Hello,

I'm brand new to this site and new to diesel trucks although I have some experience with older ford tractor diesels and yanmar diesels. I bought a 1990 f250 7.3 4x4 with a blown e4od tranny (truck won't move at all) for a screaming deal. I found a used tranny from a 96 f350 with 60k on a rebuild for what I think is a good deal ($600). Will this tranny work on the 1990? Is it as good a deal as I think? Thank you.

 

oh you were so close but left out two key points.
1.is the '96 also from a diesel truck?
2. is the '96 also from a 4wd truck?

if yes,the '96 e40d came out of a power stroke diesel 4wd truck,then yes.that will bolt and work behind your idi as long as you change these two items:

1. the solenoid pack needs to be the 89-94
2. the converter needs to be the older diesel 4 stud (not the 6 stud of the psd)

neither of these items should be pulled from a blown trans.both could be full of shrapnel and should never be considered as worthy candidates for a reman trans.your best to buy remans of each.ebay is a good place to start for both.

if no,it's not from a 4wd diesel,then she wont work at all for ya.
if the trans is a 4wd diesel and comes w/ 30 day warranty,grab her for that money.by the time you buy an s-pack/converter and fresh juice you'll be around a grand with a fresh reman e40d.pretty hard to beat that.

.........
there's something odd about how older trucks speedometers get their readings.search that part,but man i forget so much about pre '92s.but i think i recall your 4wd gets the reading from your t-case.i think if you had the 2wd you'd be stuck to older e40ds with tail housings for it.........or something like this.this is enough for ya to search on,or someone else how knows/remembers the older setups and can correct the mess i probably made of this part!

 

Thanks for the quick and concise answer. Yes, both trucks are 7.3 diesel 4x4's. I was concerned about the year and the fact the newer truck is an f350 and mine is an f250.

 

Hi Tuckering, I am by far no expert but, I will try to answer you question the best I can. You will not be able to use the 96 trans in your 90 truck because their is no mechanical speed-o-gear on the output shaft of the 96 transmission. Your 90 truck has a speed-o-gear in the 4x4 transfer case. I explain further below:

Is the 96 Ford Truck a 7.3 diesel and 4x4 setup as well ? The 7.3 diesel requires a different pump, pcm and solenoid valve body. 2WD & 4x4 have different output shafts to allow for bolting up the transfer case with a shorter output shaft.

If the 96 trans is both 4x4 and for a 7.3 bolt pattern then there is still two main issues when installing a 96 E4OD in a 1990 truck.

1. Relating to Solenoid Valve Body:

- In 1995 Ford moved protection diodes (spike protection) from the Solenoid Valve Body PCB board to the Powertrain Control Module.

--> So, the 1996 solenoid valve body will have to be replaced with a 89-94 version that will work with the PCM in your 1990 truck.

2. Output shaft / Speed-o-cable / Vehicle Speed Sensor:

- I have worked on several 1990 F250 and they all had mechanical cable driven speed-o-cables on the tailshaft. Does your truck have the mechanical speed-o-cable in its E4OD tailshaft ? If so, there won't be one in the 1996 E4OD. Starting in 1992 Ford began using electronic Vehicle Speed Sensors that were in either the top of the differential (ABS speed sensor circuit) or in the E4OD tailhousing but, both are not mechanical. 1990 truck is mechanical.

 

Wow, another quick, concise reply. Thank you. Well, it seems like everything would have worked out. Both trucks 4x4, both 7.3 diesels. But the speedo thing seems insurmountable. I'm thinking my best bet is to get my blown tranny rebuilt. Seems I would need to find a used tranny out of an 89-91 for everything to work. Odds of that seem small. I'm not in a huge hurry and I am not into the truck for much at all, so I can afford to be patient, research, and learn. Thank you again for all of the help, I'm sure I'll be back with questions often.

 

You're very welcome and glad I was able to answer your question.

There are a lot of 2WD 89-91 E4OD models still out there but, not so many 4x4 and then make it a 4x4 diesel. Well, then its slim pickens; for sure.

If you can find a good 95-97 rebuildable core, even a 2WD, you could find a 91 E4OD 4x4 output shaft with the correct speed-o-gear (they come with 7 or 8 gears, needs to be same as your truck). Don't use a 89-90 output shaft as those versions went through a snap ring groove revision for the park gear but, the 91 output shaft has a shoulder to support the park gear without a snap ring.

Let me know if you ever need any E4OD questions answered by using my contact page at my E4OD.com contact page Help for You or posting them here on ford-trucks.com (or both)

Good Luck with your future rebuild and really happy to have help you !

Bobby

 

He has a 4x4 so the speedo will remain in the t case. should not be an issue. Very good info as I am thinking of an e4od swap into my 88 2wd.

 

What does this mean? Does this mean the tranny from the 96 may work afterall?

 

Tuckering "GOOD NEWS" and Sorry - I made a mistake. Typefour is correct, your mechanical speed-o-gear is in your transfer case.

Therefore, the 96 E4OD will work with only having to change out the Solenoid Valve body to match your vehicle (89-94 diesel Solenoid Valve Body).

Sorry for not getting that part right.

Bobby

 

Hello,
Thanks everyone for the help!

 

Update: After learning more here and more research I decided to have my existing tranny rebuilt. A local, reputable builder is doing it for $900 and that includes the torque converter. The used tranny I was looking at was for $600 and I needed to purchase a torque converter and a solenoid pack, plus it has an 'undocumented" 50,000 miles on an "undocumented, professional rebuild". I think I am about the same price wise and miles ahead in peace of mind.

A good friend helped me take the tranny out yesterday and we got it out without issue. The transmission and transfer case were very new, less than 5000 miles and was destroyed by the PO when he ran it out of fluid when a cooling line came off and he kept driving. Several pan bolts were only finger tight, the cooling line fittings were only finger tight into the tranny housing, 4 wheel drive shift linkage was just hanging there. The speedo cable was electrical taped into the transfer case. We just found lots of issues with the installation of the transmission. If the PO hadn't blown a cooling line, it would have been something else in short order. The good news is everything else on the truck is good. Nothing cobbled together or rinked with. Once I get the tranny back and installed I should be good to go. While I am waiting, I figure I might just as well put in new fuel lines and return lines and fix my one leaking injector. I also went high class and got a saddle blanket seat cover!