Hey guys, first time here and am excited to be a part of the community. I just picked up this Bronco (http://spacecoast.craigslist.org/cto/2517050255.html) last weekend for $700.00 thinking I would have a pretty good truck after worst case scenario it needed a new tranny. Well I think I lucked out as it seems the tranny is fine but I need some help diagnosing.

Turns out the guy recently put a supposedly rebuilt tranny in and was having issues with it so decided to sell the truck.

First things first, he didn’t hook the linkage cable back up and was using a string connected to the gear selector on the tranny to change gears. He was saying that as soon as he was putting it in gear the engine was stalling. First thing I checked was the tranny dipstick. Sure enough it read full. Put the truck in neutral and checked it again and low and behold it was low. Come to find out 4 quarts low. So after basically refilling the tranny with fluid the truck will go into every gear with ease. The PROBLEM is what gear you put it in is what gear you get. For instance, 1st is 1st, drive is 3rd, reverse is revers ect. Having read up on this E4OD tranny and knowing its electronic, it makes me think he forgot to hook the electronic harness up to it but I don’t know where it is located and want to get some opinions here first before I fiddle with it anymore.
So my question is, 1. Since the tranny goes into gear and pulls strong with no slipping at all in each gear, do you think it is ok? 2. What would cause it to start off in third instead of first when you put it in drive?
On a side note I checked the 4x4 by pushing the 4x4 button on the dash and it did in fact engage the front drive shaft so it seems that is working.

 

Welcome to FTE darick... i'm sorry i can't be of any help right now... let me give it some though and if i come up with anything i'll let you know. Congrats on the new truck!.

 

Congrats on the new truck. There is an electronic sensor right where the linkage goes in that acts as a nuetral safety/gear positioin indicator for the trans. Check to see if its hooked up (since linkage wasnt) I'd look into replacing that possibly. There are a handful of sensors that affect the transmission shifts. Do a search on here. Good luck and welcome.

 

Thanks guys, cant wait to get this thing road-worthy. I am going to investigate more this weekend and hopefully get it figured out. Not really sure what this guy was thinking as he completely took the linkage cable out of the truck. So now I have to tear down the column to reinstall it *yikes*. But the price was right and the 351 runs like a champ.

 

Correct, the MLPS connector is on top of the shift shaft. You might also check the shift solenoid connection. Loosen two small bolts a little on the passenger rear of the transmission. Slide the heat shield up and back. Then you can see that connector. Be careful not to break the connector.

The MLPS has a series of resistors that "tell" the PCM what gear you want. The PCM controls the electric shift solenoids inside the transmission.

 

Well I checked all the connections and and they were all connected and tight. The more I read the more I think it might be the mpls. I also don't think this tranny was from a Bronco as it has a different linkage connector bracket on the mpls than the Bronco's have. Not sure if this even matters.

 

Hmm can you post pics of the connectors? Did you get the linkage togethr though?

 

It is good the harness is connected. I would suggest you pull codes next. Remember, the E4OD will never be really happy until the engine is. Think about the engine codes but look for 600 series transmission codes for clues now.

Put this thought on back burner...with the rebuilt transmission you probably do not need it...if you do, I have two solenoid packs if needed. I replaced it twice and the problem turned out to be the PCM.

 

Lol b4hntn, would you ship one of those to Venezuela? i'm pretty sure i could use one of those...

 

Sure. I was hoping to put the original Ford one with 172K miles on auction this weekend and get whatever it would bring. The other one was bought off the Internet. It has Ford patent numbers but not the Ford oval thus not Motorcraft. I hope to get $200 for it since is has less than 50 miles on it.
I have no clue what freight to you would be.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I did make some progress today but will know more tomorrow. My neighbor has a Snap-On scanner and he pulled the codes. Not a single engine code which is great and a crapload of tranny codes. I wrote them down, and we cleared them. Then I drove the truck up the street and back and we checked the codes again. It didn't throw a single one. So best I can figure is all those other codes came when the previous owner tried to drive the truck with no tranny fluid in it.

While he had the scanner plugged into the truck we cycled through each gear on the tranny. When we went from Park to reverse, it showed that we were in reverse on the scanner. When we then switched it to drive it still showed reverse on the scanner. Showed reverse with gears 1 and 2 as well. So, that got me thinking the mpls might be reporting the wrong gear to the tranny confusing it. 92 bucks later I have a new mpls just waiting for me to put in tomorrow after repinning the harness uggg.

Linkage still not hooked up as I am not quite ready to tackle the column. Anyone know how to install the linkage cable in it? How difficult is it?

on a brighter note, I hit the salvage yard this morning and found a tailgate window and a spare tire rack. Just ordered 150.00 worth of weatherstrip and a new rear window motor so hopefully that will be done soon. My 700.00 truck is getting expensive lol but still cheaper than most of the broncos for sale out there.

 

Replaced the MPLS this morning and same result. After driving up and back down the street I checked the codes again and the same codes came back up. Here they are

118
621
622
624
626
629
637

Starting to think the tranny is toast even though it seems to drive and pull fine. Just won't shift automatically lol. Would a bad silonoid cause these codes?

 

You might try to PM Mark Kovalsky on here ......he hangs out in the Diesel section but he may be able to help you with the smaller auto trans.........he is a former Ford transmission Engineer and knows them very well and has helped alot of people on here

 

The symptoms you have point to the shift solenoids not getting power. The MLPS cannot do what you're seeing. Forget replacing it unless you really like spending money.

When the shift solenoids (there are two of them) don't have +12v the transmission will be in 4th gear when the shifter is in D. It will be in 2nd in 2, and 1st in 1. Reverse will work, too. The red wires on the connector on the passenger's side of the trans should have +12v with the key on.

 

Mark, Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I will be checking to make sure the transmission is getting power tomorrow. I sure do hope its just an electrical issue and the transmission is still good. Thanks again for the reply, I will post what I come up with...