I bought a 93' XLT with 5.8L E4OD transmission about 2 weeks ago (168,800 miles).. and have been working on it.. got the motor end squared up and it runs good..

I checked my transmission fluid yesterday and its light brown (when wiped on white paper towel) and seems thin (like water).. (truck has sat on/off over 5 years)..

I took for a short ride (6 miles) today 55'F outside and came home..

I noticed shift shudder between 2-3 (45 mph)..

I have no new codes.. just two old continuous memory ones.. 628 Excessive Clutch Slippage and 634 MLP Sensor voltage higher/lower than expected..

Whats aggravating is I don't have any inspection sticker yet (driving on a temp tag) and the shudder at 45mph is pretty 'shaky' and this truck was $1200.. I got $150 into it in engine parts.. I don't think it will make the 16 mile round trip to the inspection center as it is..

My thought was to buy truck for $1200.. buy $650 in tires and be done..

My local shop wants $500 to remove/install tranny (if I need a torque converter.. and the cheapest I saw for that in re-manufactured is like $300 as its the E4OD trans (granted it says triple clutch)..) so $800-900 for that job.

Then with tires $650, tags $150, 1 insurance payment $110.. it would be $1860 total in parts to get it 'on the road'.. Which is $1200 over my budget I had in my head (for just the tires).. then what if it fails inspection??

I'm wondering if I just drop the trans pan.. change the filter and add 4-5 quarts of new Mercon V if that would help.. then again thats another $50 spent on a crap shoot.. should I also add some Lucas Trans Fix??

I need a 100% assurance its the torque converter before I go dropping the $900 for that to be put in.. anyone THINK for sure that is the issue and should I just go for that??

Putting $1860 into a $1200 truck just doesn't make much sense..

 

So I unplugged the rubber hose from the return line and ran it abit..

Got about 4-5 quarts out before I saw AIR coming out..



Was pretty dark and burnt.. had some metal in the pan..





Bought 7 quarts of regular Mercon V (to be safe on amount) and 12oz of the Lucas TransSlip (stuff is thick and purple)..

I put in 2 and then added the Lucas (all 12oz) then another 1 1/2 quarts..

Ran for abit in idle.. then took for a short drive on the highway..

Came back and checked level while running in Park.. right in the crosshatch area..

Seemed to not shudder at all at 45mph.. maybe a little at 55mph (going into OD).. granted a 4 mile ride may not be enough to work the Lucas thru..

The good news it still moved after I pumped out some of the burnt fluid..

I will check fluid again (after it sits for abit) and then be test driving later again..

Should I just drive it with the OD off.. and just use D (to avoid any chance of shutter) ??

 

IMHO, anyone buying a used Ford with that many miles on it, and having an E4OD, should be prepared for a major trans event. If you really like this Bronco, either be prepared to replace the trans SOON, or sell it for what you can..Unless you can replace it with a C6 reasonably..(if it's geared tall enuf for non-o/d use acceptably)..

In my neck of the woods, most 1990+ and up trucks equipped with an E4OD that are for sale, are priced accordingly, and there are a lot of them..

 

The big upgrade and fix to the E4OD did not happen until 1994. You may want to check with a dealer to see if yours was upgraded. Next, bad battery cables may cause shudder. Then the filter may have never been replaced. Drop the pan and be sure the little gasket on the filter neck comes out. Remove the plug on bell housing, rotate the TC and drain it also. I think you will need around 14 qts. Next to last, loosen two bolts on passenger rear of E4OD, slide heat shield up and back, disconnect solenoid connection with hands, it is easy to break. Clean two connectors under master cylinder against firewall. Then clean and dielectric grease them all. Last but least likely, send PCM to ECMTOGO.COM for testing and possible repair.

 

Code 628 should have been cleared up with the fluid change assuming there is no real damage to the transmission and the thin/low fluid condition wasn't allowing proper hydraulic pressure to develop.

Code 634 could still be your culprit. The ECM uses the information from the MLPS (Manual Lever Position Sensor) to determine what gear has been selected. If the MLPS is telling the computer one thing but the gear actually selected is different, the ECM is trying to figure out why you want it to shift properly when it "thinks" the truck is in neutral or 2nd. This tends to "confuse" it. Best to check that the MLPS is indeed securely attached to the side of the transmission, the electrical connections to it are tight, and that the body of the sensor is not cracked or damaged. If that all checks out, the sensor can be tested to make certain the resistance values are within specifications. This last point though is an extremely rare occurrence.

 

COde 628 and 634 were old CM codes.. I haven't cleared anything as of yet.. Thus far the trans seems to be running great after the fluid pump and refill..

I may/may not do the converter drain.. kinda doing a wait and see at this point..

Thanks for all the replies..

 

Got my NJ tags and waiting on doing the inspection till I get real insurance ID card in a few days (they won't take binder page).. took a 10 mile ride to WallyWorld and back home (20 mile total).

Between changing the fluid out (& adding Trans Fix as extra precaution) and putting just 2 tires on the front I think I'm in the clear..

Will be test driving this weekend for a little more distance and checking.. fluid level is in middle of the cross hatch.. so I am leaving that be..

I will be doing the radius arm bracket on the passenger side VERY soon.. just to tighten things up mechanically..