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1992 e40d nightmare please help me

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Old May 12, 2012 | 06:20 PM
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1992 e40d nightmare please help me

ok long story short I was given a conversion van that is built on a e150 van and has a 5.8 liter with an e40d tranny.. this van sat for at least 3 years till recently..

I have cleaned all electric connections on the tranny and the one on the rear difrential . new filter and fluid but did not drain the converter after driving it for about an hour we finally got it to start shifting gears automaticly the problem is it wants to shift only under heavy acceleration and then only to second at about 35 mph and drive at about 60 mph and over drive around 80 mph and all this only under heavy acceleration you let of the gas a little and it starts down shifting.. does anyone have any advice on what I may look for next that may be pretty easy to try. My thoughts at this point are maybe the torque converter is going south but I am hoping for a more simple solution.. Please Help

thank you
 
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Old May 12, 2012 | 06:38 PM
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Why do you think it's the torque converter? I can't come up with a way the torque converter can make the trans shift.

The first step is ALWAYS to read the codes. That would be a big help in determining what's wrong.
 
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Old May 12, 2012 | 06:54 PM
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ok maybe the converter is the wrong idea I was a mechanic for 10 years but unfortinatly the van does not have wings so I am a lot out of my ellement..

I don't have a code reader that will read a 92s codes is there a way I can short pins in the diagnostic connector to make the check engine light flash codes? I know i use to read an old chevy cavalier this way years ago and if so is there a thread with the directions and codes?

thanks
Jon
 
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Old May 12, 2012 | 07:59 PM
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Yes, you can do that on a '92. Here's how: FORD 1983-1995 OBD1 Decoder
 
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Old May 12, 2012 | 08:33 PM
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thanks for the information on codes gathering

if I did it correctly I got the following codes

12 - idle control fault
21- engine coolant temp (the anti freeze was not warm yet)
23- throttle position sensor out of range

It was a little dark out side so I will re-test in the morning with the engine fully warmed up first

these test where done engine off ignition on

so will any of these 3 codes or all of them cause shift problems?

is there any repairs or steps to take prior to replacing the sensors to try and get them working again? I do understand this is a 20 year old vehicle and with that comes dirty and coroded conectors possibly brittle wires and maybe other items I have not thought of.

any further information you can provide me to try to make this van and E40d happy will be appreciated also on another note the millage is only 105,000 which realy is not that bad for a 20 year old van
 
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Old May 12, 2012 | 10:23 PM
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You have either a bad throttle position sensor, or a wiring issue to the sensor. Fix that problem first and see if the idle control fault goes away. It might also be caused by the throttle position sensor.
 
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Old May 14, 2012 | 02:26 PM
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well I dumped codes from the computer again today and only got 12 and 21 still idle fault and tps. coolant went away since I went for a .5 mile drive first

pulled the tps and cleaned the contacts and checked the wiring put it all back on including a new screw to replace the one that was missing from the tps..


still no luck guess I will have to break down and get a new one....


other notes not mentioned ealier...

when we changed the fluid and filter the fluid was brown and smelt burnt also it seams as if there may be a little sllippage in the tranny not noticed earlier

any more info that can be provided while I wait for a chance to make the 18 mile drive to town..

thanks
 
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Old May 14, 2012 | 08:40 PM
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UPDATE: The Mechanic I aquired the van from because he could not get it to shift at all pointed out the TPS to me... Well I have no clue what he pointed out but it was not the TPS as I learned quickly when I ran to town and got a new one.... well lesson learned dont deal with mechanics who cant fix their own vehicle so you end up with it..


Well after a few hours of dissassembling and cleaning and re-assembling the front of the throttle body and installing the new TPS I took it for a quick ride on our private road. Noticed immediate improvements and at 35 I am pretty sure I was in drive since a manual down shift took it to second. tommorow I will begin on the brakes so I can get a real road test in.

2 questions do I have to clear the codes or do they clear themselves when fixed?

and could the TPS and Filter and Fluid change on the tranny been all that was wrong with it??
 
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Old May 19, 2012 | 03:33 PM
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well we managed to get about sixty miles of driving in the last couple days both hwy and cty the transmition seems to be shifting smoothly with out slipping and has showed no signs of malfunction.

I want to thank you Mark for your time and knowlege it saved me a lot of time headaches and potentialy money

at this point we are gonna call the transmition operating correctly

thanks again

Jon
 
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