Hello everyone, I have a 1997 E350 van with the 7.3 powerstroke, 4x4 (the man van)
for awhile now ive had an issue with the transmission, start it, drive it, shifts PERFECT, gets warm and this happens
- Speedo will start waving a little bit
-OD light will start flashing, probably when it goes to kick into OD or down shift
-Shifts get hard and shift and shifts excessively
-Go to a stop light, at 15 MPH, the speedo will drop to 0
-Go to leave stop light, doesn't register speed till 20 or so


This is what i know (i think)
-OD flashing and rough shifts is the "safe mode" cuts out electronic shift commands
- The problem has something to do with the outside temperature, winter time i can drive home from work and not have any issues, spring time it acts up right when i get home, today (80 degrees out) id say less than 10 miles and the light starts flashing

This is what i do about it
-put in 2nd to come off from a light till speedometer registers to avoid harsh shift from 1-2
-Replaced sensor on rear diff..twice to be sure
-Pulled plugs from transmission and cleaned contacts, I did find some corrosion on the main plug on the passenger side of the transmission. (thought i had found my problem)

Any other ideas? I haven't had the codes pulled yet, I havent been in town lately to do so.

Thanks everyone in advance for taking the time to help me out, id really hope this is a rather cheap fix.

 

The ONLY way this trans can shift is by electronic shift commands. Safe mode does not cut these out.

Replacing parts before reading the codes is almost always a waste of money. By now you already know this.

Without the codes I have no ideas. With the codes I'll probably have some very specific things to check.

 

Well hey! I learned some stuff. I'll try and get the codes pulled. Does the OD light need to be flashing for the code or does it store it?
I did try today to get the codes pulled but the Napa in North Pole (yes that's where I live) doesn't do the obd, I'll have to run into town or sweet talk a local shop to help me out.
I'll post back when I get em!

 

The codes are stored for about a month after the last time the light flashed. Auto parts stores rarely have the specialized tools needed to read Ford transmission codes.

 

Alright guys I got the ford dealership to pull the codes, doesn't look good in my opinion but what do you guys think

P0713 trans temp
P0750 shift solenoid A
P0755 shift solenoid B
P0743 torque converter clutch
P1754 coast clutch
P1728 trans slip
P1746 pressure control solenoid A open circuit

 

I think you have a wiring issue. Every electrical circuit in the transmission has set a code. Either you had the largest coincidence in the history of vehicles where all five solenoids AND the temperature sensor failed all at once, or the wiring harness/connections are damaged.

 

Well that doesn't sound terrible, can I buy a new transmission wire harness and just swap it out? Or is it tangled in with the rest of the rigs wiring with no plug?
Thought I had found my problem, I found some corrosion in he main plug but no real difference after cleaning in.

It lived in southeast Alaska next to the ocean most it's life, the Salt and moisture tend to bring lots of problems along.

If I can Do harness I'll do that, if not I'll go under and start inspecting wiring

 

You probably can't buy a new harness. You're going to have to fix this one.

 

the codes point to having your solenoid pack plug looking like this lol:


here's a replacement end for '95+ :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Transmission-Wire-Harness-Repair-KIt-For-Solenoid-Block-Pack-E4OD-4R100-1995-UP-/330520445305?hash=item4cf48dc179&vxp=mtr
your symptoms sound as if your PSOM is failing.repair that here,so the speedo will always work.otherwise the trans will keep acting up without it reading anything from 0-20mph.info for that here;
PSOM REPLACEMENT F150 1995 photo series, step by step

can send it in for repair too,if you'd rather;

 

you may want to go ahead and pull the pack to inspect it.if you found corrosion in your plug,and it's been neglected then what happens is,the corrosion goes down inside the pins of the pack.this side isn't replaceable.it's replaced during a reman of a pack.
this is what happened to my old one on chip truck.much like yours,it was run during winter months and sat a lot (low miles but with evidence of a plow install.)
once i replaced the pack and a new repair harness.all those trouble codes like yours were a thing of the past.

more info here.pack removal and replacement is very easy.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...s-harness.html

this corrosion will be nonstop if you or someone broke the locking clip/tab on the connector too.it wouldn't be so bad if just the end got nasty but over time if a bad connector is left with a broken lock,that corrosion will go deep into the s-pack and that's all she wrote.

if i were a trans shop,i would include a new/reman s-pack and repair plug with every e40d trans reman i did.if not for happy customers then just for my sanity from keeping the trucks from coming back in.the trucks are all too old now to not do this imho.