I recently had some problems with my transmission. My 2001 ford escape xlt 3.0l CD4E developed a leak in the transmission pump housing and the level become too low. I quickly filled it to level and it started slipping. It would shift into first and then second gear and then a little after 20 to 25 miles an hour it would slip out of gear and the RPMs would skyrocket upwards. I started to drive it manually by letting it shift into second and then I would shift it manually into second gear keeping it there making sure to drive all the side roads and 4 lanes I could until I had a chance to put it in my garage for repair.

A day before my vehicle was to be put in my garage for repair I moved it and parked it next to another vehicle so I could jump start a dead battery. As I revved the engine slightly to increase power output to jump the vehicle I heard a whoosh and transmission fluid shot all over my engine compartment as the small leak had turned into a large pinhole quickly depleting my transmission fluid. Once I noticed what was happening I immediately shut my ford down and let it sit until I was ready to work on it. The next day I went to move it and thought i would start it and see if I could drive it into the garage 15 feet away and I could not get it to go into any gear at all whatsoever.

I replaced the transmission pump and 2/4 band
I shifted into the gears and heard/felt nothing shifting
The digital indication that it was in Park, Neutral, Drive, 1,2 works fine
The overdrive button and indicator works fine
There is no RPM change when I move the shifter into any of the other gears.
Park keeps the vehicle from moving and It is able to be pushed in neutral.
I have not tried to push it in any gear and there is no movement at all whatsoever when I give it gas in any gear.

Does anyone have any Ideas or any different diagnostic tests ?

 

I have the same problems. Did you ever figure out what caused yours?

 

Did you inspect the pump drive shaft? The shaft goes from the center of the torque converter, all the way through to the other end(drivers side in US) of the transmission. The shaft stuffs into the center of both using splines. It happens(sometimes) that the stub of the shaft breaks, and no longer will drive the pump impeller.
You can check pressure in the transmission at one of the plugs(I don't know which) to see if the pump is developing pressure, but from the description of no load on the engine when engaging the different gears, I'd be looking at lack of pump pressure to be the cause.
There is a pressure regulator operated by a solenoid(I think) that can dump pressure, not sure if it can dump such that you lose all clutch/servo action, but I'd bet more likely the shaft fractured. They can do that while driving down the road. You just lose all 'drive' as if you shifted to neutral. You may be able to determine if a shaft fracture is the cause by removing the pump cover on the end of the transmission.
I don't think you can move the pump pickup as you can in many others, so you should not have lost fluid pickup as you could if the filter was not attached or installed properly.
tom

 

Thank you for the reply Tom. Yes, we have checked the shaft. In fact we replaced both it and the pump thinking the pump may be bad. However, this did not fix the problem. When you put it thru the gears, it pulls the motor down just like most vehicles do, but the gears do not engage in the transmission and it will not pull. I wonder if it could be a computer problems as these transmissions are computer controlled .It is a 2008 Escape 3.0 AWD. It drove to the garage. Had the broken 2-4 band. Once the band was replaced and the pump reinstalled is when it would not move and then we replaced the shaft and pump. Still doesn't move.

 

Read this and see if it all applies, or how it differs:

I replaced the transmission pump and 2/4 band
I shifted into the gears and heard/felt nothing shifting
The digital indication that it was in Park, Neutral, Drive, 1,2 works fine
The overdrive button and indicator works fine
There is no RPM change when I move the shifter into any of the other gears.

Do you get the display change? Will Park hold the vehicle in place?
If you disconnected the valve body linkage from the cable connection on the
top of the transmission(internally? external?) are you sure it got hooked back
to where it was spozta be? IOW, are you sure on the linkage?
Did any of the clutch drums move out of place? Did any of the other parts move that should have been held in place ... i.e., did things move towards the pump... and possibly gotten out of place... there are sealing rings that can get damaged if moved and just pushed back. Exactly which/where I don't know.
If you want more hints from a pro, watch youtube 'automatic transmission channel' and you can see full take-apart & re-assembly of a CD4E. Mr Gutierrez does an EXCELLENT job explaining all the things needed.
If you get some 'load' on the engine when it is put in a drive gear, but it won't move, then one of the parts is not being engaged. All power comes through the chain, into a clutch drum, and then to all the following gear paths. If that clutch pack does not engage, or the 'following' paths do not, you won't move. Given all 'drive' choices do not move, it is logical to look at the first input common to all...
tom

 

We can hear the shift linkage clicking thru the gears, the RPM's change when a gear is selected, but the transmission does not engage. The display changes, park will hold. We did not disconnect the valve body at any time.To our knowledge, the clutch drums did not move out of place, we were sure to hold them when we removed the pump(s). No sealing rings were moved. I have watched all of Mr Gutierrez's videos, some of them twice or more. Great series and info there. At this point, I am wondering if there is a module that's not working or something in the computer system is bad, since the transmission is computer controlled. We have made an appointment to have the vehicle scanned to see if there are any transmission codes, but they can't get to it for about another week. None of the transmission shops or other mechanics in my area want to mess with a CD4E. One transmission shop said it would be $3000 just to look at it!! My only other thought would be possibly the TC. Makes no sense tho, since the vehicle drove into the garage, the band was changed and pump put back in, topped up with fluid and then doesn't move. We thought in the beginning the pump was bad, so bought a new one and replaced it. When we took the first one out, the rod had been twisted and snapped. We put a new rod and pump in, still doesn't move. Removed the pump to check the rod, all is good, still doesn't move. I have seen on different forums where many others have had these same issues, but no one has ever posted the fix. Hopefully we get to the bottom of this and will be able to post the fix to help others. Thank you so much Tom for your information, for your time, for your help, for your knowledge. It is deeply appreciated!

 

Two thoughts: Have you checked for any codes? Have you attached a gauge to measure the line pressure?
I think you can exercise the solenoids via OBD-II and a scan tool.
When you pulled it apart, did you find that the band was indeed broken? If not, then replacing it would not effect a repair.
One sister had her 08 CD4E repaired by a local shop in FL, and it was about $2k. Given the youtube videos done by Mr G, if/when mine decides to quit, I will likely attempt my own 'rebuild'.
Have you looked up the symptom of 'no engagement in any gear'? I bet it will direct a look a 'line pressure'. If the clutch pack engages, but slips, then either pressure is low, or there is internal leakage such that the clutches and steels slip, and no 'drive' even though 'engaged'.
I think I'd want to get a number for line pressure developed.
tom

 

I wrote... and it disappeared. I had more brain action, and came up with the last bit, labeled 'Added'. Given you did not mess with anything but the band/drum/strut/servo, and replaced the pump & shaft, it should have pressure. All energy goes into the trans first clutch pack, and if pressure is low, either you have too much internal leakage(clutch apply servo seal, slipping clutches/steels, leaking O-rings that send pressure to clutch.. OR bad/underperforming pump).
For that reason, I would want to know line pressure. If low, pumpish problem, if normal, internal parts.
tom


Added... Given that the only things moved/fiddled with are the band/strut/servo arm, and the pump & shaft, is it possible the pump was muddled with, and put back with something either missing or flipped? I don't know the pump from inspection, but understand it is a 'slipper' type with vanes that are made short/long as the hub rotates. You have to have the vanes want to extend out to the outer rim of the pump or they'll flail and do no pumping, develop no pressure. Did it seem the vanes could move freely in their slots? You didn't dump them accidentally, and put them in flipped end-for-end? I expect(do not know) the end would develop an angle different from square, as the vane rode on the inner of the pump. Flip, and the square would scrape(?) on the surface, and the other end might bind in the slot if it has any distortion due to wear. I am imagining the end of the slipper/vane being worn like the end of a 2X4 that has just been cut, and has 'stuff' hanging off the end, but in this case due to normal wear.
Along those lines... If the vanes are retracted and not spinning out from centrifugal force, you might just want to give the engine a good rev to see if they'll slide out and go back to work. Again, not from me fiddlin' with a CD4E, just other pumps over time.
tom

More added: Did it seem that the vanes could move freely? They should not be bound up at all, and should slide back and forth freely. I remember one similar design, used as a starter motor on our ships emergency diesel. I wandered into after steering, and talked with the tech who had the air motor apart. The emergency generator was known for not starting up when needed. I looked at the parts, and noted aloud that the flat side of the vane should be installed so it sealed agains the outer diameter of the bore. It has been installed with the rounded edge outward.. I think multiple times because that's 'how it was when I found it..'.
Air motor worked from then on until the Grey Pig was used as a target off HI and sunk.
IOW, if the splines are not installed correctly, the pump may not work real well. The old pig boat had two-three air cylinders, two feet in diameter and taller than me that were exhausted when the emergency diesel would be called on. The air would just bleed around that curve in the vanes.
tom

 

I must admit I was more interested in reading your story about the emergency generator, but have to also admit I didn't like the fact that the ship was used for target practice and sunk.

Anyway, back to the problem at hand - the 2008 Ford Escape goes to have codes scanned on Tuesday next week. He is also going to test the line pressures. The first pump was taken to a transmission specialist to make sure all was well. He washed it out, greased it up, made sure all orings and such were good and that it was in alignment. Clutches were good in it as well as well as the "rod holder" that for the life of me I can not think of the name of right now. At any rate, I didn't trust the pump after the shaft had been snapped, something had to have bound up to cause it right!, so bought a new one. Made sure it spun freely and installed with a new rod. Still no engagement. CD4E pumps are actually already put together, tho you can take them apart and get them misaligned, we did not. We did however take it to the transmission shop (what I wrote above) to have it checked.

Yes, the band was actually broken when we first took the pump out to replace it. But it still would move with the broken band. No flashing lights on the dash or anything of that nature. After band replacement, it does not move.

We had the codes scanned before we tore into it. They were: P0732 Gear 2 Incorrect Ratio, P0734 Gear 4 Incorrect Ratio, C1516 Roll Rate Sensor Signal Fault, C1233 Speed Wheel Left Front Input Signal Missing (vehicle had a broken tone ring, this has since been replaced), U1900 CAN Communication Bus Malfunction Receive Malfunction, U0414 Invalid Data Received From FWD Clutch Control Module.

Hopefully by Tuesday we will have some idea which way to go. Either computer issue or pressure issue. I do not believe there is anything internally broken in the transmission.

 

The pump shaft can snap 'just because'. I think it is a slight mis-alignment of the two centers, pump hub and converter hub, causing the shaft to 'flex' on every engine revolution. Count 'em up. Thatza lotta turns, as example ... 60mph=~2kRPM/90000miles... 12,000rpm/mileX90,000
LOTS.
Any way, I think the shaft gets brittle, much like bending a coat hanger over and over until it finally breaks. Not necessarily anything wrong except a slight misalignment. I have no facts to back this up. The other thing could be a sharp edge/ridge on the shaft that causes/allows a very slight crack that grows over time. FWIW.
A last thought on this, I guess, is lack of pressure due to some O-rings on a shaft getting damaged during the operation. The input clutch pack gets its fluid pressure from a central drilled passage that the clutch drum rotates about. The fluid & pressure are contained by small rings on either side of a drilled hole that bear on the inner of the clutch and are retained on the shaft by a groove, which also helps seal. Some are made of Teflon, and are delicate to say the least. Some are steel(I think, or other mix) and more robust. A last thought is a thrust washer/Torrington bearing slipped out of place and is keeping 'things' from aligning exactly, and thus allowing fluid pressure to leak off. I was a SC 'porkchop' in the Navy, but did learn a lot in NROTC classes 50 years ago.
tom

 

Hey I have the same model Escape and changed the band and pump after broken shaft and just wodering if you ever got yours fixed and what caused please lmk if or when you find out what is causing this issue. Thank you