bit of spark.

What the he-double hockey sticks went out!?!

Are the tranny gear loss and engine not firing the same problem or a million to one back to back failure of 2 seperate items?!?

Ideas?
Thanks!
Dave <!-- / message --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: ad_showthread_firstpost_sig --><!-- END TEMPLATE: ad_showthread_firstpost_sig --><!-- sig -->

 

Fwiw: This truck always fires off the instant the starter is hit.
It never hesitates to start.
This is very unusual for this truck, and to have happened right after I shut it down from an apparent tranny failure. ???

Could an MLPS failure cause an apparent D/OD failure AND cause a no restart, even though it ran all the way home?

This was a few days ago, I have been playing with it and haven't got a spark one.

 

Unplug the SPOUT shorting bad and see if spark returns.
If it does you may have had the computer go bad on you and that is why the transmission is doing what it is doing.

 

So unplugging the spout may bring back spark?
If uplugged spout has fire, and plugged doesn't, that means the PCM is not allowing spark?

I was afraid the PCM may have burnt out... I just replaced the MLPS not too long ago, and upgraded to the later sealed design.

I actually welcome a PCM problem. MUCH cheaper than an E4OD!

 

start circuit goes through the mlps. it also tells the computer what gear you are in. the wiring plug goes bad. get the kit from ford part #F5TZ*7A247*AA. cost me $86.90 others here have posted they got it cheaper

 

Okay, I pulled the spout and no change.

As for the MLPS, I am not saying it is 'good' by any means...
However, it is a new unit (about 6 mos old), and is the updated (95 up) design with the redesigned weather pack connector conversion done to the truck end of the wiring harness.

In a way, I hope it is the MLPS, as it would be a far cheaper fix than either tranny or PCM, but dayum... it's a new unit and that would peeve me off.

 

I'm with you on that, $2,200 from ford for a e40d. did that in dec. $1,800 for a 4r70w in aug. and I have 1 more that's slipping

 

Doesn't the MLPS act as a neutral safety switch?

Does it do more than even that?

I ask because I figured the MLPS could only disable the starter... not disable the spark.

I thought of this earlier today and thought "that's it!"...
But then realized the starter should be disabled, and not the spark.

 

on my 94, I put the mlps off a e40d, because I didn't want to buy one for it [ the 4r70w]. and not only would it not start, it coded the computer so there was like 20 codes in it. I put the old one back on, and cleared the codes, and the truck started right up

 

I am going to focus on 2 things tommorrow:

1: Getting my test light from work and checking all the circuits, fuses, etc...
I have had fuses in my vans blow, related to the trailer lights/brakes, that caused all sorts of shifting/running problems. So maybe it's just a fuse(s) and I'll luck up.

2: Crawling under the truck and checking the MLPS connections, wires, adjustment, etc...

Getting too dark to mess with it anymore today.
Thanks for the ideas, and any others yet tonight are surely welcome!
Dave

 

if it;s the new updated one I listed, I think I would open it, clean it, put some dielectric grease on it, make sure it's adjusted, and try it without spending any money. have you pulled the codes yet, the e40d will give you codes.

 

I don't think I still have the old 1990 style MLPS. It was definately bad and the new one fixed it. Not to mention I would have to rewire the harness to fit the old one back in. The new style was recommended to upgrade the old one due to being better sealed and more durable.

I might have some old diesel van spares laying around. ???
They are all E4OD 1995 up, so they are probably the same, at least to troubleshoot.

 

make sure the solinoid pack on the otherside is clean, dry, and plugged in, that too can cause a lot of greif. if that plug is bad, it is no longer available from ford, but I know of a vender that sells them.

 

I have no way to pull codes straight out.

There has been no "OD" light flashing (as my vans do when they throw codes) or CEL.
That was making me think PCM, as the PCM throws codes for almost everything but itself.

 

the new switch is the better one, the old one will still plug in, the plug stayed same configureation, but became better, and waterproof