new to this site, but was hoping for some help. i have a 1996 f150 4x4, 302, E4OD. recently my transmission started to slip in first gear, and now second gear, its been driven about 20 miles slipping like this and the fluid still is bright red, and does not smell burnt at all. i was thinking (hoping) that the filter was clogged maybe. can anyone maybe help confirm my idea? i hope thats what it is, as im 16 and really cant afford a $2000 rebuild for the transmission. thanks in advance.

 

If the filter is clogged the trans has failed and needs to be rebuilt. That's the only way the filter can clog.

If the transmission were slipping for 20 miles the fluid would be black. So please describe just what it's doing and maybe we can figure out what's really happening.

 

taking off in any gear (Drive or 2/1) it shudders and the engine revs up before the transmission grabs and i start moving (like its slipping, but apparently its not) and then once im going, it hesitates going into 2nd gear. it will get to the point where it needs to shift and it acts like its in neutral or slipping for a second, then grabs suddenly. reverse is fine, and shifting into 3rd and overdrive are fine. but like i said, fluid isnt burnt or black, and ive also put lucas stop slip in it, didnt help.

 

You need more than a filter. From this description it's done.

 

any idea why my fluid isnt burnt then? ive driven it plenty long enough for it to be burnt if it was gonna burn, but it still looks and smells like new fluid.

 

This transmission is electronically controlled, I doubt it's done yet. You need to start with pulling codes and go from there. I had similar problems and it turned out to be the third brake light... Start googling e40d problems and read everything you find in your spare time, lots of info out there.

 

I think you've got some clutch seals that have failed. The leakage past the seals is preventing the clutch from engaging until you rev it, but once it does engage it can hold the clutch. That's my guess. Nothing electronic can cause this.

 

check the mlps (neutral safety switch)

 

okay so, today i talked to my auto shop teacher about it (he did transmission work at a ford dealership for many years) and he rode with me and pointed out that its not the clutches slipping, but rather not engaging until higher rpms. i shifted into M1 and hit the gas, it revved up and then went into gear and didnt slip at all. also did this in drive, so the clutches themselves are not slipping. he told me that he thinks it is a stuck accumulator (i believe is what he said) making it require more pressure to engage. it makes sense to me once he explained it. if its not that, i was thinking the pump may be bad, but im hoping its just something stuck. tomorrow my teacher and I are dropping the trans pan and seeing if anything is stuck, cleaning it, and also im replacing the filter and fluid. hopefully it helps.

 

i scanned it today, no codes other than emissions codes due to the cats removed. no transmission codes

 

So, i discovered today that i do not have an e4od like i thought i did (when i took the pan off and realize i had the wrong gasket) i have a 4r70w/aode. but anyway, i took the pan off. drained it, no shavings or anything in the transmission, it was dirty though but just in the bottom of the pan. i cleaned the pan, put the new filter in, and new fluid and it didnt change anything. also, its not leaking anywhere. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/i...2/confused.gif my teacher says he has a new valve body at his house i can have and see if that works. thoughts on this?

 

My thoughts are that you've got some clutch seals that have failed. But go ahead and change other parts. It's good experience. And you have plenty of money for parts that you don't need.