My E4OD rebuild has about 10k miles on it. Last night I was heading down the road when I heard a clunk then high revving without power. After the van ran out of momentum it wouldn't go no matter what gear. What could my problem be?

 

Sounds like hard part failure. Intermediate shaft maybe?

 

Someone had a torqe converter fail recently that did that. Ned to tear it down and see what broke.

 

This is my guess as well. Could also be intermediate shaft.

I have a manual TCC lock up switch and when I engage it in drive, it makes a whirling sound. I'm guessing something inside the torque converter is spinning free.

 

Just took off the inspection / bolt-up cover for the flexplate/torque converter and the flywheel and torque converter are both spinning with the engine.

If I engage the TCC lockup clutch, I get a zinging/whizzing sound that I never got before. Could that mean I have a torque converter or maybe fluid pressure problem?



EDIT: I should add that since this was rebuilt, there were times it would take a second of idling in gear for the pressure to build and allow for it to move. Could I have a bad TC drain back valve?

 

Can you get a guage on it to check the press? I lost a TC clutch and had noises like you describe but never completely lost drive.

 

I checked it last night and had 190-200 psi in all ranges. It'd dip to 30-50ish for a split second as I ran through the gear selector then pop right back up to max line pressure. Not sure what this means. I do remember my torque converter taking a while to fill up before it would go once in a while over the past 5 years.

 

Something mechanical is broken inside the trans. All the guessing in the world isn't going to fix it. It needs to come out and get torn down to find out what broke.

 

Thanks Mark. But hey why not investigate a little first? When I look in the Ford FSM, it gives a checklist and pulling the trans isn't anywhere near the top.

I am seeing an abnormally high pressure. I don't know the E4OD's internals well, but I've read that the regulator valve can plug or get stuck at max pressure and restrict fluid to the torque converter.

 

Go for it! Let us know what you find.

 

Would the Torque Converter Clutch lockup without fluid in the torque converter? I assume not but don't know. I'm going to see if I can drain the TC (if it has a draincock) as a check for fluid presence.

If the TC's fluid system was not working, would the TCC locking (in 1st gear) allow movement?

 

The torque converter should not lock when the truck isn't moving. If there isn't fluid in the torque converter the torque converter cannot transmit any torque to the input shaft, and the truck won't move. The torque converter clutch can't lock without pressure, and if there is no fluid there is no pressure.

 

See my signature line. I can lock it (or at least give it the command to lock) in even first gear (in drive) assuming you're meaning that it won't get the lock command until the computer tells it to lock.

 

I thought press was required to keep it unlocked? Stalling issues in reverse due to low line pressure?

 

You can control the solenoid whenever you want, but if there isn't fluid in the converter it won't do anything.

If line pressure dips, it affects the converter release pressure more, so the converter drifts on. But if there is NO pressure in the converter it won't lock.